INDEPENDENT UX STUDY, 2025
Enabling users to make strategic decisions through improved timeline analysis
Simplifying ESOP Management for Employees, Part 1
To put it simply,
This 2 part case study explores solutions that help users understand their ESOPs better, to make more strategic decisions.
ESOPs are complex, and employees feel lost navigating equity tools
One evening, I watched my sister struggle with her ESOPs, needing constant guidance on when to exercise or sell them.
This raised a core question:
How effective are ESOP platforms at reducing this friction for employees?
Users said: Platforms show the statistics, but they seek guidance to act on them
I wanted to understand where users feel overwhelmed while managing their ESOPs
Two highlights that stood out from our discussions:
Frequent doubts that users have begin with ‘When should I…?’ or ‘What’s the best time to…?’
When to exercise? When to sell? These questions confuse employees, who turn to others for advice.
Employees often reach out to HR to clarify doubts regarding their ownership
When company platforms fail to provide clarity, users turn to HR or colleagues for answers.
Users had access to data. But they sought help, to understand it in specific scenarios and make financial decisions.
Current tools do little, in helping users evaluate what to do in real-life scenarios
I conducted a UX evaluation of products in this domain (Carta, Qapita, Pulley and Shareworks to better understand these gaps.
Tools don’t link data with contextual key indicators needed to take action
Ex: Vesting charts track equity over time, but exclude scenario-specific factors such as expiry dates or no-exercise windows.
Users miss how interconnected factors shape outcomes. What-if tools focus on only single metrics
Scenario modelling tools let you tweak numbers separately, but not judge the combined impact of different variables.
Platforms report numbers. But there are limited ways to analyze or compare them, to evaluate situation based decisions.
Problem? There’s a gap between how data is shown and the takeaways users need
Tools show isolated statistics like a report
Users can’t compare figures or analyze decisions
Users are left to manually interpret & contextualize data
How can employees be supported with inputs that make decision-making easier?
The first gap: Users struggle with connecting ESOP timelines to financial outcomes
When to exercise? When to sell? Users find it hard to take these decisions with respect to their ownership timeline.
How do existing platforms attempt to bridge this gap?
The common pattern to explain ESOPs over a timeline is the vesting chart:
Vesting Schedule
The chart below indicates how many options or units you will have “time-vested” on a certain date
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
20K
15K
10K
5K
0
Today
December 20, 2026
35% Options Vested
Vested: 5,250 Units
Unvested: 9,750 Units
Why does this tool fall short?
Missed insight opportunity- Shows what is already assumed, that equity accrues with time
Only visualizes vesting volume, without offering strategic insights to advance understanding of an employee
User cannot answer ‘What can I do’ by seeing this chart; omits decision-driving context
People consider details like ownership status. tax triggers, company events, deadlines when taking action
What information can we add to this chart, to make it a decision-enabling tool?
Idea 1: Visualizing vesting with important milestones, major events, or inactivity periods
Key events
Track how your ownership evolves over time, with milestones that matter to your equity journey
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
20K
15K
10K
5K
0
Cliff ends
Buyback
100% Vested
Expiry
Merger
Today
Blackout periods (no exercise/sale)
Enables users to gain better insight into time-critical ‘when’ and ‘when not’ decisions
One can now compare ownership volume against optimal windows for exercising, selling, or equity-related moves.
Idea 2: Visualizing a user’s exercise and sale history
Exercise Record
The chart below shows the timeline of when you exercised, held or sold your options.
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
20K
15K
10K
5K
0
3,300 Options
Exercised: March 2, 2026
Sold: April 9, 2027
Today
Exercised and sold
Options held over 1 year
Options held under 1 year
Shows ‘how much’ is already acted on, and tracks previous exercise activity
It visualizes actual ownership, and whether one should exercise, hold or sell.
Gives insight into tax implications of exercised shares, to guide selling decisions.
Shows whether exercised shares incur long-term or short-term capital gains tax based on holding period.
How do we put all this together, to provide an actionable picture?
Solution: Using comparative data visualization, to show ownership with context
Users can answer ‘when’ doubts through a timeline visual combined with details need to make frequent decisions
Approach 1: Long scroll stacked comparison
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
20K
15K
10K
5K
0
April 20, 2026
28% Options Vested
Vested: 4,800 Units
Unvested: 12,300 Units
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
20K
15K
10K
5K
0
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
20K
15K
10K
5K
0
Cliff ends
Buyback
100% Vested
Expiry
Merger
Exercised and sold
Options held over 1 year
Options held under 1 year
Blackout periods (no exercise/sale)
Today
Vesting Schedule
Exercise Record
Key Events
PROS
Clickless, visual comparison and scanning
Users are not required to interact with the visualization to compare different data.
CONS
Harder to visually correlate values across datasets
Limits direct visual comparison between datasets, as values are separated vertically rather than overlaid.
Potential for context loss over large space
Since vertical space between layers is large, users lose sight of reference points.
Requires excessive scrolling and layout space
Uses too much real estate within the product, reducing space for other key features.
Approach 2: Single view via tab navigation
PROS
Compact layout and controlled navigation
Uses minimal vertical space, keeping the interface uncluttered and avoiding excessive scrolling.
CONS
Cross-data comparison is harder due to the jump
Users can’t view multiple datasets simultaneously, which limits visual correlation and understanding.
Approach 3: Overlay view with selective layering
PROS
Overlay allows easy comparative insight
Layered data is visually easier to compare, and least context loss across different graphs.
CONS
Potential to become visually cluttered and info dense
Too many layers or poor contrast can overwhelm and confuse users.
High cognitive load and accessibility challenges
Overlapping visuals can make it harder for users with low vision or color blindness to interpret content.
Finally, which design do we choose?
Feedback on the designs revealed users had specific preferences
I reviewed the iterations with users I interviewed, to understand what was effective and what wasn’t:
Users preferred solutions that gave them flexibility to explore different views
They allowed them to adapt the view based on their immediate needs and decision-making context.
Some comparisons in these datasets are made frequently, while others add only limited value
Not all comparisons are important for the decisions users usually need to make.
I also evaluated each iteration across three criteria: decision support, visual complexity and space efficiency:
Criteria
Approach 1: Long Scroll
Approach 2: Tab Navigation
Approach 3: Overlay View
Decision Support
Medium
Low
High
Visual Complexity
Medium
Low
High
Space Efficiency
Low
High
High
Optimal solution: Combining decision support of overlay view + interface clarity of tabs approach
Final Approach: Hybrid tabs + layer model for focused comparisons
Allows flexible exploration, and prioritizes comparisons users draw more frequently
Users only process the data needed for the current decision, avoiding distractions from secondary or low-value comparisons.
Key Events is prioritized as a global toggle because it is contextually relevant to both
This preserves context as Key Events remains accessible across both datasets, ensuring continuity in analysis.
User feedback suggested limited benefit in comparing Vesting schedule and Exercise record directly
This is not a comparison that users draw often. Both graphs show volume, but for different actions. While viewing them together offers some insight, the takeaway is less critical than from other comparisons.
Common doubts users have are resolved through better timeline understanding
Visualizing data with the ownership timeline enables users to assess the impact of time and events on their options.
Users can now independently analyze timing-related 'if and when' questions like:
When can I sell or exercise my options?
What will be the tax implications if I sell my exercised shares today?
Should I exercise my shares before or after this company event?
While largely qualitative, the impact can also be reflected in KPIs like:
Decrease in HR support tickets
Fewer tickets means users are resolving doubts independently, with less dependency on HR.
Increase in CSAT scores
Tracking improvement in customer satisfaction scores through in-platform surveys after key actions.
In conclusion,
This project sharpened my ability to quickly learn a new domain and highlighted the value of iterative user feedback, shaping solutions through continuous stakeholder collaboration and clarity.
© 2025 by Vishruth. All rights reserved
© 2025 by Vishruth.
Enabling users to make strategic decisions through improved timeline analysis
INDEPENDENT UX STUDY, 2025
Simplifying ESOP Management for Employees, Part 1
To put it simply,
This 2 part case study explores solutions that help users understand their ESOPs better, to make more strategic decisions.
ESOPs are complex, and employees feel lost navigating equity tools
One evening, I watched my sister struggle with her ESOPs, needing constant guidance on when to exercise or sell them.
This raised a core question:
How effective are ESOP platforms at reducing this friction for employees?
Users said: Platforms show the statistics, but they seek guidance to act on them
I wanted to understand where users feel overwhelmed while managing their ESOPs
Two highlights that stood out from our discussions:
Frequent doubts that users have begin with ‘When should I…?’ or ‘What’s the best time to…?
When to exercise? When to sell? These questions confuse employees, who turn to others for advice.
Employees often reach out to HR to clarify doubts regarding their ownership
When company platforms fail to provide clarity, users turn to HR or colleagues for answers.
Users had access to data. But they sought help, to understand it in specific scenarios and make financial decisions.
Current tools do little, in helping users evaluate what to do in real-life scenarios
I conducted a UX evaluation of products in this domain (Carta, Qapita, Pulley and Shareworks) to better understand these gaps.
Tools don’t link data with contextual key indicators needed to take action
Ex: Vesting charts track equity over time, but exclude scenario-specific factors such as expiry dates or no-exercise windows.
Users miss how interconnected factors shape outcomes. What-if tools focus on only single metrics
Scenario modelling tools let you tweak numbers separately, but not judge the combined impact of different variables.
Platforms report numbers. But there are limited ways to analyze or compare them, to evaluate situation based decisions.
Problem? There’s a gap between how data is shown and the takeaways users need
Tools show isolated statistics like a report
Users can’t compare figures or analyze decisions
Users are left to manually interpret and contextualize data
How can employees be supported with inputs that make decision-making easier?
The first gap: Users struggle with connecting ESOP timelines to financial outcomes
When to exercise? When to sell? Users find it hard to take these decisions with respect to their ownership timeline.
How do existing platforms attempt to bridge this gap?
The common pattern to explain ESOPs over a timeline is the vesting chart:
Why does this tool fall short?
Missed insight opportunity- Shows what is already assumed, that equity accrues with time
Only visualizes vesting volume, without offering strategic insights to advance understanding of an employee
User cannot answer ‘What can I do’ by seeing this chart; omits decision-driving context
People consider details like ownership status. tax triggers, company events, deadlines when taking action
What information can we add to this chart, to make it a decision-enabling tool?
Idea 1: Visualizing vesting with important milestones, major events, or inactivity periods
Enables users to gain better insight into time-critical ‘when’ and ‘when not’ decisions
One can now compare ownership volume against optimal windows for exercising, selling, or equity-related moves.
Idea 2: Visualizing a user’s exercise and sale history
Shows ‘how much’ is already acted on, and tracks previous exercise activity
It visualizes actual ownership, and whether one should exercise, hold or sell.
Gives insight into tax implications of exercised shares, to guide selling decisions.
Shows whether exercised shares incur long-term or short-term capital gains tax based on holding period.
How do we put all this together, to provide an actionable picture?
Idea: Using comparative data visualization, to show ownership with context
Users can answer ‘when’ doubts through a timeline visual combined with details need to make frequent decisions
Approach 1: Long scroll stacked comparison
PROS
Clickless, visual comparison and scanning
Users are not required to interact with the visualization to compare different data.
CONS
Harder to visually correlate values across datasets
Limits direct visual comparison between datasets, as values are separated vertically rather than overlaid.
Potential for context loss over large space
Since vertical space between layers is large, users lose sight of reference points.
Requires excessive scrolling and layout space
Uses too much real estate within the product, reducing space for other key features.
Approach 2: Single view via tab navigation
PROS
Compact layout and controlled navigation
Uses minimal vertical space, keeping the interface uncluttered and avoiding excessive scrolling.
CONS
Cross-data comparison is harder due to the jump
Users can’t view multiple datasets simultaneously, which limits visual correlation and understanding.
Approach 3: Overlay view with selective layering
PROS
Overlay allows easy comparative insight
Layered data is visually easier to compare, and least context loss across different graphs.
CONS
Potential to become visually cluttered and info dense
Too many layers or poor contrast can overwhelm and confuse users.
High cognitive load and accessibility challenges
Overlapping visuals can make it harder for users with low vision or color blindness to interpret content.
Finally, which design do we choose?
Feedback on the designs revealed users had specific preferences
I reviewed the iterations with users I interviewed, to understand what was effective and what wasn’t:
Users preferred solutions that gave them flexibility to explore different views
They allowed them to adapt the view based on their immediate needs and decision-making context.
Some comparisons in these datasets are made frequently, while others add only limited value
Not all comparisons are important for the decisions users usually need to make.
I also evaluated each iteration across three criteria: decision support, visual complexity and space efficiency:
Optimal solution: Combining decision support of overlay view + interface clarity of tabs approach
Final Approach: Hybrid tabs + layer model for focused comparisons
Allows flexible exploration, and prioritizes comparisons users draw more frequently
Users only process the data needed for the current decision, avoiding distractions from secondary or low-value comparisons.
Key Events is prioritized as a global toggle because it is contextually relevant to both
This preserves context as Key Events remains accessible across both datasets, ensuring continuity in analysis.
User feedback suggested limited benefit in comparing Vesting schedule and Exercise record directly
This is not a comparison that users draw often. Both graphs show volume, but for different actions. While viewing them together offers some insight, the takeaway is less critical than from other comparisons.
Common doubts users have are resolved through better timeline understanding
Visualizing data with the ownership timeline enables users to assess the impact of time and events on their options.
Users can now independently analyze timing-related 'if and when' questions like:
When can I sell or exercise my options?
What will be the tax implications if I sell my exercised shares today?
Should I exercise my shares before or after this company event?
While largely qualitative, the impact can also be reflected in KPIs like:
Decrease in HR support tickets
Fewer tickets means users are resolving doubts independently, with less dependency on HR.
Increase in CSAT scores
Tracking improvement in customer satisfaction scores through in-platform surveys after key actions.
To wrap up, here are a few reflections
Importance of going back to the user when iterating solutions to keep them in the loop
Testing assumptions with them not only validates ideas but also reveals nuances I would have otherwise missed.
User research in a new domain made me realize how crucial it is to approach with humility
Many terms were unfamiliar, so I had to slow down, clarify, and reframe their words to ensure accurate understanding.