Maximizing Login and Authentication workflows to impact business decisions in enterprise and large organizations

Harjit Kaur at UXDX Community: Streamlining Service and Accessibility Design for Product Exploration and Workflow Optimization in Enterprises. Video: https://youtu.be/qFDsIKojPec

Readable transcript: edited from the recording's captions for readability (fillers and false starts removed, punctuation and section headings added). Wording is the speaker's own. Timestamps are positions in the video. Names marked [?] could not be verified against the audio.

Why login workflows matter to the business

[00:00:00] Maximizing authentication workflows. Sorry for the long title there, but I promise this presentation will be worth it, for sure. It'll be worth it.

[00:00:11] My name is Harjit Kaur. I'm a senior product designer at Imprivata. I have experience working with three different types of organizations that utilize authentication workflows. One is a small organization that creates products with authentication processes. Then I worked at an enterprise that owns franchises and businesses that want to centralize their login with single sign-in. And now I work at an enterprise, Imprivata, that designs authentication products.

[00:00:45] In my experiences in these various types of organizations, I saw the value of login, registration and verification workflows really, really make an impact in defining business goals. In this talk I want to show how these workflows can impact organizational decisions and even help define requirements. The basis of UX workflows is user research and really good usability principles. They're the key elements for defining a good process, and that process can really help make those larger organizational decisions.

[00:01:25] All right. As UX designers, we create workflows that show a product's pathway based on user needs and business goals. What makes login and authentication workflows so special is that they are the gatekeepers, ensuring that only the right users get access to the right places, all while prioritizing simplicity and security.

[00:01:48] Now I want you to think of a time where access was made easy for you. Maybe you were logging on to your phone to get access to an app, and maybe you're relieved that you don't have to do so many steps to get to that app, but you're probably also wondering how secure that information is. This could be social media apps or banking, but there's a lot that goes into workflows to create that simple experience. Many large organizations are taking steps towards centralized authentication, and what we find are challenges in adapting that authentication across their businesses and products.

[00:02:27] However, many of those challenges are better communicated and resolved with UX workflows. And these flows, and this is a very simple flow here, this is not the flow, uncover procedures that interfere with user needs while also providing solutions to organizational issues. Currently working for an identity software company that sells authentication products, I see how the workflow prioritizes that need as well as user needs. When I look back at working in organizations where that workflow was more secondary, I'm now able to see the impact it made on an organizational level, in shaping strategic business decisions and organizational resilience.

Principles found in workflows

[00:03:14] All right: identifying principles in workflows. Here are some principles that impact organizational values that can be found in workflows. It's definitely not limited to these five values that I show here, but these are the ones that I see make the greatest impact.

[00:03:32] Identifying user pain points. By understanding where users may encounter difficulties and frustrations, businesses can prioritize improvements to the overall user experience. Enhancing security and compliance. By helping identify areas where security measures can be strengthened, workflows can make an impact on security features that comply with industry regulations or protect sensitive data.

[00:04:00] Streamlining authentication workflows. By identifying unnecessary steps or complexities in the process, and I'll show you in the workflow in the next slide, we can streamline authentication, improving overall efficiency. Choosing authentication methods. Methods like passwords, MFA and biometrics all have impacts on user experience and security, and UX workflows can provide a visual of how each method can assist in making decisions.

[00:04:31] Improving onboarding experience. This is one of the first interactions a user will have with a product, and usually the first time sharing their information. Seeing what that flow will look like will allow for planning how users will familiarize themselves with authentication procedures. This creates a great onboarding experience and user experience as well. On the next slide, and throughout this presentation, I'm going to show these points of discussion, these principles, in the workflow, and how that information is extracted to guide organizational decisions.

The role of workflows

[00:05:11] All right: the role of workflows. Here is a very simple, general workflow I used for a login. I kept it simple for simplicity's sake. I know there's a lot of stuff that goes into accessing a website, user credentials and onboarding processes, but this is very high level. As I mentioned previously, some of the principles are identified in workflows, and here is the information extracted to get a better organizational highlight.

[00:05:46] We're going to start with identifying pain points. It could be anywhere in the flow, honestly. The pain points could be in onboarding, it could be entering credentials. But when the user first accesses the website, we could identify better ways to access login. And are they a returning user? We could streamline authentication processes to make recognition and verification easier for the user. As the user enters their credentials to log in, what are other authentication methods we can explore to make a more secure or accessible process?

[00:06:21] If they're not a returning user: onboarding. If they are not a returning user, we can definitely do more information investigation. How do we get information from the user? The absolute minimal verification, for simplicity's sake, or do we ask for more data, for data purposes or customization purposes? And when the user does get access, what are some ways we can enhance the experience with features and also ensure a secure experience?

[00:06:53] Even looking at the administration flow down here, once the user gets verified, or they have to enter a password or have some kind of communication with administration, how could this workflow better help us understand the different levels of the organization? And where can we find pain points to improve the process?

Understanding different levels of the organization

[00:07:20] Understanding different levels. On the right here I have a basic structure of a large organization I worked for. It could be different for other organizations, but this specific enterprise was divided into sectors, and each sector had a business or franchise under it. Under that business or franchise, they had product-level businesses. So there are their own hierarchies, and I wanted to show a visual of the different possible layers of hierarchy, but also the challenge a large organization faces when centralizing authentication. There is complexity involved.

[00:07:59] When I was designing a single sign-in for the enterprise, we encountered small businesses having different methods of workflows. There was a challenge of discerning the different levels, departments and user roles all involved in monitoring authentication. The goal was to integrate those practices into the broader enterprise authentication process, and workflows acted as a bridge to fill the gap and establish a more interconnected flow.

[00:08:36] One user workflow that I remember was an onboarding process, confirming the necessary information needed to register a user. It opened up pathways for what the verification process could look like. And with the different levels of administrators responsible for approvals, that workflow was able to communicate with the right people and work together to fill the gaps of centralized login, while also meeting compliance procedures.

[00:09:12] By understanding task flows at the product level, we have significant impact on decision-making at the organizational level. If companies get this right in strategic decision-making, they can make it easier for customers to access a wide range of products and services in the company. But if they get it wrong, it could make a lot of work for customers, who don't get the services because they just don't bother.

Product-level and organization-level task flows

[00:09:44] Here's an example of two very basic task flows. One is at the product level, and one is at the higher organizational level. Product level is the user accessing that specific product with their specific authentication, whereas the higher level is single sign-in, being able to access the various products within that organization with that single sign-in.

[00:10:09] There are many action items and pathways. As you can see, the users have to enter their information with the provider to get the device. Then they have to submit information to the pharmacist to get the device, and then they have to have a consultation with the pharmacist or a business representative to get a biometric authentication, and then a secondary biometric authentication. Now the user can use their product on a day-to-day basis, using that biometric authentication to deliver the drug multiple times a day.

[00:10:49] At the higher organization level, the user is able to log in to access multiple products within the organization. We found that users already had many pathways to verify themselves, through the entire process from getting the device to actually using the device. So for large healthcare organizations at the higher level here that are implementing single sign-in for multiple businesses and products, this workflow provides them with multiple avenues for consolidating. If you can imagine lines between these two workflows: consolidating access pathways to achieve a centralized authentication workflow.

[00:11:28] Now, going back to the product level, there are some good discussion points that align with product goals at product levels, such as accessibility considerations, and it's definitely worth looking into them and then also applying them to higher organizational levels. There's also awareness of technology. The product level can help us understand the foundation on which digital capabilities are built, and this information is valuable. Decision makers can align technology strategies, the various technologies that are used here, to support infrastructure that aligns with higher organizational-level goals.

[00:12:05] As you can see from the business topics mentioned in the previous slide, those are still relevant to the conversation here as well. We could still have all of these discussions while also looking at the product-level discussions, and they're all applicable in this centralized login. In addition to integrating product-level functions into higher organizations, these workflows can also evolve to incorporate business systems like email or CRM, so they could have a more unified access experience.

Improving communication

[00:12:51] Improving communication. Identity authentication workflows can reveal flaws in communication within an organization, which can help to improve procedures. For example, designing a workflow for password requirements can highlight the inconsistency of procedures, which can cause confusion. This can be due to lack of communication, changes and updates, failure to deliver information to appropriate departments, deprioritizing and merging procedures. But this can also be an opportunity to standardize security protocols. It opens up an organizational discussion to restructure their policies and meet proper authentication processes.

[00:13:35] When I worked at a large healthcare organization, we were looking at all these workflows in different businesses, different franchises, and how to incorporate those different workflows into the enterprise single login. We not only saw opportunities in consolidating technologies, but we also saw opportunities in business structure, at the administration level, really analyzing who's in charge of what and how the verification process could be better simplified. We also found that there was a lot of miscommunication within departments, so the verification process looked different from department to department. That allowed us to actually come up with organizational solutions by looking at these workflows, and help those departments come up with better processes, while in that process also figuring out an easier way to connect with single sign-in.

Scalability and future-proofing

[00:14:42] Scalability and future-proofing. Scalability and future-proofing are great topics when it comes to implementing workflows in business decisions. By implementing a strategy where business and design work better together with UX tools, we can scale growth in an organization in a way that ensures that security and infrastructure remain effective and relevant as the business expands.

[00:15:12] Also, in consideration of emerging technologies such as biometrics or adaptive authentication, we can future-proof a lot of the workflows so that they remain effective against evolving security threats. As you can see here, much like the tree, workflows are like the branches that expand with growing ideas, all in different directions. We can make strategic decisions that align with both user needs and business goals. These decisions contribute to a secure, efficient and user-friendly authentication experience, and it ultimately impacts the success of the organization's digital systems and services as well. I think that's all for me. Thank you.

Q&A

[00:16:10] Host: Fantastic. Thank you so much for that.

[00:16:13] Harjit: Thank you.

[00:16:14] Host: There are a few things to break down there, if we may. What I really liked about this talk and topic was how you came at it from such a micro level. Tina had such a broad level, of almost having to cover everything, and the challenges of that. And you have, in theory, such a minute level, and there are still equal challenges to that. And that tied in with Diane's accessibility piece as well, which was really, really lovely. So thank you for that. What tools and pieces have helped with all of these processes?

[00:16:55] Harjit: That's a great question. When we design workflows, we collaborate on Miro a lot. A lot of the time these workflows are on Miro, where product teams, project managers, engineers and developers can jump in and see the higher-level and more product-level workflows. Using those tools, they're able to comment on anything that's confusing, but they're also able to brainstorm ideas and just leave it on a sticky note. So that's a great collaboration tool. I've used Miro and Mural, so those are both really great tools. And now Figma is also great for collaborating. When we're designing wireframes and they're actually looking at those screens, those workflows are coming to life. That is also another great tool to put everything in perspective.

[00:17:46] Host: Wow, yeah, really great. Looking outside of the work that you're doing, what have you seen as the most common challenges that people face in the approach?

[00:18:03] Harjit: A lot of this is more in larger organizations. I think it's easier to work in a smaller organization and figure out the hierarchy, but when you're working in large organizations, a lot of the smaller businesses that they own are already established, and a lot of them have their own systems and ways of working. So the challenge is figuring out who is in charge of the specific verification process, or who's in charge of what, to make the right decisions so that consolidation is possible at a higher level. It's really finding who those users are and trying to get them in the same room to collaborate on a solution.

[00:18:47] Host: Yeah, really challenging in its own right.

[00:18:50] Harjit: Yeah.

[00:18:51] Host: And going back to the projects that you've worked on, in that process workflow, in that diagram that you shared, what was the biggest bottleneck, the most unexpected bottleneck?

[00:19:06] Harjit: Are we talking about the product-level and organizational one?

[00:19:10] Host: Yes, exactly.

[00:19:12] Harjit: That one was merging technologies. A lot of the products and different businesses are using various types of technology. Some are using MFA, some are using biometric systems. So the big bottleneck is: how do we make it easier for the user to also embrace single sign-in while also having to authenticate themselves with these biometrics to access the device to get the drug, without it being an annoying process? How do we make something simpler by adding something additional?

[00:19:46] Host: Yeah, it's interesting. And how much is security a factor in your process and considerations?

[00:19:56] Harjit: That is a great question. When we did user testing, trying to get feedback from users on what they found to be the most important in their process, the number one factor was how secure their information, their data and their drug are. So it comes up, and again it goes back to what are the best technology authentication tools that we can use to really secure that data.

[00:20:26] Host: Interesting. And on a side note, on user testing and interviews, what tools did you use, or how did you approach it? Was it interviews on the phone? How did you approach user interviews?

[00:20:39] Harjit: We did a lot of UserZoom. I would interview a lot of existing patients that use the product. UserZoom is great because we were able to define the audience we wanted based on the specific products they use from the company. So we got actual patients that use those specific products, and we were able to ask, according to current processes, and if this was a process that was added, what would your workflow look like then? What are some of the challenges that you're facing? By investigating those challenges, we tried to come up with solutions to ease that workflow.

[00:21:17] Host: Yeah, amazing. And are there any final considerations you'd like people to take away from your talk?

[00:21:25] Harjit: Don't be too afraid to interview different departments. I really suggest user testing to the max. Do it for all the product-level patients that are using it. Definitely get inside the organization and try to understand the verification process. Even if it's different, I wouldn't be too intimidated by it. There are so many solutions out there. I think large organizations embracing single sign-in, and even unified central login systems, is a great thing. I think it's a great tool, and I think it's headed in a great direction in terms of using all these different authentication tools. I'm really excited for the future of this.

[00:22:10] Host: Yeah, it's really fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing. Really, really appreciate it, and enjoy the rest of your day.

[00:22:18] Harjit: Thank you.