Global Navigation and IA Evaluative Research
Spearheaded evaluative research on ScotiaConnect's information architecture to optimize content structure, and recommended IA improvements to enhance discoverability and usability.
Organization
Scotiabank. Global Transaction Banking
Timeline
February 2026 - March 2026
Role
Lead UX Researcher. Led research prioritization and planning, set up tree tests in Maze, analyzed paths and error patterns, synthesized findings, and produced recommendations for product and design teams.
Tools
Figma, FigJam, Maze
The Brief
In late January 2026, our UXR team saw a spike in intakes from our Design team around IA and global navigation in ScotiaConnect. Each intake reflected an issue around discoverability and findability, label and content clarity, groupings and hierarchy, and overlap and ambiguity across navigation items. But each was from a different angle, and a different slice of the IA of ScotiaConnect.
We knew that evaluating and exploring these as one-off projects risked creating specific fixes and inconsistent patterns. We needed a shared evidence base and coordination across these spaces before making structural navigation and IA decisions. As SCO 2.0 evolved globally, there was an opportunity to evaluate whether the navigation supported user mental models before scaling further.
As lead UX researcher, I proposed a 3-phase research program that allowed us to begin by conducting a: current state IA evaluation across key slides of the IA, a future state IA exploration for the full IA, and a future state evaluation for the full IA.
What we sought to learn
We began by evaluating the current information architecture of SCO 2.0 and whether it supports users in finding key banking tasks efficiently.
The goal of this phase was to understand: Are people finding what they expect to today?
We focused on two key areas of the IA that generated the most noise — Products and Services, and Payments and Transfers. Our goals were to assess:
Discoverability - Evaluate whether users can find the right section for their task quickly and confidently, and assess the extent to which the navigation supports discoverability and task success.
Can users quickly find the correct optional and/or menu item for their intended task?
To what extent does the navigation menu for Products and Services and Payments and Transfers support first-click accuracy and direct success?
Content clarity and IA - Test whether users understand the labels and are confident in being able to get to their financial activities using the navigation
Do users understand what lives where based on labels alone?
Are there any labels or terminology that are unclear or confusing to users?
Do users expect accounts, credits, investments and services to live under Products and Services?
What we did
Our research was two-fold:
We conducted an unmoderated tree test using Maze to evaluate the existing Product and Services level 2 menu - participants completed 6 task scenarios, 33 completed.
We conducted an unmoderated comparative tree test to evaluate two variants of the Payments and Transfers hierarchy: payment-type or region. The goal of the tree test was to assess which navigation variant better supports discoverability and task success. - participants were randomly assigned 1 of the 2 variants, and each completed 6 tasks, 35 completed.
What we learned
‘Products and Services’ is not perceived as the operational home for accounts
Description
Directionality in payments is unclear (incoming vs. outgoing)
Description
Payee management is well understood as a recipient hub, but acting on payees is expected
Description
Users rely on two competing mental models: Accounts first vs. Activity first
Description
Debit cards lack a clear conceptual home
Description
Participants drew on both mental models, payment type and region, at different moments
Description
Impact
Informed SCO 2.0 navigation strategy by:
Shifting toward object-based labels (Accounts)
Designing navigation to explicitly support both accounts-first and activity-first paths
Clarifying incoming vs. outgoing payment directionality
Exploring a Dedicated Cards hub
Guiding future Payments and Transfers IA designs to blend payment type and corridor logic
