Humberto Aldaz

Bringing UK Background Checks In-App — Simplifying a Fragmented Onboarding Step

Project Overview

Company: Amazon (Amazon Flex)

Role: UX Designer II

Scope: UK Background Check (BGC) Redesign

I led the redesign of the UK background check experience, transforming one of the most fragile steps in onboarding into a seamless in-app journey.

At the time, background checks required Delivery Partners (DPs) to leave the Flex app and complete their application on a separate 3rd party platform. The result was confusion, duplication of effort, and significant drop-off.

Rather than layering fixes on top of a broken handoff, the team focused on eliminating the handoff entirely.

The Problem

The onboarding experience broke at the moment it mattered most.

Survey data revealed:

47% of DPs were unaware the process continued outside the app
19% never received the vendor email invitation

In 2023:

164,731 UK background check cases were initiated
22.4% were cancelled before completion
65.5% created a vendor account but never submitted their application

Drivers were asked to:

Re-enter the same personal information twice
Generate a government consent code on an external website
Track updates outside the Flex app

The experience wasn’t just long — it was fragmented. And fragmentation was driving yield loss.

Design Strategy

The goal was not to replicate the vendor portal inside Flex. It was to simplify the system.

I anchored the redesign around three principles:

Keep drivers in one place — No more external portals
Eliminate duplication — Reuse data already collected
Design for momentum — Make progress visible and understandable

We reused onboarding data (NIN, DL, RTW) via existing APIs and built lightweight, focused UI to collect only what was missing (name history, address history, consent).

We validated addresses before submission, removed unnecessary document uploads, and ensured compliance requirements were handled without adding friction.

Throughout the project, I worked closely with Product and Engineering to understand technical constraints and make thoughtful trade-offs. There were disagreements — especially around scope and feasibility — but we aligned on delivering the best possible experience within current limitations, while designing for future improvements.

The Solution

We launched UK background checks fully in-app.

All BGC steps now happen inside Flex
No need for DPs to create a separate vendor account
Automated data sharing via existing APIs
Address validation to reduce submission errors
Automated data deletion service for compliance

What was previously a multi-channel process became a single, coherent experience.

Impact & Results

Immediate Improvements

Onboarding yield improved by 966 bps
Reached 20% onboarding yield — 62% above projection
BGC completion time reduced by 50% (now under 1 day on average)
Overall onboarding time reduced by 42% (~6 days)

By removing the external dependency and simplifying the system, we reduced cancellations, improved completion rates, and created a stronger foundation for future onboarding improvements.

What I Learned

Fragmentation Is a Design Problem.
When users leave your product to complete critical steps, trust and momentum break.

Simplification Requires System Thinking.
The biggest gains came not from new UI, but from removing unnecessary structural complexity.

Progress Beats Perfection.
We delivered meaningful improvement within constraints — while keeping the door open for continued evolution.

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