WHO
A B2B company that specialized in financing.
CHALLENGE
Build a new product that incorporates several legacy stand alone services and additionally allow for file sharing and electronic signatures between users.
MY ROLE
Interaction Design, Visual Design, Workshop Co-Facilitator
What We Did
DISCOVERY
We kicked off this project in a two phased approach with Phase One focusing on discovery and research. Working with a group of stakeholder we facilitated an all day workshop and a round individual stakeholder interviews to asset the product goal, technical constraints, and the intended product user.
From there, my colleague mapped each of the targeted users’ journeys based on current state products and processes. After that was verified with the client, the team mapped key screens and processes to assist in conducting Market Research, gaging user interest in the potential product.
WIREFRAMING & PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
After discovery was finalized, we moved into Phase Two, wireframing and prototyping. Based on the established journey map, interviews, and technical constraints, I began drawing and building out the structure in Axure. I focused on refining the process and journey using black and white elements to create wireframes of the overall product framework. Additionally, working through this challenge, I enlisted several teammates for whiteboarding and design review sessions to ensure user flows were accounted for.
Since the nature of this product can be a tedious process with a lot of steps, hand offs, and legal documents, our goal was to reduce the information into a few key screens, broken out into digestible sections. This would help reduce the cognitive load and provide reassurance along the way to the user. All while providing the user a homebase to accomplish this work, that in its current state required multiple platforms and paperwork.
As we developed out the wireframe further, we put a focus on refining and confirming the process for all possible users. We were constantly mapping out every possible path a target user could take and ensuring all data states (empty, half full, with pagination, etc) were accounted for.
Once the client and the team were confident in our prototype, our researcher conducted user testing interviews to verify the users’ paths and obtain product feedback. We then took that information and made changes to the design to better fit the target users’ needs.
The end result was a fully functional black and white prototype, using Axure’s dynamic panels to mimic the processes of adding content and moving through the product.
MARKETING PROTOTYPE & VISUAL DESIGN
After the prototype was finalized, I began applying brand styles and incorporating UI elements onto the prototype to transition the deliverable into a full scale Marketing Prototype. This provided the client’s development team a comprehensive direction for each of the elements within the product as they began building the product.
TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Along with understanding technical limitations incorporating legacy screens into their product, extensive research also took place to better understand how best to incorporate their new 3rd party integration into the product. Additionally, we incorporated a stand alone payment product we previously worked on with them.
PAYMENT PORTAL PROJECT
This project’s goal was to retool their current platform to better match the mental model associated with a standard payment portal design.
After interviews, competitive analysis, and research, we reorganized the hierarchy of information and split the content into four key screens that were more predictable based on our research and competitive analysis.
Breaking up this information, providing a stepper, and restructuring the content allows users to easily compare payment options and focus on each step in the moment. This reduces the overall cognitive load required to accomplish the users’ goal.
OVERALL PRODUCT OUTCOME
As a team we researched, designed, tested, and implemented a dynamic and comprehensive high fidelity product prototype for the client. Giving their development team solid footing to continue into product development.
PROJECT CREDITS:
Hannah Hitchcock, Experience Design Lead
Kirstie Mulligan, Interaction Design Lead
Lars Erickson, Interaction Design
