Problem + Challenge
As the economy started to recover, Wells Fargo (WF) noticed an influx of credit line applications - and an even larger number of abandoned applications. Both WF merchants and prospective WF private label credit card (PLCC) customers had to navigate the labyrinth of an outdated and disjointed application process. Each merchant offered a different experience, creating a patchwork of inefficiencies across WF merchant portfolio. These inconsistencies leave customers feeling lost and dissatisfied, damaging WF's reputation and business prospects.
Before the design team was brought in, the initial process was developed based solely on stakeholder requirements and the personal lending team's assumptions, with little input from merchants or customers. Skipping the discovery phase and overlooking end-user insights led to a product that was challenging to use. Users faced cognitive overload, resulting in a process that was time-consuming, frustrating, and unnecessarily lengthy.
Product Vision
Kicking things off, we immersed ourselves in the product to have a better understanding of the general state of the current PLCC application process. The product team had already started iterating on a more refined solution, and while we loved the enthusiasm, we had to take a step back and take the time to define the project scope.
With the guidance of a Sr. Designer, I lead the conversation in creating the product vision board. As this team was inexperienced in Agile methodologies, this was my chance to set the tone of this project.
As our end-users, both customers and merchants alike, weren't considered in the initial creation of the application process. my goal for this vision board was to be the foundation of our product plan and strategy. It was important to me to tie user needs to business goals for this project.
Journey Mapping
Users value an application process that is efficient and instinctual. This was a major issue for merchants as they often struggled to find what they were looking for and for customers because it led to frustration and abandoned applications.
Users value consistency. Merchants and customers expressed their annoyance with inconsistent flows across WF products and the lack of contextual navigation
Merchants prioritize productivity. Merchants who used the paper application over the digital version did so because they felt the digital application did not prioritize their top goals and tasks.
Interviews, surveys + insights
User insights gathered from interviews and surveys
Personas
These persons were often referred to whenever a major decision was made to ensure our users were at the core of our product.
Competitive Analysis
I analyzed the Discover and Citi Bank apps to review their strengths, and weaknesses and identify trends in the market. This helped the team to identify what direction we could take our solution in relation to our core users.
Personalization was seen throughout the experience.
Using progress bars and description page headers to orient users.
Using cards to divide and group content
Information Architecture + User Flows
Users value an application process that is efficient and instinctual. This was a major issue for merchants as they often struggled to find what they were looking for and for customers because it led to frustration and abandoned applications.
Users value consistency. Merchants and customers expressed their annoyance with inconsistent flows across WF products and the lack of contextual navigation
Merchants prioritize productivity. Merchants who used the paper application over the digital version did so because they felt the digital application did not prioritize their top goals and tasks.
Usability Testing
iterationsFor usability testing, we had 3 objectives for both the merchant and customer application process. We gathered feedback on each screen, A/B testing different screen iterations to quickly assess which design was better. Below are a few slides from our first usability test, as we continued to test the prototype, we would come back to these initial results and refine the design as needed.
Solution
To enhance efficiency and customer retention, we will create a unified and modernized application and transaction experience for WF merchants and prospective private label credit card customers, ensuring consistency across all versions.
This will involve streamlining the user flow, updating the interface to reduce cognitive load, and implementing standardized processes to provide a seamless and reliable experience for all users.
Reflection
Collaboration is vital and all parties involved in a project must be in constant communication with one another to ensure that there is synergy. all parties involved in a project must be
Regular usability testing and prototyping help validate design decisions and identify usability issues early on. By observing users interacting with prototypes, designers can gather valuable insights and make informed design changes.