Project Overview
The Employees’ Retirement Fund of the City of Dallas is a $3.5 billion pension and investment fund serving over 15,000 government civilian members. It offers retirement benefits and educational resources to support its members.
Planning for retirement is one of the most important financial decisions an individual will make. For City of Dallas employees, the Employees' Retirement Fund (ERF) provides pension benefits and resources to help members understand and prepare for their financial future.
In 2020, ERF launched a web-based self-service member portal that allows members to view their contributions, access retirement benefit information, and estimate future pension benefits.
As a UX/Product Designer, I contributed to the research, user flows, and experience design of the existing web portal.
However, through ongoing conversations with members, observations, and interactions during pension education seminars, I began noticing an opportunity to improve how members accessed and interacted with their retirement information.
Members frequently needed assistance navigating the existing portal, particularly during registration and login. Some also expressed a desire for a dedicated mobile application that would make accessing their pension information more convenient.
Recognizing this recurring feedback, I independently designed a mobile app concept to demonstrate what a more accessible, engaging, and comprehensive member experience could look like.
My goal was to translate member feedback into a tangible product opportunity that could be evaluated, tested, and potentially developed when organization is ready. The prototype was built on Claude using Figma wireframes.
Role: Product/UX Designer
Industry: Government · Financial
Timeline: 3 months
Tools: Figma and Claude
Platform: iOS / Android Native Mobile App Concept
Audience: Approximately 15,000 ERF members
Project Status: Independent concept exploration — not launched
Problem
Members Had Access to Their Information, but the Experience Could Be More Convenient
The existing ERF web portal provides valuable retirement information. However, member interactions revealed opportunities to improve accessibility, convenience, and support.
During educational seminars, members often approached our team with questions about their retirement benefits or requested help registering for and accessing the portal.
These interactions highlighted three recurring themes:
1. Friction in accessing the existing portal
Members sometimes struggled with registration, login, and navigating the browser-based experience. This created additional opportunities for assistance during in-person events.
2. Demand for a dedicated mobile experience
Members expressed interest in accessing their retirement information through a native mobile app rather than relying exclusively on a web browser.
3. A need for more connected member services
Members frequently sought answers about retirement eligibility, benefit calculations, and educational resources. Opportunities existed to bring retirement information, communication, appointments, and education into one convenient experience.
The Design Challenge
How might we make retirement planning more accessible, intuitive, and personalized for ERF members while bringing their most important information and support services into one mobile experience?
The challenge was not simply to convert a website into a mobile application. It was to reconsider how members could interact with ERF throughout their retirement journey.
Solution
A Personalized, All-in-One Retirement Companion
I designed a native mobile app concept that brings pension information, retirement planning tools, educational resources, and member support into a single experience.
The design prioritizes quick access to high-value information while providing optional personalization and additional support features.
Feature 01: A Dashboard Designed Around What Matters Most
Design decision: Place retirement eligibility and pension contribution information front and center.
One of the most frequently asked questions from members was when they could retire.
Rather than requiring members to navigate through multiple sections to locate this information, I designed the homepage to prominently display their retirement eligibility information and contributions.
The dashboard also provides quick access to important actions such as messages and appointments.
Why this matters
The intention is to reduce the effort required to locate essential information and make the experience feel immediately useful each time a member opens the app.
My Impact
From Identifying the Opportunity to Designing the Experience
As the UX/Product Designer, I led the concept exploration from identifying member needs to designing a proposed native mobile experience.
The prototype was built on Claude using Figma wireframes.
My responsibilities included:
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Gathering qualitative feedback through conversations with ERF members.
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Observing member challenges during pension education seminars.
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Identifying recurring pain points and unmet needs within the existing experience.
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Communicating the opportunity for a mobile application to executive leadership.
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Defining the proposed mobile experience and feature set.
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Designing user flows, information architecture, and mobile interfaces.
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Exploring personalized features and expanded self-service capabilities.
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Preparing a concept that could support future stakeholder discussions and usability testing.
This concept was not an approved development initiative. I pursued the design exploration proactively to make the opportunity more tangible and prepare for potential future product development.
Key Design Decisions
A Dashboard Designed Around What Matters Most
Design decision: Place retirement eligibility and pension contribution information front and center.
One of the most frequently asked questions from members was when they could retire.
Rather than requiring members to navigate through multiple sections to locate this information, I designed the homepage to prominently display their retirement eligibility information and contributions.
The dashboard also provides quick access to important actions such as messages and appointments.
Why this matters
The intention is to reduce the effort required to locate essential information and make the experience feel immediately useful each time a member opens the app.
A More Accessible Pension Calculator
Design decision: Bring retirement planning tools into the native mobile experience.
The existing web portal includes a pension calculator that helps members estimate their retirement benefits.
I incorporated this functionality into the mobile concept to give members a convenient way to explore their potential benefits and better understand how retirement timing may affect their financial future.
Why this matters
Retirement planning involves complex information. Providing an accessible calculation tool could help members explore scenarios and prepare more informed questions for their retirement counselors.
Direct Access to Retirement Counselors
Design decision: Introduce in-app messaging and appointment scheduling.
During member education events, I observed how valuable direct interactions with ERF staff were for answering retirement questions.
To extend that support beyond seminars, I explored features allowing members to communicate with retirement counselors and schedule appointments directly through the app.
Why this matters
Instead of requiring members to navigate separate communication channels, the concept creates a more connected experience between self-service information and human assistance.
Education at Members' Fingertips
Design decision: Introduce an educational resource library and event registration.
Pension terminology and retirement benefits can be difficult to understand, particularly for members unfamiliar with retirement systems.
I envisioned a centralized educational library containing pension terminology, explanatory videos, and resources about retirement planning.
Members could also discover and register for ERF educational events directly through the app.
Why this matters
The goal is to support members beyond individual transactions by making retirement education an accessible, ongoing part of the experience.
Personalization Without Complexity
Design decision: Give members optional ways to personalize their profile.
ERF serves a diverse membership, and I wanted the experience to feel approachable to members with different preferences and levels of technological familiarity.
I explored an optional avatar customization feature inspired by personalization experiences found in consumer applications.
Members could choose to create an avatar, upload a profile photo, or leave their profile without an image.
Why this matters
Personalization should offer flexibility without creating unnecessary barriers.
The avatar was an exploratory engagement feature rather than a validated member requirement. Its value, usability, and priority would need to be tested before development.
Listening to Members Beyond Traditional Research Sessions
My understanding of the problem developed through ongoing interactions with members rather than a single formal research study.
As part of ERF's member education efforts, our team participated in seminars where City of Dallas employees could learn about their pension benefits, ask questions, and receive assistance with their accounts.
These events provided valuable opportunities to observe how members interacted with the existing service and understand their needs directly.
Research Methods
Member conversations
I spoke with members about their experiences accessing retirement information, the questions they frequently had, and what they wanted from their self-service portal.
Contextual observations
During seminars, I observed members requesting help with account registration, login, and accessing their information.
Feedback collection
I listened to member suggestions and requests, including interest in a dedicated native mobile application.
Existing product knowledge
My previous involvement in researching and designing the live web portal helped me understand its current functionality, navigation structure, and opportunities for improvement.
Key Research Insights
Insight 01: Convenience matters.
Members wanted a more convenient way to access their pension information without depending exclusively on a browser-based experience.
Insight 02: Retirement eligibility is a priority.
One of the most common questions members asked was, "When can I retire?"
This revealed an opportunity to make retirement eligibility information more prominent and easier to understand.
Insight 03: Members need more than account information.
Member needs extended beyond viewing financial figures. They also needed guidance, education, and opportunities to connect with retirement counselors.
Insight 04: One experience does not fit every member.
ERF serves individuals across different age groups, backgrounds, and levels of technological familiarity. The experience needed to accommodate different preferences without making personalization mandatory.
Research Limitations
These findings were based on informal qualitative interactions and observations. They provided meaningful directional insights but were not a representative research study of all 15,000 members.
The next step would be to validate the identified needs through structured interviews, usability testing, and broader member research.
Research & Discovery
Balancing Accessibility, Simplicity, and Personal Choice
With approximately 15,000 members, ERF serves individuals with varying levels of familiarity with technology and retirement terminology.
I approached the mobile concept with the understanding that an experience designed for one group of members may not work equally well for another.
My design direction emphasized:
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Clear navigation and recognizable actions.
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Prominent placement of high-priority information.
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Plain-language communication where possible.
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Optional personalization rather than mandatory customization.
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Multiple ways to access information and assistance.
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An organized experience that supports both quick tasks and deeper exploration.
The intent was to create an interface that felt approachable to first-time users while remaining efficient for members who regularly access their retirement information.
Formal accessibility reviews and usability testing across different member groups would be essential before implementation.
Designing for a Diverse Membership
Designing for More Than a Smaller Screen
Rather than simply replicating the existing web portal, I envisioned a native mobile experience that could become a centralized resource for retirement planning.
The product concept focused on four design principles:
Clarity: Make the most important retirement information immediately visible and understandable.
Convenience: Reduce the effort required to access information, communicate with counselors, and find resources.
Personalization: Give members flexibility to customize aspects of their experience according to their preferences.
Empowerment: Help members understand their benefits and take action throughout their retirement journey.
The concept retained essential functionality from the existing portal while introducing new capabilities informed by member feedback.
Product Strategy
Results & Outcomes
From Member Feedback to a Tangible Product Vision
The native mobile app remains a concept and has not been launched, developed, or formally tested with ERF members. The prototype was built on Claude using Figma wireframes.
However, the exploration produced several meaningful design outputs:
A proposed mobile experience
I translated recurring member feedback into a cohesive native mobile app concept.
An expanded feature vision
The concept explored opportunities beyond the existing web portal, including counselor communication, appointment scheduling, educational resources, event registration, and profile personalization.
A foundation for future validation
The designs provide a starting point for structured usability testing, technical feasibility reviews, and MVP planning if the organization chooses to prioritize the initiative.
What Success Could Look Like
If the concept advances, I would recommend evaluating it through measurable outcomes:
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Task success rate: Can members locate retirement eligibility and contribution information without assistance?
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Time on task: How quickly can members complete common retirement planning tasks?
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Usability: Can members with different levels of technological familiarity navigate the app confidently?
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Support efficiency: Does the experience reduce avoidable assistance requests for common self-service tasks?
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Member adoption: Do members find enough value in the mobile experience to use it regularly?
These are proposed success measures, not achieved results.
Next Steps
Moving From Concept to Validated MVP
If the organization proceeds with this project in the future, my recommended next steps would be:
1. Validate the problem. Conduct structured research with a representative range of members to better understand demand, current friction, and preferred access methods.
2. Prioritize an MVP. Focus initially on high-value functions such as secure account access, retirement eligibility, contribution information, benefit estimates, and essential navigation.
3. Test the prototype. Evaluate whether members can complete important tasks independently, including those who experience difficulty with the current web portal.
4. Assess technical feasibility. Collaborate with engineering, security, and business stakeholders to evaluate authentication, data integration, accessibility, privacy, and maintenance requirements.
5. Iterate before development. Refine the experience using usability findings and determine which additional features offer sufficient member value to justify implementation.
Features such as avatar customization, counselor messaging, and expanded educational tools could be evaluated separately rather than assumed to belong in the first release.
Reflection
Being Proactive Means Designing for Opportunities Before They Become Projects
This project reinforced my belief that product design extends beyond fulfilling assigned requirements.
As a designer, part of my responsibility is to listen to users, identify emerging needs, and recognize opportunities to improve existing experiences.
Through conversations and observations, I identified member needs that were not fully addressed by the current portal experience.
The experience strengthened my ability to translate qualitative feedback into product concepts, advocate for member needs, and balance user-centered thinking with organizational priorities.
It also highlighted an important distinction: a compelling concept is only the beginning. The next challenge is validating that the proposed solution addresses the right problems and creates sufficient value to justify investment.
My biggest takeaway: Good product design is not only about solving the problems placed in front of us. It is also about recognizing opportunities, asking better questions, and preparing thoughtful solutions for what comes next.
Project Note: This case study presents an independent native mobile app concept inspired by member feedback and the existing ERF web portal. The mobile application is not an active ERF product, and the proposed features have not been validated through formal usability testing or launched to members.