How can we identify and respond effectively to user expectations?
During the six-month rollout of the redesigned bill pay feature, we received inconsistent and unclear feedback regarding the Autopay feature.
1. My role
Following a thorough review of the feedback gathered over several months, I formulated a comprehensive project plan and presented it for prioritization. I developed the project roadmap and oversaw the work's creative direction. During this endeavor, I collaborated closely with a researcher, visual designer, content strategist, accessibility expert, and product owner, as well as multiple other line of businesses and teams..
Goals
Identify and understand the key customer pain points associated with autopay.
Establish the scope and outline the design direction for the solution based on learnings.
Collaborate with other business teams to address dependencies and required changes.
Take a comprehensive and holistic view of the customer experience, focusing on a seamless end-to-end journey.
2. The discovery phase
In collaboration with the researcher, we engaged in a discussion about feedback to establish a comprehensive research plan. This plan clearly outlined the objectives we aimed to achieve through the research and the necessary resources that the design team is required to provide to assist the researcher effectively.
Research
The results of our initial research study surprised us. Rather than being located where users expected, Autopay was found to have multiple entry points. Further investigation revealed that users were looking for Autopay in areas of the experience that were not owned by us. To gain a deeper understanding we ran more studies, and spoke with 5 additional teams.
To better support our discussions with other teams, we conducted additional studies around various entry points and developed a point of view based on our findings.
3. The define and design phases
After identifying all entry points requiring attention, I revised the project plan, timeline, and scope. I expanded the design team from two designers to five designers.
Enhanced Research in the Design Phase
In the Design phase, we actively employed a diverge-and-converge approach. Collaborating with our research team, I crafted various study plans for our designers to test their explorations. We conducted rigorous validation testing (20+ studies) to evaluate our designs and objectively selected the design direction based on data-driven insights.
Finalizing Designs
Over six months, the team collaborated on four workstreams. I worked with product and agile partners to create a staggered delivery for scoping by the development team.
Socialization
We have had multiple opportunities to present our work to executives, and the design leadership team has held us up as a prime example of how to conduct discovery effectively. Not only were we featured by UX leadership in the UX org but we also presented to the business and agile teams in our platforms line of business town hall.
4. Implementation Phase
With our comprehensive documentation in place, the development teams seamlessly assumed their tasks. However, challenges arose in coordinating and aligning the various business lines involved, leading to an unexpected delay in the release. Despite this, I considered the delay justified, as our primary concern was to uphold the quality of the integration and implementation.
Closing
After one month, our assessment of the first of the four releases revealed significant achievements. Enrolling in Autopay resulted in a 14% increase in task completion, and negative customer feedback about Autopay find-ability decreased, leading to an improvement in CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score).
The team eagerly anticipates the upcoming release, which will close additional entry point gaps throughout the customer journey. We also look forward to prioritizing the remaining work for delivery in Q3 and Q4 of 2024.
It was critical to approach this project from an end-to-end perspective and design it with scalability in mind. Executives and leaders from across the portfolio have commended the team for overcoming unforeseen challenges, accommodating scope changes, and working diligently to serve our 8 million customers.
Company award for the execution of the end-to-end autopay work.
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