JPMorgan Chase CIB

Authorization & Data Access System

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JPMorgan Chase authorization system overview — Authorization visibility concept for client self-service and operations efficiency.

JPMorgan Chase signer visibility interface — Creating a clearer system for viewing signer roles, permissions, and account relationships.

JPMorgan Chase authorized signers concept — Reducing manual dependency by giving clients direct visibility into authorization data.

Project Date Q1 2021

Role Lead Designer

Client JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Platform JPMorgan Access

System Problem Clients and service teams lacked a reliable, self-service view of authorized signers, their permissions, associated accounts, and action limits. The result was delay, manual dependency, and operational friction for a high-value banking workflow.

System Context

JPMorgan Chase clients needed a clearer way to understand who was authorized to act on accounts, what actions those users could take, and how signer information connected across banking relationships. At the time, retrieving or updating that information could take weeks or longer and depended heavily on internal operations teams.

This work focused on creating a more legible authorization system inside JPMorgan Access by connecting client self-service needs with internal operational workflows, entitlement logic, and account-level visibility.

Key Constraints

Complex signer types and account relationships
Manual operational dependency for basic visibility
Need for clear permissions and limits by user
High stakes in a regulated financial environment

Primary Goals

Give clients direct visibility into authorized signers
Clarify signer roles, permissions, and account scope
Reduce manual servicing burden on operations teams
Create a foundation for future self-service actions

Approach

I partnered with product and operations stakeholders to structure the work as a focused system design effort. The process combined discovery, workflow mapping, concept development, interface design, and usability validation with the internal teams closest to the problem.

Because the challenge crossed business, service, and platform concerns, the work required alignment across product, technology, client service, and design. My role was to translate those perspectives into a system that could be understood, tested, and eventually scaled.

Design engagement roadmap — Roadmap used to structure discovery, design, validation, and delivery.

Design sprint plan — Planning framework for aligning stakeholders, constraints, and deliverables.

Design process checklist — A structured process for moving from operational problem to validated solution.

Workflow & Data Mapping

The first step was to understand the current-state workflow: who was involved, which systems were touched, where information lived, and where the process broke down. I used discovery artifacts and journey mapping to make the operational flow visible and to identify where access and signer data needed to be surfaced more clearly.

This work helped move the conversation beyond a simple interface problem. The real issue was a fragmented system of visibility, permissions, and service dependency.

Creative brief template — Discovery framework used to define problem scope, users, and constraints.

Filled creative brief — Documented business context, servicing pain points, and opportunity areas.

Authorization journey map — Current-state workflow map showing service touchpoints, friction, and opportunity.

System Design

Working with client service representatives and cross-functional partners, I translated business and operational needs into a clearer authorization model. The system needed to show signer types, account relationships, permissions, and limits in a way that supported both clarity and action.

Early concepts tested what information should appear at the user level, what should be visible on hover or in context, and how relationship data between signer, account, and authorization type could be made understandable without overwhelming the user.

Signer definitions and personas — Definitions and roles used to align on the authorization model and user needs.

Opportunity mapping session — Opportunity mapping used to turn service pain points into system design directions.

Remove signer use case — Exploration of a critical workflow showing how operational actions could become clearer self-service behavior.

Interface as Control Surface

The resulting interface acted less like a simple screen and more like a control surface for a complex relationship model. I designed views that made signer records, account connections, limits, and available actions visible in one place, using established platform patterns where possible to support consistency and scale.

Usability testing with internal service teams across the US, EMEA, and Hong Kong helped refine the data presentation. That validation made it clear that clients and service workers needed a more complete view of signer designations than originally assumed, which directly shaped the final structure.

View signers flow — Initial flow design for signer visibility and access pathways.

Data column exploration — Exploration of how signer and account data should be structured for readability.

Hover state exploration — Testing what information could be surfaced contextually without disrupting workflow.

Wireframes with feedback — Refined wireframes shaped by direct feedback from service stakeholders.

Relationship matrix search — High-fidelity relationship matrix focused on authorized personnel visibility.

Person info hover state — Contextual detail layer designed to support faster information retrieval.

Relationship matrix limits — Relational view showing signer, account, and limit connections in one system view.

Relationship matrix user actions — Action layer designed to support future operational and self-service workflows.

Impact

The final solution gave clients and service teams a far more complete view of signer designations, accounts, limits, and authorizations in a single environment. It reduced a slow, manual servicing process from weeks or months to minutes and contributed to an estimated $2 million in operational savings.

Just as importantly, the work demonstrated how service design, workflow mapping, and interface thinking could be used to solve a deeper systems problem inside a regulated enterprise environment.

Capabilities Demonstrated

Authorization workflow design
Data visibility and relationship modeling
Cross-functional system alignment
Global stakeholder validation across regions
Operational efficiency and self-service enablement
Governed design in a regulated environment