I worked closely with our researcher in Istanbul to define what we needed to learn from the research, and to help craft appropriate activities and stimuli, like the ecosystem mapping activity (below) to provide holistic insights into the customer’s ecosystem, mental models, goals, behaviors, etc.

In addition to insights around ecosystems and mental models, we also wanted specific insight into what specific types of information and functionality would be useful on a dashboard. We brought low-fi conceptual dashboard modules to use in card sorting and create-your-own dashboard activities.

Our research provided foundational insights around customer needs and behaviors, plus specific feedback on what features to include on a dashboard.

The research showed that cashflow insights should figure prominently as a means of providing customers with a sense of control. This insight played a key role in shaping the dashboard design, as we’ll see shortly.

Based on our research, we developed personas to inspire, guide, and socialize our designs. 

Based on insights from research and feedback on dashboard concepts, we developed a high-level northstar vision. Here’s an example customer story for one persona we created to illustrate the vision and rationale. This kind of storytelling is one of my favorite practices for building shared understanding and expectations, rooted in customer empathy.

Based on this high-level shared vision, design principles, and understanding of audience needs, we moved into iterative design and test cycles.

Our initial research enabled us to identify promising content and functionality to include on the dashboard. The challenge was how to prioritize and organize the large amount of content. As we explored potential ways of organizing the content, we reviewed our insights from research…

We realized that organizing dashboard content by Money In and Money Out would be helpful. We created conceptual prototypes of this model to validate with customers in our first dashboard design cycle.

One challenge that arose at this point was that, in spite of the research results, some C-level stakeholders felt that the design should use a product-based organizational structure, rather than the money in/out structure. They felt that this would be more consistent with product area of the retail experience.

I acknowledged the idea, and shared my perspective that while it makes sense from the bank’s perspective to organize content by products, this isn’t necessarily how customers want to think about their experience of managing their businesses finances. But the stakeholders felt strongly about this direction.

As a design lead on projects, you need a constructive way to handle differing perspectives – one that supports the best outcome for the product AND which supports a healthy team dynamic.

I handled this situation by:

• Listening with an open mind
• Making ideas tangible (through sketching and prototyping)
• Building shared empathy for the customer’s experience (through storytelling)
• Articulating benefits to both the customer and the business
• Validating ideas with customer data

After several iterations, we arrived at this  solution that provides the dashboard content they want within a helpful structure.

We hypothesized that the following would improve the experience by  simplifying and surfacing intelligent payment options (based on payment behavior, favorites, and upcoming bills).

• Provide a landing screen to present a list of suggested payments and “search” to begin a new payment
• Consolidate and rename certain payment options
• Potentially combine payments and transfers into a unified “move money” hub

Through research with customers, we learned that our first two hypotheses were right, but that providing a combined payments and transfers hub was not intuitive. So we explored ways to present a payments hub with smart suggestions and a “search” begin new payment.

In each design cycle, we prototyped and tested design with customers.

Our solution simplifies the payment experience dramatically by providing a hub with smart 1-tap suggestions, plus powerful search capability.

We designed and launched first-time platform for small and micro business customers on mobile and desktop.

• We identified and delivered new functionality that empowers customers to  understand, plan, manage, and feel in control of their business finances.
• We dramatically simplified transactional flows for payments and transfers.
• We updated and modernized the visual design.
• We positioned Garanti as a partner who helps to empower customers (rather than merely a provider of banking products).
  
• Dashboard insights and simplified Payments and Transfers experiences are driving engagement and retention for the bank.

Retail experience is adopting our streamlined Payments, Transfers, Accounts experiences. 

• Our dramatically simplified Payments, Transfers, and Accounts frameworks are currently being integrated into the retail mobile and desktop experiences.