Independent product design · 2026
Tenet brings a trader’s own rules into the broker’s order review. When an order triggers a rule, the overlay explains the hold and offers clear ways to continue or cancel.
Try an order hold ↓◆ TENET
The trader is about to submit 12 contracts, but a five-contract cap and a nine-minute cooldown apply. Tenet holds the order so the trader can review these rules and choose what happens next.
Following both rules reduces the order to five contracts and starts the nine-minute wait. The trader then reviews the order before confirming submission.
Fictional broker and sample order. The countdown runs in real time; skip the wait to explore the next step.
Interactive screen · try the controls
01 / The moment
I used a scenario in which a trader prepares a larger order after several losses. A limit chosen on a calmer day can be easy to forget when the next trade is one gesture away.
I focused on the moment of submission: make the order’s status clear, explain the rules that apply, and leave the trader with distinct ways to continue or cancel. The companion gives those rules a place to be written and reviewed.
The examples cover both shares and options.
02 / Study & retest
I moderated six remote sessions with weekly retail traders, then tested revisions with five new participants. Both rounds used simulated orders, with the nine-minute wait shortened to about nine seconds for the sessions. I compared actions, explanations and ease ratings to understand whether the controls produced the decisions traders intended.
Both testing rounds used the earlier interface. The example below includes refinements from those rounds; the next section shows the visual redesign.
When an order triggered a size cap and cooldown together, two participants described only the wait; one expected automatic sending afterward. All six eventually understood that nothing had been sent. I gave the quantity change and wait equal emphasis, followed by an explicit review reminder.
In the earlier prototype, the task started with a limit of 4 contracts and an increase to 5 scheduled for the next market open. Three participants pressed minus to cancel that increase. The control also lowered the current limit to 3, instead of keeping it at 4. All three rated the task 5/7 for ease. I added a separate “Cancel pending increase” action that keeps the current limit unchanged.
Two participants interpreted the override sheet’s cancel label as cancelling the order. I tested “Back” instead, keeping order cancellation as a separate action.
Retest / 5 new participants
No participant unintentionally changed the active cap. All five explained both reducing the order to five contracts and waiting nine minutes. One still interpreted “Back” as cancelling the order.
I added the destination after the retest. The current sheet reads “Back to held order.” The broader visual refresh followed both study rounds.
The lesson was to check the final setting and explanation alongside completion and ease ratings.
03 / Visual refresh
In the previous prototype, rule wording, activity and controls competed with the decision at hand. I reorganized the screens to keep the order status and consequences prominent, with supporting detail available through clearly labeled controls.
When a trader attempts to submit an order that triggers both rules, “Held · nothing sent” appears at the top of the overlay. Separate size and cooldown cards explain both consequences before one combined action: reduce to five contracts and wait nine minutes.
The broker header retains the instrument and expiry so the trader can identify the order. Selecting “Why?” reveals the rules and the activity that triggered them.
Selecting “Override both rules” opens a reason field before a separate order review. “Back to held order” closes that step while keeping the order held. “Cancel order” ends the order without sending it.
I chose a recorded reason and a separate review instead of a long press. These steps ask the trader to explain the override and review the order before sending it.
The previous screens show the prototype after both study rounds. The revised screens below came afterward.
In the previous Rules screen, each card displayed the trader’s wording, usage, rationale and controls together. The revised list starts with a short trigger summary. Opening a rule reveals its settings, while separate controls provide access to the original wording and History.
In the previous overlay, the held status, order quantity and wait appeared across several rows. The revised overlay groups the size and cooldown cards above their combined action. After the wait or an override, the trader reviews the order before confirming submission.
The previous Home screen included an illustrative estimate of losses avoided. I replaced it with a summary that opens the underlying decision records. Selecting a followed or overridden count opens History. Selecting a pattern opens its summary, with an action to inspect the underlying events.
A consistent visual language
◆ TENET
Tenet appears inside both a dark mobile broker and a light desktop workspace. I kept its colors, type and component structure consistent so the trader can distinguish their own rule controls from the broker’s order controls.
I kept the proportional sans serif for product headings, action labels and explanations. It gives longer rule descriptions a different texture from the numeric trading data.
Fixed-width characters align quantities and timestamps. In the desktop countdown, they keep the timer’s width steady as the digits change.
The overlay places status first, then the two consequence cards, then the actions. Shared padding and gaps group related information, while larger breaks separate the choices. Icons retain text labels, so color and symbols reinforce the words.
04 / Companion app
Traders create and adjust rules in the companion before returning to the broker. Home summarizes recent decisions, Patterns opens the events behind an observation, and History keeps the order details and reasons available for later review.
◆ TENET
Choose a screen to try it and read the design decision behind it.
Interactive screen · try the controls
Open Size cap, edit the limit, then save. The saved limit applies to the next order.
All counts, events and patterns are illustrative.
Creating a rule
When creating a rule, the trader chooses its trigger, the instruments it covers and the resulting action. The review step brings these choices together before saving.
Moving between screens preserves the draft. The builder checks for matching rules before saving. Saved changes apply from the next order.
As finding 02 describes, the earlier design delayed increases until the next market open to discourage raising a limit during a trade. I simplified that interaction to edit and save for the next order. Saving applies the new limit to future orders. An already-held order keeps its original settings and still requires review before sending.
05 / Desktop
In the desktop example, a trader attempts to submit a short order for 10 SPY shares. The order is within the 25-share cap, but three earlier losses trigger the nine-minute cooldown. The broker keeps the chart, quote and closed trades beside the held order.
I display the passing size check as supporting information and give the cooldown more emphasis. After the wait, the quote refreshes and the trader reviews the order before confirming submission.
A rule list sits beside its settings; a History event sits beside its notes. Labels and rule behavior stay consistent with mobile.
The proposed broker integration checks an order before it is sent. Tenet resolves the trader’s rules; the broker owns the current quote, final confirmation and execution.
A changed order would be checked again. A stale quote would require a fresh review. If the connection dropped while an order was held, it would stay unsent, with a clear unavailable state and a way to cancel. Other broker activity would remain available.
What I take forward
The cap task changed how I evaluate a flow: I now check the final setting and the trader’s explanation alongside completion and ease ratings.