Design Objectives

Sun Life’s global brand modernization introduced an updated visual system and a digital-first identity. As part of this larger transformation, the AgIS migration ensures that agency tools are aligned with this refreshed brand direction:

Defining the Problem

AgIS currently operates on a legacy architecture that is increasingly unable to support the operational, technical, and scalability needs of the modern agency. The system is fragmented, difficult to maintain, and costly to operate.

It wasn’t good enough for the system’s boundaries to be less than optimized for Sun Life’s mission of providing a seamless, digital-first experience for advisors and clients. From a UX perspective, several critical pain points emerged during discovery and analysis:

Problem 1.

Technology-driven, Not User-first

The migration focused primarily on backend modernization, data integration, and security updates.

• End users were minimally involved in discovery and testing.
• The design process driven by business logic rather than user needs or context.
• As a result, user pain points from the legacy system persisted despite the upgrade.
  

Impact

7 Users faced challenges on accomplishing simple tasks effectively, among which they resorted to offline methods to monitor or validate the information.

Problem 2.

Outdated User Interface

The platform carried over outdated visual patterns, inconsistent layouts, and dense data structures from its legacy version.

• Navigation was complex and unintuitive, with redundant menus and a poorly defined information hierarchy.
• The interface lacked modern design principles such as clarity, accessibility, and responsive behavior.
• Disconnected modules forced users to jump between multiple systems for related tasks.
  

Impact

Most users struggle to complete tasks efficiently due to confusing interfaces, multiple menus, no hover tips, and unorganized fields.

Problem 3.

Inefficient Workflows

Advisors used the platform daily for client updates, performance tracking, and compliance tasks, but the workflows were lengthy and fragmented.

• Key actions required multiple clicks and data lookups across different screens.
• Repetitive manual entries increased human error and frustration.
• The lack of intuitive design slowed down everyday processes.

Impact

Task flows were designed based on internal system logic rather than real advisor behavior or context of use.

Problem 4.

Visual Design and Brand Identity

Across different modules, design patterns were inconsistent and did not align with Sun Life’s modern brand identity.

Icons, typography, and colors created a disorganized brand perception.

Lack of standardized components led to visual clutter.

Impact

Inconsistency weakened user confidence and brand coherence, especially when compared to competitors’ digital platforms.

Interviews

We interviewed 10 participants in 1-on-1 and virtual sessions to gain deep insights into how they currently interact with the legacy AgIS system, the challenges they face, and what they need for the modernized platform.

AgIS Legacy — Usability Testing Overview

Key Flows

The AgIS outlines the end-to-end process that users follow when accessing and navigating through the platform and its partnership dashboards: Sun Life Of Canada, Philippines Inc. (SLOCPI), Sun Life Asset Management Company Inc. (SLAMCI), and Sun Life GREPA.

Agent Profile

The Agent Master Records defines how users interact with the system to manage, view, and update agent-related information within the AgIS platform.

Bonus and Overrides

The Bonus and Overrides feature lets you configure and manage additional incentive structures for agents based on performance or campaigns. It's maintained at the master record level to ensure accurate, automated payout computation.

Sitemap

The Bonus Override enables the configuration and management of additional incentive structures applied to agents based on performance or campaigns, and is maintained at the master record level to ensure accurate and automated computation during payout cycles.

High-level Design

The AgIS Tech is designed as a centralized, multi-system platform that integrates various organizational and partner modules, including Sun Life of Canada, Philippines Inc. (SLOCPI), Sun Life Asset Management Company Inc. (SLAMCI), and Sun Life GREPA into a unified environment. The redesign focuses on enhancing usability, scalability, and visibility, enabling users to monitor, manage, and validate complex migration processes through an intuitive, data-driven interface.

Dashboard

The AgIS Tech Migration Dashboard redesign streamlines the migration process into a data-driven, user-focused operation.

Consolidated dashboard shows all critical metrics in a single view

Clean, modern interface aligned with Sun Life’s brand modernization

Each integrated product showcases as a card view. Once tapped, it will generate the "My View" status and "My Performance" metrics

Product cards will also serve as data records once selected

Improvements

• One-stop visibility
• Shorter learning curve for new users
• Higher productivity for operations teams
•  Audit-ready transparency

Agent Master Records

This transformation significantly improved data quality, usability, governance, and end-to-end operational efficiency across Sun Life’s distribution management processes.

• A comprehensive view of each agent’s contractual information and team alignment.
• Editable fields accessible by authorized users.
• Automatic validation of dates and product references.
• Audit log of changes, displaying editor name and timestamp.

Improvements

• One-stop visibility
• Shorter learning curve for new users
• Higher productivity for operations teams
• Reduces dependency on manual reports
•  Audit-ready transparency

Agent Record Listings

The Agent Listings functionality has been modernized into a web-based, dynamic listing interface that allows users to view, search, filter, and manage agent information efficiently.

• Enable quick access to detailed agent profiles and contract records.
• Improve data accuracy and visibility through centralized management.
• Streamline search, sorting, and filtering operations for large agent populations.

Production Metrics - Adjustments

The adjustment commission process underwent a complete systems redesign to improve performance, reduce manual intervention, and increase reporting accuracy across production environments.

• Enabled parallel processing and auto-scaling, eliminating bottlenecks during high-volume runs.
• New Adjustment Dashboard features predictive error suggestions, faster lookup, and self-service reconciliation.
• Simplified interface led to higher adoption and efficiency among commission analysts.

Production Metrics - Approvals

• Consolidated “single-view approval screen” reduces switching between modules.
• Streamlined UI and faster system response allow approvers to process more requests per day.

Improvement

• Approval time reduced significantly, enabling faster turnaround and higher throughput.
• Increased productivity and reduced backlog volume.

Bonus Overrides

The redesign focuses on transparency, automation, and scalability, ensuring that bonus and override calculations align seamlessly with Sun Life’s evolving business strategies and digital operations

• The redesign ensures hierarchy data is accurate and automated versus manual spreadsheets.
• Enhanced transparency: dashboards for uplines/downlines to view pending overrides, and the status
• All text fields, data tables, and interface are implemented using the Sun Life Helios Global branding