Reducing Onboarding Time by 35%: Enhancing Kadet Wallet's Onboarding Experience

Role

As the UX Design Lead for this project, I led the creation of a user-friendly onboarding experience during phase 4 aiming to beta test. Operating within an agile framework over 5 Sprints (10 weeks), I collaborated with cross-functional teams spanning 20+ members.

Kadet Wallet web extension is multi-chain, serving Kadena, Ethereum, Polygon, Binance, and others. It allows users to hold crypto tokens and NFTs and has features specifically for new users of crypto.

Learning how to use blockchain and crypto technology can be daunting today. Kadet Wallet serves to be a truly beginner-friendly crypto wallet meant to help people who don't know how crypto works. TechFleet the client for this product, incubating it open source.

Team & Collaboration

Design Team (4 members, with one apprentice working closely with me on this flow), Development Team (2), Research Team (5), UX Writing Team (3), Product Team (4)

Problem

Over 75% of users reported confusion during the onboarding process, particularly around the Seed Recovery Phrase (SRP) section. Users struggled to understand its purpose, found the interaction unclear, and were overwhelmed when asked to drag input 24 words as part of the process. This confusion led to delays in onboarding and negatively impacted engagement and retention.

Impact & Results

🌟 35% Reduction in Onboarding Time: Faster onboarding due to clearer instructions and a simplified SRP process.

Solution

✅ Simplified SRP Process: Reduced the cognitive load by streamlining the verification process, eliminating the need to input all 24 words.
🚀 Enhanced User Flow: Redesigned the onboarding flow to guide users more intuitively through each step.
🎨 Clear Visual Hierarchy: Improved design consistency and accessibility to boost user confidence.

📈 Improved Task Success Rates: Users were able to complete onboarding with fewer errors and less confusion.

💡 Increased User Retention & Engagement: The streamlined process led to higher completion rates and improved user satisfaction.

Phase 3 vs. Phase 4: Key Challenges

🔴 Unfamiliarity with SRP Users didn’t understand its purpose or how to interact with it.

🔴 Tedious 24-Word Verification Manually entering all 24 words was overwhelming.

🔴 Fragmented Design System The existing system was fragmented and unclear, leading to inefficiencies and a disjointed user experience.

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✅ Optimised SRP Process Step-by-step explanations to improve clarity.

✅ Streamlined Verification Selective word verification reduced user effort.

✅ Enhanced Design System A unified UI with improved hierarchy and consistency.

How did we get here?

Sprint 1: Identifying Core Issues Through a Design Audit

We kicked things off with a deep design audit. We quickly realized that typing 24 SRP words was way too much for users. After checking out what the pros were doing, like Coinbase and Koala Wallet, we came up with the idea of verifying specific words (e.g., "Verify the first word in the phrase"). This was quickly added to the prototype for testing.

Sprint 2: Research squad conducted usability tests with 9 participants

We teamed up with them to analyze feedback which helped us understand what was working and where things still felt clunky.

💬 “Wait… what is an SRP? Am I supposed to create one, or is it given to me?”

👉 Problem: Users didn’t understand what the Seed Recovery Phrase (SRP) was, why it was important, or how to use it. The lack of upfront education caused hesitation and uncertainty in the onboarding process.

💬 “Do I need to select the words or what do I need to do here?”

👉 Problem: Instead of noting down the SRP, users were clicking through the screens quickly. When they reached the verification step, many had to go back and search for their words, leading to frustration and onboarding delays. This highlighted the need to emphasize SRP saving earlier.

Sprint 3 : Iterating on Feedback-Straight Forward vs. Animated Chat Style Design

Based on the insights, we explored two onboarding approaches: a direct, straightforward version and an animated chat-style design emphasizing the significance of SRP and the importance of saving it

SRP Education : Straight Forward Version

In the straightforward approach, we designed the onboarding process to ensure users understand what SRP is, what steps they need to take next, and the safety measures involved.

SRP Education : Animated

In the animated version, we adopted a chat-style design where users are educated about SRP, safety measures, and the next steps in a conversational manner

In addition to education, incorporated a quiz pop-up, providing users with the option to go through onboarding for beginners or, for those more experienced, to generate SRP directly

Sprint 4: Concept testing and hybrid design creation

We handed it over to our research team for a spin, and they decided to kick things off with some concept testing to see how our brainchild was playing out

  • 6 out of 9 users preferred Option 1, highlighting its clarity, step-by-step instructions, and visually engaging layout.

  • Users appreciated the split-up information aided by the playful "little people" illustrations.

  • Feedback on ease of use was mixed:

    • Some found Option 1 more intuitive.

    • Others appreciated Option 2’s cleaner layout and slower pacing.

💬 “Option 1 was easier to understand as compared to option 2. I liked the option 1 layout. Its was straight forward, instructions were easy to understand, aesthetically pleasing

💬 “It was easier to follow all of the words when they were split up by the little people, rather than reading it in paragraph

Final Take : Hybrid Child

We decided to embrace the best of both worlds with a hybrid approach. Considering user preferences (6 out of 9 voted for Option 1), design principles, brand guidelines, and the product vision, we crafted a solution that seamlessly integrates the strengths of both designs while ensuring feasibility in implementation.

👈 New user goes through the onboarding to understand the next steps such as SRP generation and preservation method.

👈 Experienced user has to answer a quiz and can skip the onboarding regardless of the answer, simplifying the onboarding process.

Spilling The tea: Simplified Onboarding V/S Crypto Security

While designing the onboarding process for our blockchain wallet, the product strategy team proposed delaying the display of the Seed Recovery Phrase (SRP) to enhance usability. Despite its apparent user-friendliness, I prioritized security, emphasizing the potential risks of deferring the SRP. I advocated for its immediate display, showcasing my commitment to user safety, even if it slightly complicated onboarding. The team adopted this decision, ensuring user protection.

Final Outcome

Looking back, each design decision, from simplifying SRP verification to clarifying onboarding flows directly contributed to:

  • Reducing onboarding time by 35%

  • Increasing task success rates

  • Helping more users confidently complete onboarding

This project not only delivered measurable improvements but also created a scalable onboarding experience that will continue to support Kadet Wallet’s mission of onboarding crypto newcomers with confidence.

Reflection

💡 Navigating Mid-Project Leadership:

Stepping in mid-project amidst team shifts taught me to navigate uncertainty, lead with confidence, and adapt quickly. Collaborating in agile while exploring crypto UX deepened my design and leadership skills.

🛡️ Balancing Security and Usability

Balancing security and usability was key. Advocating for clearer SRP presentation helped users understand its importance without feeling overwhelmed, blending trust-building with thoughtful UX decisions.

🔄 Simplifying Complexity

Refining SRP verification taught me the power of simplicity. Reducing cognitive load without losing essential information created a smoother onboarding, reaffirming my belief in user-centered, focused design.