Password Change

A security update for an application I was working on provided and opportunity to enhance the user experience of our change password screen.

Note: This case study is based on real work experience, but for privacy reasons I cannot share proprietary images or confidential details. All screens shown are my designs.

Password Change

A security update for an application I was working on provided and opportunity to enhance the user experience of our change password screen.

Note: This case study is based on real work experience, but for privacy reasons I cannot share proprietary images or confidential details. All screens shown are my designs.

Password Change

A security update for an application I was working on provided and opportunity to enhance the user experience of our change password screen.

Note: This case study is based on real work experience, but for privacy reasons I cannot share proprietary images or confidential details. All screens shown are my designs.

Problems

The existing design had all the basic functions required, but a UX review found several items that could be improved. 

Masking

Passwords were masked with no ability to reveal them.

Requirements

Password requirements were listed in a long paragraph that made it difficult for users to understand and apply the requirements.

Compliance Checking

Users were only informed their password didn’t meet requirements or match after attempting submit. 

Problems

The existing design had all the basic functions required, but a UX review found several items that could be improved. 

Masking

Passwords were masked with no ability to reveal them.

Requirements

Our demographic skewed older and we had concerns about type legibility and general accessibility.

Compliance Checking

Users were only informed their password didn’t meet requirements or match after attempting submit. 

Problems

The existing design had all the basic functions required, but a UX review found several items that could be improved. 

Masking

Passwords were masked with no ability to reveal them.

Requirements

Our demographic skewed older and we had concerns about type legibility and general accessibility.

Compliance Checking

Users were only informed their password didn’t meet requirements or match after attempting submit. 

Opportunity

We could improve a mundane task and reduce calls to the help desk by implementing a few best practices.

Opportunity

We could improve a mundane task and reduce calls to the help desk by implementing a few best practices.

Opportunity

We could improve a mundane task and reduce calls to the help desk by implementing a few best practices.

Design Process

While a change password screen is a standard utility, I saw a chance to implement a few best practices. I performed an audit of our existing screen and made note of issues that were immediately apparent. Not wanting to rely on that I researched the topic on NN Group and a few other UX sites. After gathering findings I pulled together a competitive audit to see how others were solving design issues and sketched out how to implement using our design system. 

As the sketches turned into higher fidelity screens I tested options and prototypes with an internal test group.

Design Process

While a change password screen is a standard utility, I saw a chance to implement a few best practices. I performed an audit of our existing screen and made note of issues that were immediately apparent. Not wanting to rely on that I researched the topic on NN Group and a few other UX sites. After gathering findings I pulled together a competitive audit to see how others were solving design issues and sketched out how to implement using our design system. 

As the sketches turned into higher fidelity screens I tested options and prototypes with an internal test group.

Design Process

While a change password screen is a standard utility, I saw a chance to implement a few best practices. I performed an audit of our existing screen and made note of issues that were immediately apparent. Not wanting to rely on that I researched the topic on NN Group and a few other UX sites. After gathering findings I pulled together a competitive audit to see how others were solving design issues and sketched out how to implement using our design system. 

As the sketches turned into higher fidelity screens I tested options and prototypes with an internal test group.

Solutions

The existing design had all the basic functions required, but a UX review found several items that could be improved. 

Masking

To allow unmasking I placed a button next to both the new password and confirm fields. We tested an eye icon and the word “Show” for the button. Both were immediately clear to testers in our A/B tests but a majority preferred the eye icon. We considered placing the icon within the  field but had concerns about the touch target area size and overlap.

Requirements

To guide users towards making a password that matched our conditions I moved the requirements directly under the new password field and listed them on separate lines.

To make fulfilling the requirements easy to track I placed an indicator next to each requirement. As users filled their password the indicators would update to show when a requirement was met.

I placed a similar indicator under the confirmation password input to show when the passwords matched.

Solutions

The existing design had all the basic functions required, but a UX review found several items that could be improved. 

Masking

To allow unmasking I placed a button next to both the new password and confirm fields. We tested an eye icon and the word “Show” for the button. Both were immediately clear to testers in our A/B tests but a majority preferred the eye icon. We considered placing the icon within the  field but had concerns about the touch target area size and overlap.

Requirements

Our demographic skewed older and we had concerns about type legibility and general accessibility.

Solutions

The existing design had all the basic functions required, but a UX review found several items that could be improved. 

Allow Unmaksing

To allow unmasking I placed a button next to both the new password and confirm fields. We tested an eye icon and the word “Show” for the button. Both were immediately clear to testers in our A/B tests but a majority preferred the eye icon. We considered placing the icon within the  field but had concerns about the touch target area size and overlap.

Requirement Feedback

Our demographic skewed older and we had concerns about type legibility and general accessibility.

Real-Time Check

With these changes, users now have real-time feedback about their new password. The screen no longer needed a post-submit validation check which seemed like overkill on a simple form. I could simply disable the submit button until all requirements were met.

Real-Time Check

With these changes, users now have real-time feedback about their new password. The screen no longer needed a post-submit validation check which seemed like overkill on a simple form. I could simply disable the submit button until all requirements were met.

Real-Time Check

With these changes, users now have real-time feedback about their new password. The screen no longer needed a post-submit validation check which seemed like overkill on a simple form.

I could simply disable the submit button until all requirements were met.