Fidelity mobile quote research

2015

Challenge

The tools to look up the current price and price trend for any security, including stocks and mutual funds, are fundamental to any investment platform. As the customer base increased, Fidelity Investments looked to bring more technical research and analyst review data into their native mobile apps. The internal design team was asked to create a module template that would support numerous security types, from the data-bare currency quotes to the visualization dense mutual fund pages. This template needed to work across iOS and Android devices and allow for future enhancements.

Solution

Two solutions were refined and tested. One sorted the data thematically into different tabs on the page, effectively creating a microsite inside the app. The second consolidated most of the information in one scrollable view, with links to contextual actions. Customers preferred the single view as it was easier to skim for data points as they flicked through the securities they were watching. The single stacked view was broken into a multi-column card system on larger screen sizes.

Benefits

By isolating each card of information, the layout met the team’s needs for a modular structure. The cards could be loaded individually, and hidden when data was not available which reduced the number of calls made to the back-end servers. Over time, more cards have been added and entire securities reordered without requiring another redesign.