As a UX and product lead on a consulting team, I had the unique opportunity to work on a multi-year engagement with Fiserv, a global leader in financial services technology. Our objective was to contribute to the enhancement of Fiserv's Online Banking and Account Processing Solutions. We embarked on an immersive study, which provided insights that not only aided us in designing an optimal user experience but also informed future product directions for Fiserv.
The Challenge
Despite Fiserv's market-leading position, the company sought to better understand the holistic financial journey of their customers. The mission was two-fold. First, to ascertain a more intimate understanding of the user experience on their online platforms. Second, to understand the offline procedures of their banking staff to enhance security and accuracy. These insights were to be translated into software improvements and integrated into future products.
Approach
Immersive User Research
We initiated a rigorous user research phase, visiting users' homes to gain insights into their financial journey. This process involved observation, interviews, and surveys to understand their experience with Fiserv's products, as well as their expectations, frustrations, and needs. We engaged users in their natural environment to capture authentic data, providing invaluable insights.
Shadowing Bank Staff
Next, we spent extensive time in bank branches, observing bank staff interact with customers and the systems in place. The goal was to understand their workflows, challenges, and tools in use, with a focus on maintaining security and accuracy. We conducted interviews, performed task analysis, and carried out contextual inquiry to gather as much information as possible.
Insights and Strategies
The insights from our immersive user research painted a clear picture of the end-user's experience. We identified opportunities for improvement in the Online Banking Solutions, focusing on ease of use, personalization, and seamless cross-platform integration.
From shadowing bank staff, we gleaned insights on their interaction with software tools and their techniques in serving customers. Our team identified areas in the Account Processing Solutions where automation, streamlined workflows, and improved interface design could increase efficiency and reduce errors.
Armed with these insights, our strategy and design teams began to shape the future of Fiserv's product direction.
Product Design and Launch
Leveraging the insights from our research, we redesigned the user interface of Fiserv's Online Banking Solutions to be more intuitive and personalized. We proposed features that would increase user engagement, such as personalized financial insights and enhanced cross-platform compatibility.
For the Account Processing Solutions, we streamlined the system workflows, reducing the complexity of tasks for bank staff. We designed interfaces that reflected the natural workflow of the staff, making the system more intuitive and reducing the learning curve.
We validated our designs through iterative user testing and made adjustments based on user feedback and usability findings. This ensured that our solutions were not only theoretically sound but also practically effective.
Conclusion
The redesigned products were successfully launched after rigorous testing and refinement. Initial feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, indicating improvements in user satisfaction for online customers and enhanced workflow efficiency for banking staff. This project was an exciting journey, translating deep user understanding into tangible product enhancements. It reinforced the importance of human-centered design in the world of financial technology and set a new benchmark for Fiserv's future product direction.