User Experience Design

Context

The client, a major financial institution, was undergoing a multi-year digital transformation to improve customer experience, decision-making speed, staff productivity, compliance, and system simplification. As part of this programme, I contributed to two key projects: service blueprinting and the UX design of the ‘customer needs analysis and advice’ process. This case study focuses on the latter.

Opportunity

Following the discovery phase, the user experience workstream was established to design, prototype, and test solutions using out-of-the-box technology while ensuring compliance by design. The customer needs assessment process was complex and fragmented, offering a significant opportunity to simplify, unify, and improve operational efficiency. The goal was to refine the process to better serve the needs of the business, staff, and customers.

Outcome

The project delivered a streamlined, user-validated design for one of the bank’s most complex customer advisory processes. This design successfully balanced regulatory compliance with usability. Through iterative prototyping and direct staff engagement, we created a scalable framework of four baseline scenarios that could adapt to future enhancements and business variations. The final design was endorsed by technical stakeholders for feasibility, and clear, structured requirements were handed off to the development team, accelerating the programme’s delivery.

Approach

Given the variations in current processes across different business segments, we developed a flexible design approach that featured four baseline scenarios based on product types and customer relationships. This allowed us to address existing complexities while leaving room for future sophistication.

1. Discovery and Requirements Gathering: We translated initial discovery requirements into wireframes and process flows, focusing on regulatory compliance. Through close collaboration with the client, we identified the critical steps in the process, ensuring a balance between compliance and workflow flexibility.

2. Prototyping and User Testing: We developed an interactive prototype that underwent 15 one-on-one usability testing sessions with staff. These sessions provided valuable insights, leading to iterative design improvements that ensured both usability and compliance.
   
   Key design elements included:

   • Standard solution logic and functionality

   • Mandatory compliance steps

   • Structured and unstructured data capture fields

   • User-friendly language resonating with staff.

3. Validation and Feasibility Testing: The design was adapted for the most complex customer scenario and validated by technical experts for feasibility. Feedback from these experts ensured that the design was viable, scalable, and compliant with required standards.

4. Handoff and Development Support: The final design was handed off to the Business Analysts with clear, actionable documentation for the build phase. This structured handoff enabled a smooth transition, accelerating the development process and reducing potential delays.

As the analyst and junior designer…

• Collaborated closely within a small, agile team of two—working alongside an offshore manager with oversight from an associate director—ensuring seamless coordination and clear direction throughout the project.

• Engaged regularly with the client team, tapping into their deep institutional knowledge to foster alignment, secure stakeholder buy-in, and maintain accountability at every stage of the process.

• Designed high-level process flows and visualised complex workflows, identifying and mapping key regulatory areas to highlight critical design elements and ensure compliance within the overall user experience.

• Contributed to the design of wireframes and played an integral role in usability testing, including comprehensive planning, session facilitation, and thorough documentation of results to inform iterative design improvements.

• Implemented project management tools such as reverse briefs, stakeholder tables, detailed calendars, and task trackers to maintain organisation, structure, and timely delivery of milestones.

• Managed digital workspaces and workflows, ensuring streamlined communication and visibility across the international team, and fostering an environment of clarity and efficiency in a distributed work setup.