By FifthWall Solutions
A greenfield risk assessment platform for IT service providers to communicate financial impact and guide smarter insurance decisions.
Duration:
November 2024-
March 2025
16 Weeks
My Roles:
EAP Manager
UX Research
Product Designer
Team:
Contract Digital Artist
Product Manager
2 Front-End Engineers
📑 TL;DR
[too long; didn't read]
Managed Service Providers (MSPs)—independent IT companies that support small and mid-sized businesses—often struggle to communicate the financial impact of cybersecurity risks to their clients.
As FifthWall Solutions pivoted from cyber insurance sales to building its first SaaS product, I developed its first Early Access Program and used rapid research and feedback loops to design a new platform that helped MSPs and other IT professionals assess and manage client risk.
The result: A validated product taken from 0→1 in just four months, launched at a major industry conference, and met with strong demand, achieving 2.5x our beta program signup goal and accelerating momentum behind FifthWall’s mission: that every business deserves the right to survive a cyber attack.
🔍 The Deep Dive
Designing a Cyber Risk Platform from the Ground Up
When I joined FifthWall Solutions, the company was transitioning from being solely a cyber insurance provider to building its first SaaS product, marking a shift toward becoming a tech-driven solution provider. As the sole in-house Designer, my role was to design a platform from the ground up to help Managed Service Providers (MSPs) assess cybersecurity risk, predict financial exposure, and communicate cyber risk value in a way clients could actually understand, thus incentivising them to purchase more cyber insurance.
There was no existing product. No design system. No roadmap. I was brought in to design from a blank slate and help lay the foundation for how FifthWall would evolve as a product-led tech company. It was an ambiguous environment with an ambitious goal: launch a validated MVP within four months and preview it at a major industry conference, with a target of securing 25 beta signups.
Understanding the Landscape & Users
As cyber threats like ransomware, cloud misconfigurations, and supply chain attacks become more sophisticated, the cost and complexity of cyber insurance have risen in parallel. Organizations face increasing pressure to demonstrate security maturity, while Managed Service Providers (MSPs)—who manage IT and cybersecurity for small and mid-sized businesses—are often the ones tasked with making that happen.
Our target users, MSPs, needed better tools to evaluate client risk, support insurance applications, and communicate cybersecurity value in clear business terms. Existing solutions were fragmented, manual, and too technical for non-expert stakeholders.
MSPs didn’t need more alerts or dashboards—they needed clarity, credibility, and context. Our challenge was to build a platform that could support their advisory role and help them drive smarter, data-backed conversations with clients and insurers alike.
Identifying User Pain Points
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Difficulty translating technical risk into financial impact
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Frustration with disconnected tools and outdated workflows
📈
Pressure to prove ROI and justify security spend to clients
🧭 Mapping the Experience
The original user flow was designed to support our full product vision ahead of the March conference, including both an MSP login and a customer login.
Original Login
Including both MSP and customer experiences. Scaled back due to timeline and resourcing constraints.
Customer Login
Initially part of the MVP scope, but postponed to focus on the MSP experience for conference launch.
As the launch approached, we scaled back the MVP due to engineering constraints, delayed hiring, and delays tied to a third-party rebrand. Because the conference was focused on MSPs, we prioritized a streamlined, MSP-centric flow, deferring development of the customer experience until after launch.
Refined MVP Taskflow
A simplified, launch-ready flow tailored to MSPs, conference goals, and delivery capability.
👥 The Early Access Program
About The Program
To ensure the building of the right product, I created and led a full Early Access Program (EAP) with two cohorts of MSPs.
This included:
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2 cohorts of MSP participants
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Intro calls to assess interest and resonance
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Monthly workshops
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User interviews & surveys
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A feature prioritization exercise (The $10 Bill Test)
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Prototype testing
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Continuous iterations based on feedback
MSPs weren’t just interested—they were excited. Their early enthusiasm validated the product’s core value and helped surface which features mattered most.
Insights
To understand the features our MSPs valued most, I facilitated a live $10 Bill Test, where each participant allocated currency to the features they valued most. This revealed which tools truly supported their workflows and which ones felt unnecessary.
Most-Valued Features
✅ Financial Impact Prediction
✅ Gap Analysis
✅ Inside-Out Scanning
✅ QBR Tool
Lowest-Ranked Features
❌ Outside-In Scanning
❌ Consolidated Risk Score
❌ Product Upsell Recommendations
Hear What MSPs Had To Say...
“Being able to actually extrapolate those downstream financial impacts is important.”
"QBR tools are only as good as the date you integrate with on the back end for it."
“Clients always ask what’s behind the number. Risk scores are only useful with context.”
"Risk Scores never feel reliable. While helpful for initial discussions, clients always ask what's behind the number."
🎨 Sketching the First Steps
I began by mapping the navigation flow for MSPs. These early sketches were informed by ideas from the VP of Engineering and CTO, based on industry demand and prior research into what a successful cyber risk product would require, allowing us to build systematically.
MSP Navigation Flow
1
Sign Up
New MSP users would create an account by providing key organizational details to personalize their experience.
2
Cyber Risk Report
Upon first login, an overlay would display estimated risk based on the industries they manage.
3
MSP Dashboard
After closing the overlay, the dashboard prioritized the client list and surfaced high-priority risks requiring action.
4
End-Customer Dashboard
Clicking on an individual customer allows drill-down into a specific customer view and their individual risk profile with security insights.
💻 Shaping the MVP
As a greenfield SaaS product, every decision had to be intentional, balancing immediate functionality with long-term scalability. I moved into mid-fidelity design to develop the core screens, focusing on delivering immediate value while setting a strong foundation for future growth.
Sign Up
Cyber Risk Report - Placeholder for Digital Artist's work
Notable Iterations:
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Introduced an expandable/collapsible menu to maximize screen real estate and simplified navigation based on available features.
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Prioritized CTAs for setting up internal scans (via Cork integration) and adding new clients to drive data accuracy and platform engagement.
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Added direct contact information for the assigned FifthWall associate to support the business goal of increasing insurance sales.
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Enabled filtering, sorting, and exporting capabilities within the customer data table for greater usability and reporting flexibility.
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Displayed each customer’s risk score to allow MSPs to quickly assess client health.
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Included a feedback icon in the menu to encourage early user input during the beta phase.
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MSP Dashboard - v.1
An Evolving Process
Due to timing constraints, leadership made the decision to remove the End-Customer Dashboard from the conference scope, deferring it to post-conference development. There were also concerns about securing enough data for the MSP dashboard before the conference deadline, leading to a scaled-back version focused solely on the Customer List. This simplified version was used in the upcoming round of user testing.
Notable Iterations:
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Added breadcrumbs at the top of the screen to support easier navigation as additional pages are built.
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Removed “Cork” branding from the “Setup Internal Scan” button due to partnership delays ahead of conference launch.
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Preserved key revenue-driving signals, such as the ability to contact FifthWall for insurance quotes and incentivizing users to add more clients for greater risk visibility.
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Updated the feedback option to “Contact FifthWall” to build trust, gather user concerns, and maintain a persistent support channel throughout the platform.
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Expanded the customer list to optimize space after removing unavailable data points for the MVP release.
MSP Dashboard - v.2
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🧪 Usability Testing
With the reprioritized conference deliverables in place, I conducted remote usability testing with both Early Access Program cohorts. The goal was to evaluate overall usability and identify any additional friction points within the mid-fidelity prototype based on my designs.
Test Goals
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Validate core workflows for Sign Up, Invite a Customer, and review MSP Dashboard
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Measure task completion, hesitations, and overall clarity
The Results
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100% task completion rate
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High satisfaction with client data views and scan setup
Pain Points
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Too many call to actions
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The dashboard title was too large and took up too much valuable real estate
🔃 Additional Iterations
Changes After User Testing
Dashboard iterations were driven by feedback from usability testing with Early Access participants. Initially, based on the assumption that key data wouldn't be available in time for the conference, I added value-focused cards to the MSP dashboard.
When it was later confirmed that limited data could be integrated and the custom graphics wanted would not be available in time from engineering, I revised the design again, reverting to a simpler layout with key data cards above a customer list.
MSP Dashboard - v.7
In the final iterations, we prioritized the Invite Customers workflow on the dashboard to align with the business goal of conference adoption: getting MSPs onto the platform and adding their clients to enable deeper risk insights post-launch.
MSP Dashboard - v.8
Invite a Client Overlay Flow
Notable Iterations:
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Shifted dashboard focus to customer risk visibility (Loss Impact and Gap Analysis) based on user feedback.
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Reorganized columns and resized titles for better information hierarchy.
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Reduced card size and reprioritized the primary CTA to "Invite Clients" to drive onboarding.
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Updated "Buy Insurance" language to "Get Coverage" to sound more actionable.
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Moved Get Coverage and Cyber Risk Report (CRR) links to the menu bar for persistent access
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Delivered minimal but impactful insights within cards given conference data limitations.
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Removed Risk Score from profiles due to low trust identified in research.
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Standardized "customer" as the preferred platform terminology.
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Deprioritized upsell prompts to focus on building trust through insights and quoting tools.
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Simplified onboarding and scan setup by removing partner branding (Cork integration unconfirmed).
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Refined platform terminology and added mini progress indicators for clarity.
Looking Ahead
While the following screens were not in scope for the conference milestone, they were designed as the next phase of development following launch. Given tight timelines, we focused first on enabling MSPs to join the platform and onboard their clients. Post-conference, the product strategy would expand and shift toward surfacing risk insights to MSPs and their customers and driving cyber insurance purchases directly within the platform.
End-Customer Dashboard
Abandoned early in the design process. A detailed view of individual client risk, coverage progress, tasks to be completed to close risk gaps, and overall risk standing.
Enhanced MSP Dashboard
A more data-rich version of the initial dashboard, designed to incorporate real-time insights through detailed graphics once integrations were fully established and engineering bandwidth was possible.
Quotes Screen
A new workflow enabling users to view and purchase cyber insurance quotes through FifthWall’s partnered providers, directly supporting platform revenue growth.
✨ A New Brand
🏁 Final Handoff
To bring the product across the finish line, we engaged a contract Digital Artist to complete the high-fidelity visuals once the new branding was finalized. My mid-fidelity designs served as the foundation for the final deliverables, and I remained closely involved, providing iteration feedback to ensure the visuals stayed aligned with the research-driven UX decisions.
At this time, I also collaborated with our first-time Product Manager to develop a product roadmap and delivery milestones going forward. I also partnered with front-end engineers to support the correct implementation of the designs during the MVP development.
Visual Adjustments for Launch
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Adapted layout for tablet use at the conference
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Integrated updated branding, colors, and product name
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Enhanced client table with smart sorting, urgency color-coding, and filters
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Refined financial indicators for better clarity and tone
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Minimized dashboard cards to reduce visual clutter
Launch Visuals
The following screens were created by our contract Digital Artist, based on my mid-fidelity mockups and iteration guidance.
Click below to view the prototype showcased by the FifthWall team at the Xchange Conference to debut our new product.
🎓 Learnings
🔑
Key Contributions
I developed and led FifthWall’s first Early Access Program, conducting user interviews, feature workshops, and prototype testing to guide product direction. I delivered foundational research and designs for the platform from the ground up, shaping both product strategy and team process. I also managed a part-time Digital Artist, providing feedback and ensuring alignment with user needs and company goals.
🏅
Impact Delivered
In just over four months, we launched a validated MVP at a major industry conference. The product exceeded expectations, with 63 MSP sign-ups, 2.5x our original goal. The launch helped position FifthWall as a serious player in the cyber risk space and accelerated its shift toward becoming a product-led company.
🧠
Lessons Learned
Next time, I’d expand EAP cohorts to strengthen the validation process and align earlier with cross-functional leaders to confirm roadmap goals. I’d also prototype more workflows at the mid-fidelity stage and establish internal feedback loops sooner to streamline iteration.
Next Steps
Had I continued on the project, my next focus would have been collaborating with the Digital Artist to refine the visual design for greater accessibility and usability. I also planned to evolve my End Customer Dashboard wireframes into high-fidelity screens, iterate on features based on conference feedback, expand the Early Access Program with new signups, and conduct A/B testing with the growing user base to validate design decisions at scale.
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