Transfers
Case Study
Context
Transfers is a service that gives banking users the ability to transfer funds from one account to another. This is a fundamental feature our clients rely on in their banking experience.
Objective
Tasked to assess current experiences the business offers; The legacy experience for Transfers did not meet industry leading usability standards; not to mention many other reported user complaints. These findings were re-surfaced directly to stakeholders, ultimately resulting in the business deciding to move forward with a refresh in design.
Deliverables
The deliverables for this project include a competitive analysis, low fidelity wire-frames, high-fidelity prototypes, and usability findings.
Process
Taking all previous research regarding Transfers into account, a plan of action was set in place. An in-depth review of previous findings would aid me in clearly defining success criteria for this initiative. We measure success in the form of targets. See below for examples:
From there I was responsible for performing a competitive analysis to gauge the landscape of business/commercial banking. This actually helped better communicate our concerns to stakeholders regarding how far behind this experience was compared to industry leading banking.
High Level Findings
- Our current legacy experience compared to modern experiences is inadequate in terms of look and feel
- Most competitors create a dedicated space for money handling
- Seems as if our competitors make an effort to reduce screen clutter in order to reduce cognitive overload.
What did collaboration look like?
Brainstorming sessions would take place over the course of roughly two weeks. This collaboration consisted of a few designers (including myself), and a design ops professional. In various sessions, whiteboarding sketches aided in narrowing down a design structure for our new screens; which would then create a path towards a prototype. See below for examples:
Protoytpe
Time to test our assumptions!
Now that we’d crafted a prototype based off the preliminary work done, it was time to test our refined product. A research contact and myself met to discuss a test outline. A usability study was determined to be the best plan of action, alongside certain questions we’d specifically want to know from design:
- How easily are users able to digest the information on the screen?
- Do users feel a sense of confidence that motivates them to create another transfer?
- How do users expect to initiate a transfer?
At this time we’d referenced the targets mentioned above in order to ensure
our questioning was aligned with the ideal solution.
A testing script was developed and reviewed by various team members. Once
that was done our test was launched!
What we discovered
- Users were easily able to locate where to initiate a transfer in the application
- Visual separation while making a transfer helped users quickly digest the information on the page
- Users appreciated the confirmation screen, aiding their confidence in making a transfer
Way forward
An executive summary of our work would be handed over to product leaders in the form of a UX readout, led my by myself and our researcher. Overall feedback was extremely positive. Our stakeholders were able to see the business impact the UX process has to offer; changing the dynamic between both parties positively.The product lives and breathes today and would go through many iterations and tests in the future.
Challenges
In the beginning of this effort, we did not receive overall positive feedback/buy in to re-design. It’s an understandable reaction when someone claims that your product is broken and needs work.
How did I solve this?
One thing I found useful to practice when working with product leaders is empathy. By providing that extra transparency as to what goes into the UX process, they seem to feel much more comfortable letting designers run off with their product.
Some leaders even feel compelled to contribute or be involved to a certain degree.
Why this project?
This project displays a full breadth of the process from point A to B. The level of collaboration and communication that was required for the effort gave me a strong sense of ownership for the success of the product. Not to mention the “winning-over” of our product leaders. They now see the value in iterative thinking and research.
