CaSE STUDY / global semiconductor and wireless technology company

The real problem wasn't the form — it was the whole compliance workflow behind it

A mixed-method research effort to fix a mandatory export compliance form that employees were entering junk data into or skipping altogether — straining a compliance team already stretched thin and putting the company at risk.

The research insights and recommendations became the foundation of the UX improvements needed, directing the UI design, and engineering work that followed: collaborators designed and built the redesigned form and system, and I tested and audited the result before launch.

The result: time on task and user satisfaction both beat the goals set at the start of the research, and the compliance team got a workflow — not just a form — that finally works for the people using it every day, reducing overhead for the export compliance team, and reducing risk for the company.

Skills

• Stakeholder Alignment

• Research Strategy & Planning

• Survey & Interview Design

• Data Analysis & Reporting

• Cross-Functional Collaboration

• UX Testing & Audit

Role

Lead UX Researcher

Timeframe

2022, about 11.5 weeks total

Collaborators

Export Compliance, UX Researcher, UI Design, Engineering

The Approach

Before running any research, a colleague and I sat down directly with the Export Compliance team to understand the real size and stakes of the problem. From there, we built a mixed-method plan: a global survey to reach the portal's widest user base, deep-dive interviews with both the people filing requests and the team reviewing them, and analysis of existing usage data to ground everything in what was actually happening, not assumptions. Two metrics were set from the start — time on task and user satisfaction — so improvement could eventually be measured, not just felt.

THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

RESEARCH GOAL

Discover the major pain points and obstacles for both the Export Compliance team and the people using the Export Compliance portal — and use that to improve the experience of the portal and process for everyone involved.

UX METRICS TO BASELINE

Reduce Time on Task

end users: new request creation & EC team: review request

Increase User Satisfaction

1

Data & Usage Analysis

To not redo or rework any known issues, but build on top of any captured data

Review the feedback and analytics the team already had to see what was known, what was trending or an established pattern, and where the experience of the Export Compliance portal currently stood.

2

Global Survey

Target ~75 users, Product Manager focus

Product Managers were the heaviest users of the portal, so surveying at this scale surfaced the friction driving up time on task across the group most affected.

3

Deep-Dive Interviews

Target 7–10 end users (majority PMs), and 3–4 Export Compliance team members

Talk to both submitters and reviewers to uncover exactly why forms were coming in incomplete or inaccurate — the root cause the redesign was built to fix.

The Work

We ran the global survey and a full round of interviews across submitters and reviewers, then pulled everything into one analysis — demographic patterns, usage types, familiarity levels — to break down the data into clear stories. The result was a 41-page discovery report: purpose and approach, findings split cleanly by submitter and reviewer experience, real quotes, and five strategic recommendations tied directly to the project's goals.

Rather than only hand over a document and move on, we walked the Export Compliance team through the findings directly and collaboratively.  The readout revealed that the problem went well beyond a confusing form, to the platform, process, and communication scheme built around it... all of which were creating friction for the people using it and risk for the business. I facilitated a readout and working session that confirmed some assumptions, surfaced findings nobody had expected, and set the team up to carry the insights straight into design decisions.

From there, the work didn't stop at the report. I partnered directly with UI designers and the development team to translate the research into a redesigned form and system — then helped test and audit the result before launch, making sure the fixes actually held up in practice, not just on paper.

The Outcome

The redesign didn't just meet the goals set at the start of the research — it exceeded them, cutting time on task and lifting user satisfaction beyond what the team had targeted. More than that, the research gave the compliance team language and evidence for problems they'd only felt anecdotally before, and a clear, prioritized path to a workflow — not just a form — that finally worked for the people using it every day.

The report reflects good design and analysis. It confirms many of my expectations and adds insights and emphasis that I need to incorporate in my requirements.

— Export Compliance Team

Because they worked to understand the issues, collect, analyze, and report all the details back to us in a condensed way. While we were expecting certain findings, their work confirmed our assumptions and also identified issues we did not consider previously.

— Export Compliance Team

Takeaways for Your Next Project

Strategic research can change everything

Solid research doesn't just describe a problem — it reframes it, points to the root cause, and turns complexity into a clear, actionable plan.

Combine methods for full clarity

Quant shows you how much and how often; qual shows you why. Often, together they draw out insights that no method alone would surface.

Share findings live, decide shortly after

Review findings together, actively discuss to clarify, and decide right then turns insight into action before misunderstanding or hesitation can stall.

Want to put this into practice?

30 minutes, free. We'll discuss what you're trying to figure out, determine fit, and start moving your business forward

Book a discovery call →