How might we evolve communication and organization between financial institutions?

The mortgage-backed securities industry is complicated and filled with manual processes.  Can technology improve the workflow and bring transparency to the process?

1. My role

In this particular project, I had the privilege of collaborating with four financial institutions. My role extended beyond UX design, as I took on the responsibilities of product designer, project manager, and project team relationship coordinator. The project's challenge stemmed from a previous failure due to disorganization, which is what led it to me. My primary objective was to design a seamless user experience while ensuring alignment among various teams and maintaining adherence to a strict timeline.

Goals

• Enhance user experience by leveraging blockchain technology, 

• Focus on open communication and transparency among financial institutions.

• Explore automation solutions to streamline and simplify existing processes.

2. A new start

To initiate the project effectively, we recognized the need to establish a shared understanding of the current workflow and responsibilities among all participating institutions. To accomplish this, I met individually with each role to gain their perspective and expectations. The outcome of these discussions was the creation of a workflow diagram that served as a foundation for the project. This diagram was unanimously agreed upon by all product owners and team members as an accurate representation of the processes and responsibilities involved.

This was a pivotal moment for the team and executives alike, instilling newfound confidence in completing the work.

3. Putting people first

A key strategy I implemented with the team was to recenter the user's perspective in our discussions. To achieve this, I developed project personas based on the initial interviews conducted with each team. This approach enabled the team to concentrate on understanding the needs and desires of specific users throughout the design process. It filled me with pride to hear the team discussing how “Naida” would reach out to “Dave” for document “M7”. 🥳

4. Team building

To foster team unity, myself and another designer conceived three distinct mood boards for the UI's theme.

Subsequently, the team voted, and based on their input, I crafted a comprehensive style guide to facilitate implementation by the development team.

In addition, I collaborated with business stakeholders to organize and define user stories. Aligning these stories was crucial to ensuring seamless integration and maintaining a unified understanding among team members going into implementation.

Closing

Despite initial struggles, the project launched its MVP to great excitement. It has since progressed to a closed beta testing phase, and the project owners have continued to engage with other financial institutions to socialize the MVP.