Document
Auto Import
Reducing "double-login" friction at a critical auth experience — shifting user mental models from "why am I logging in again?" to "I'm granting access to my documents."
01 · Challenge
The "double-login" that was costing completions
Banks use separate secure channels to transmit different data types. A user can authenticate once to sync transactions, but a second explicit authorization is required for PDF documents — like monthly statements and tax forms. Most customers didn't know auto-import was even possible, and when asked to log in twice in a row, they abandoned and reverted to manual upload.
The problem: 75% of customers dropped off immediately after seeing the second sign-in prompt
02 · My Tasks
End-to-end design strategy + proactive cross-BU bridge building
I led end-to-end design strategy: identifying experience gaps across QBO and TurboTax, defining problem statements in the PRD, and delivering design audits, high-fidelity prototypes, and research-backed decks for PM to get senior leadership sign-off on dev resources.
The original scope was narrow — one product, one team. I proactively connected with TurboTax designers and PMs to understand their expert-led workflow, co-facilitated roundtables with TurboTax experts, and helped architect a solution built for cross-BU scalability from day one.
TurboTax Full Service — experts waiting on manual uploads from customers who could have automated it
03 · Design Process
Three rounds of testing to find the right frame
User walkthroughs revealed something more nuanced than expected: most customers actually considered a second sign-in a security necessity. The real drop-off was about value — customers didn't understand how auto-import would improve their workflow, so they didn't see why the second step was worth it.
I ran three rounds of usability testing with my Content Design partner, iterating from an imagery-heavy approach (high resonance, low scalability) through to a stripped-down conversational design that proved most successful in A/B tests — and was a much lighter engineering lift to scale across Banking, Tax, and Loans.
Early iterations — strong resonance, but too complex to scale
Final direction — conversational, scalable, tested highest in A/B
04 · Impact
Mental model shifted. Projected significant lift in auto-import adoption.
The final design successfully shifted user perception from "Why am I logging in again?" to "I'm granting access to my secure documents." User testing showed nearly 100% preference for the new design.
The solution was architected for scalability from day one — serving different content across Banking, Tax, and Loans with a content-driven approach rather than custom graphics per scenario. Projected to drive significant lift in automated document imports across QuickBooks and TurboTax.
