FinViz
UX strategy to reduce upgrade time by half for a stock screening platform
year
2024
Category
UX Strategy Bootcamp Challenge
Problem
FinViz is a stock screener and trading platform used by traders of all levels to analyse financial markets. The platform is powerful but dense. It was packed with complex charts, filters, and data tools, which can feel overwhelming, especially for newer users.
Despite strong signup numbers, most users weren’t upgrading to the Elite plan until much later — on average, after 42 days. The goal of the project was to bring that transition time down to 21 days.
Problem
FinViz is a stock screener and trading platform used by traders of all levels to analyse financial markets. The platform is powerful but dense. It was packed with complex charts, filters, and data tools, which can feel overwhelming, especially for newer users.
Despite strong signup numbers, most users weren’t upgrading to the Elite plan until much later — on average, after 42 days. The goal of the project was to bring that transition time down to 21 days.
Problem
FinViz is a stock screener and trading platform used by traders of all levels to analyse financial markets. The platform is powerful but dense. It was packed with complex charts, filters, and data tools, which can feel overwhelming, especially for newer users.
Despite strong signup numbers, most users weren’t upgrading to the Elite plan until much later — on average, after 42 days. The goal of the project was to bring that transition time down to 21 days.
My role
My challenge was to create a UX strategy plan that would help FinViz move faster toward its business goal, using available user insights and real business data as the foundation.
My role
My challenge was to create a UX strategy plan that would help FinViz move faster toward its business goal, using available user insights and real business data as the foundation.
My role
My challenge was to create a UX strategy plan that would help FinViz move faster toward its business goal, using available user insights and real business data as the foundation.
Kick-off
I started by digging into the research. This included:
Reviewing internal business insights and stakeholder goals
Reading through existing user interviews and feedback
Participating in an event storming session with the team
Kick-off
I started by digging into the research. This included:
Reviewing internal business insights and stakeholder goals
Reading through existing user interviews and feedback
Participating in an event storming session with the team
Kick-off
I started by digging into the research. This included:
Reviewing internal business insights and stakeholder goals
Reading through existing user interviews and feedback
Participating in an event storming session with the team
UX Strategy timeline
To bring structure to the process, I laid out a UX strategy timeline split across three phases: Prep-work, Discovery, and Define. Each phase was broken into specific steps — from evaluating the current state and aligning on goals, to gathering user insights, defining metrics, and prioritising potential features.
The timeline helped clarify what needed to happen when, and how each piece would support the overall goal of reducing the transition time to Elite.
UX Strategy timeline
To bring structure to the process, I laid out a UX strategy timeline split across three phases: Prep-work, Discovery, and Define. Each phase was broken into specific steps — from evaluating the current state and aligning on goals, to gathering user insights, defining metrics, and prioritising potential features.
The timeline helped clarify what needed to happen when, and how each piece would support the overall goal of reducing the transition time to Elite.
UX Strategy timeline
To bring structure to the process, I laid out a UX strategy timeline split across three phases: Prep-work, Discovery, and Define. Each phase was broken into specific steps — from evaluating the current state and aligning on goals, to gathering user insights, defining metrics, and prioritising potential features.
The timeline helped clarify what needed to happen when, and how each piece would support the overall goal of reducing the transition time to Elite.
Strategy map
To connect the business goal with real user impact, I created a structured strategy map to show how each design decision could directly support the goal of reducing upgrade time.
Here’s how it worked:
Start with the business goal: Reduce time-to-upgrade from 42 to 21 days
Break it into KPIs: e.g. Activation rate, feature engagement, onboarding flow completion
Link those to UX KPIs: e.g. Task completion time, bounce rate, discoverability of premium features
Surface design opportunities: e.g. Improve guided onboarding, highlight Elite features earlier, reduce overwhelm in dashboard
This structure made it easier to:
Translate business goals into actionable UX priorities
Align future design decisions with user needs and measurable impact
Provide a clear, traceable logic for why each initiative matters
Strategy map
To connect the business goal with real user impact, I created a structured strategy map to show how each design decision could directly support the goal of reducing upgrade time.
Here’s how it worked:
Start with the business goal: Reduce time-to-upgrade from 42 to 21 days
Break it into KPIs: e.g. Activation rate, feature engagement, onboarding flow completion
Link those to UX KPIs: e.g. Task completion time, bounce rate, discoverability of premium features
Surface design opportunities: e.g. Improve guided onboarding, highlight Elite features earlier, reduce overwhelm in dashboard
This structure made it easier to:
Translate business goals into actionable UX priorities
Align future design decisions with user needs and measurable impact
Provide a clear, traceable logic for why each initiative matters
Strategy map
To connect the business goal with real user impact, I created a structured strategy map to show how each design decision could directly support the goal of reducing upgrade time.
Here’s how it worked:
Start with the business goal: Reduce time-to-upgrade from 42 to 21 days
Break it into KPIs: e.g. Activation rate, feature engagement, onboarding flow completion
Link those to UX KPIs: e.g. Task completion time, bounce rate, discoverability of premium features
Surface design opportunities: e.g. Improve guided onboarding, highlight Elite features earlier, reduce overwhelm in dashboard
This structure made it easier to:
Translate business goals into actionable UX priorities
Align future design decisions with user needs and measurable impact
Provide a clear, traceable logic for why each initiative matters
what i learned
During this project I learned how powerful it is to create structure where the ideas are floating around. My job was to take a big business goal and connect it to real user needs, measurable metrics, and a roadmap that made sense.
The strategy timeline and KPI map became tools that I’ve used since to ground future design sprints and stakeholder discussions across other projects. Especially when there’s a lot of ambition and not enough alignment.
what i learned
During this project I learned how powerful it is to create structure where the ideas are floating around. My job was to take a big business goal and connect it to real user needs, measurable metrics, and a roadmap that made sense.
The strategy timeline and KPI map became tools that I’ve used since to ground future design sprints and stakeholder discussions across other projects. Especially when there’s a lot of ambition and not enough alignment.
what i learned
During this project I learned how powerful it is to create structure where the ideas are floating around. My job was to take a big business goal and connect it to real user needs, measurable metrics, and a roadmap that made sense.
The strategy timeline and KPI map became tools that I’ve used since to ground future design sprints and stakeholder discussions across other projects. Especially when there’s a lot of ambition and not enough alignment.