BenQ Account Integration
Users are required to register separate accounts when accessing different BenQ services, each with its distinct login processes and interfaces for the account system. To enhance user experience and maintain brand consistency, I worked towards integrating these processes comprehensively. This involves engaging all stakeholders to ensure they could follow up and collaborate effectively on achieving seamless account integration.
Duration
Sep, 2022 – May, 2024
Team
2 UX Designer, 2 GUI Designer, 6 Engineer, 1 Quality Assurance Engineer, 1 Product Manager, 1 Project Manager
My Role
As a user experience designer, I designed the user flow, information architecture, UI flows, and wireframes, and provided UX copy for three account systems. I collaborated closely with the development team, conducting design testing to ensure consistency while serving as a liaison between two Research and Development (R&D) departments.
In my role as a facilitator, I facilitated consensus-building among stakeholders. I prepared slides, conducted introductory sessions, and produced a video to present our design plan to five business units, encouraging their follow-up actions.
Background
When accessing different services provided by BenQ, the users need to register accounts respectively for each service, as the account systems are constructed and owned by different departments. Moreover, the login process and interface of each account system differ significantly, providing inconsistent user experience and brand image. Thus, the UX team initiated a redesign to improve the user experience. This involves optimizing the user flow, refining guiding text, enhancing visual style while maintaining brand consistency, and fostering account database integration.
Roadmap
Stage 1 - Process Integration
It is the UX team that drives this project, so we have to spearhead the process integration from the outset. Since the account database has not been fully integrated yet, I need to devise three types of registration and login processes for each account system. The primary goal is to align the processes, ensuring consistency in the content and format of information that users provide.
Stage 2 - Account Database Integration
Once we have completed the initial stage, we can proceed with the integration of the account database, which will require concerted efforts from the product managers and engineers. After completing this stage, the users can access different services with the same account.
Objective
Our primary goal is to complete the process integration in the first stage so that we can drive other stakeholders to foster the integration of account databases.
Challenges
Technical Limitation
- There are three separate account systems for official websites, B2B services, and B2C services. Each of them has distinct technical limitations, such as mechanisms for information security, which increases the difficulty of maintaining process consistency.
- The account permissions for business and consumer accounts within the account systems differ, complicating the logic behind account integration when planning the user flow.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- The account systems are owned by different departments, leading to involvement from numerous stakeholders across two R&D departments and five business units in this project. Aligning all stakeholders’ consensus is the hardest challenge.
Tasks
- Firstly, we decided to integrate the B2B and B2C Service Login. Both are owned by the same R&D department and contain business and consumer accounts. Then, we plan to proceed with integrating the account system of official websites.
- To maintain consistency across the three account systems, I planned the user flows, conducted the interface design, and acted as a facilitator between the two R&D departments to foster process integration. Once the integration was fully developed, I collaborated with the QA engineer to test the Golden Path for the registration and login processes of each account system.
- To move on to the next stage and realize account integration, I made slides, held introductory sessions, and filmed a video for all the stakeholders to introduce our plan after completing the process integration.
User Flow and Information Architecture
While the style and single sign-on schemes in each account system may vary slightly, it's essential to maintain consistency in the order of revealing registration information, following the rule below.
1. Common Information
The required registration information in all account systems, including the email, name, password, and terms and policy checkbox.
2. Specific Information
The additional information specifically for registering a business account in the B2B Service Login. The business account is granted with permission as an administrator. Thus, checking the administrator’s information during the registration process is necessary.
3. Additional Survey
The additional information specifically for registering a consumer account in the B2C Service Login. To shorten the registration and login process for users to try the software as soon as possible, I decided to show this survey only after the users sign in to the system for the first time.
UI Flow
After planning the overall user flow and information architecture, I created detailed UI flows of the login and registration processes for three account systems, covering account creation, sign-in, single sign-on (SSO), password recovery, member emails, and two-factor authentication.
Results
We have completed the process integration and are now proceeding with the account database integration in the second stage. Both the B2B Service Login and B2C Service Login databases have been integrated, and the service is named BenQ Connect. At least three business units are currently progressing with the account integration plan. Consequently, users can now access all these services with just one account.
Additionally, both R&D departments are in the process of integrating the account system of official websites.
Benefits after Redesign
- Simplify the registration process
- The users could access different services with the same account.
- Create a seamless user experience
- I optimized the login and registration processes with more comprehensive guiding information.
- Construct brand consistency
- The GUI designers maintained a minimalist style corresponding to the official website.
- I rewrote guiding texts with a human tone of voice.
- Decrease the cost of developing the account system
- We could avoid developing the same account functions repetitively by different departments through holding introductory sessions for stakeholders.
Lessons Learned
The main challenge of fostering account integration is cross-functional collaboration. In my opinion, the UX team is like a chef with a recipe in mind for this project, while other stakeholders hold essential resources such as a stove or a pot that could be used to produce the ideal dish. However, before we convey the recipe, prepare adequate ingredients, and provide explicit guidance, the stakeholders are unable to trust and provide their resources for making an unimaginable dish. Thus, communication for building consensus between stakeholders is the most critical and difficult challenge. From this project, I have experienced influences on the team through aligning thoughts and trained myself to think logically and carefully from a holistic perspective when designing user flows.
