Reimagining regulatory services for a more seamless experience.
A service design initiative to enhance the end-to-end experience of CMA's regulatory services, making them simpler, more efficient and user-centred.
01. Context
Project overview
The Capital Market Authority (CMA) regulates and develops the UAE's capital markets. The project focused on analysing and redesigning key regulatory services to create a more streamlined, transparent and human-centred experience for market participants.
I worked as a Service Designer in the Tribal Experience team, contributing across selected service areas.
The goal
To improve the end-to-end service experience across priority regulatory services, reducing complexity and effort for customers while enhancing operational efficiency.
- ≈120
- Services in the transformation programme
- 12
- Customer interviews per research cycle
- 5+
- Journeys developed per cohort
02. The challenge
Why the experience needed attention.
Our analysis of the existing service experience revealed opportunities to simplify processes, improve clarity and create a more consistent and user-friendly experience for CMA's diverse stakeholders.
Complex processes
Multiple steps and dependencies across stakeholders.
Limited visibility
Users had limited clarity on requirements, status and next steps.
Diverse user needs
A wide range of market participants with different goals and expectations.
03. Research and discovery
Understanding people, processes and the bigger picture.
I worked on service design discovery to understand user needs, operational realities and ecosystem dependencies.
Stakeholder interviews
With internal teams and market participants.
Customer research
To understand needs, behaviours and pain points.
Benchmarking
Study of leading regulatory services and best practices.
Process analysis
Mapping the current service flow, touchpoints and dependencies.
Service ecosystem
Identifying key actors, systems and integrations.
Regulatory objectives
- Market integrity
- Investor protection
- Market development
Service users
Individuals and businesses interacting with CMA's regulatory services.
- Applicants Firms, funds, professionals
- Licensees Regulated entities
- Other stakeholders Representatives, advisors
External entities
Partners and government bodies involved in regulatory processes and validations.
- Government authorities
- Market infrastructure Exchanges, depositories
- Verification and compliance partners
Internal teams
- Service operations
- Regulatory review
- Compliance and risk
- Technology and digital
- Customer support
A simplified service ecosystem. Recreated for this portfolio.
04. Key insights
From research to opportunities.
The research surfaced key insights that shaped the design direction and helped identify high-impact opportunities.
- Simplify and streamline key service journeys.
- Increase transparency and keep users informed.
- Create a more consistent and human-centred experience across channels.
05. Design development
Exploring and shaping better experiences.
I translated insights into design opportunities, worked through potential solutions with stakeholders and developed current-state and future-state journeys and service blueprints.
Future-state customer journey (simplified)
- Discover & understand
- Prepare & apply
- Submit & track
- Review & feedback
- Receive & proceed
06. The proposed experience
A simpler, connected service experience.
A future-state service experience that makes it easier for market participants to understand requirements, apply for services, track progress and receive clear, timely updates.
Clearer guidance
Requirements, eligibility and documents explained before an applicant starts.
Visible progress
Applicants can see where an application stands and what happens next.
Connected workflows
Fewer handoffs and repeated requests between teams and authorities.
Digital support
Validation, saved progress and information reuse built into the service.
Discover the service
- Hard to find the right service.
- Information feels fragmented across channels.
Understand requirements
- Requirements can be complex and unclear.
- Uncertainty about eligibility.
Prepare and submit
- Repetitive data entry.
- Document format and validation issues.
- Unclear submission status.
Review and assessment
- Limited visibility of progress.
- Additional requests can cause delays.
- Uncertainty about timelines.
Decision and next steps
- Decision details not always clear.
- Next steps can be confusing, such as related approvals and renewals.
From pain points to design opportunities across a simplified applicant journey. Recreated for this portfolio.
07. Reflection
Impact and learnings.
The project brought together user insights, process analysis and service design to outline a more streamlined, transparent and user-centred regulatory service experience for CMA.
My contribution
Contributed across the service design process, from discovery and analysis to concept development and experience design.
Key learnings
The value of cross-functional collaboration in simplifying complex regulatory services and creating meaningful user outcomes.
Project status
Proposed service design and experience improvements, shared with stakeholders for future implementation. Multiple deliverables received stakeholder sign-off.