Structured Data North Star
Background
Workiva is a B2B platform that helps large organizations manage complex reporting and compliance workflows. This work centers on financial reporting, where structured data organizes financial numbers into standardized formats used for SEC filings.
My role: UX lead — user research, UX strategy, concept design, prototyping, and user testing.
Impact
Simplify tagging
Streamline tagging to maintain compliance and accuracy, enabling users to work faster and with greater confidence.
Clarify validation messages
Provide clear, actionable error messages that help users resolve problems efficiently and independently.
Empower users with guidance
Provide training and guidance to support accurate tagging, efficient troubleshooting, and user confidence in a complex taxonomy.
Problem
Our structured data tools are powerful but disconnected, making users navigate inconsistent workflows, increasing errors, and making it especially difficult for new users to succeed. Without a unified vision, these inefficiencies hold the platform back from scaling, modernizing, and delivering its full value.
Opportunity
Make structured data accessible
Design intuitive, guided workflows that help first-time users navigate structured data reporting, especially as new ESG requirements expand the user base.
Automate repetitive tasks
Reduce manual work and simplify complex workflows with automation that saves time, minimizes errors, and improves confidence.
Reinforce the industry standard
Build on our position as the industry leader to create a unified, modern, user-centered platform that sets the standard for structured data reporting.
Solution
Highlight untagged values
Scan and highlight untagged values to reduce cognitive load, direct users' attention, and speed up the tagging workflow.
AI-driven recommendations
Leverage AI to help users select accurate tags and understand document context, increasing confidence, reducing validation issues, and improving overall tagging completeness.
Categorized validation messages
By grouping validation messages into organized categories, users can quickly identify, prioritize, and resolve similar issues, instead of scrolling through repeated messages.
Smart sorting
By sorting and filtering validation messages by priority, users can focus on resolving key errors first and better manage large volumes of errors.
Guided error resolution
Receive step-by-step instructions to resolve validation issues — without searching documentation or waiting for support — while retaining the ability to review changes for accuracy and compliance.
Reception
"I'm positively impressed. I'd love to have this for this closing."
Senior Advisor, Financial Reporting Group, Zalando
"It will greatly improve time spent tagging."
Compliance Accountant, Aflac
"I really like it because you don't need to have the entire knowledge of the taxonomy. You just rely on the system, and I like it."
Financial Reporting Manager, GATX Corporation
"This will definitely reduce the tagging time and review time. I can allocate myself to the quality of the tagging as opposed to getting the tagging done."
Senior Professional Services Manager, Workiva
"We'll have something like a guide who is taking your hand and helping you from the beginning, and you are not asking support."
Professional Services Manager, Workiva
Conclusion
The North Star guides our work, showcasing a bold vision and features that put users first. It helps focus on high-value features, accelerate discovery, and set a standard for high quality experiences. By keeping the North Star in view, the team stays aligned on the impact we want to deliver, even as details evolve.