Increasing satisfaction by ∼78%

Role: As a UX Designer at Valtech, I led design collaborating with a Product Manager, a content strategist, and a front-end engineer. This lasted for 3 months in 2020.

Deliverables: Competitive Analysis • Information Architecture (IA) • Wireframes • Mockups • Prototypes • Executive presentations • Final specs.

PROBLEM

An outdated wealth management platform

National Bank of Canada's legacy Financial-Wealth Management wasn’t meeting financial advisor needs. This led to reliability issues, user dissatisfaction, and talent loss.

GOAL

Our aim was to revamp the entire platform, improving user experience and satisfaction.

Our objectives were to increase user satisfaction, renew user trust and attract new investment advisors.

IMPACT

∼78%

Improvement in user satisfaction

7%

Increase in micro-sites adoption

Boost in advisor profile referencing

  • In accordance with my NDA obligations, I have excluded sensitive data and made modifications to visual assets. All information presented in this case study is solely my own and does not represent the views of Valtech or the National Bank of Canada.

DISCOVERY

We started by talking to users and finding out what their biggest problems were.

The content strategist and I interviewed 8 users (junior and senior advisors).

"The benefits of partnering with the bank are unclear..."

The Bank aimed to attract new investment advisor talent. Yet, poor information architecture hindered smooth platform navigation.

“It’s a hassle to find resources and tools for my clients”

Ensuring easy access to tools and resources for advisors' clients was vital. Yet, the page's layout introduced unnecessary complexity, resulting in difficulties in locating these resources.

“I prefer using my own site to share my services."

The micro-sites provided to advisors by the bank didn't meet their needs. Hence, advisors were using their own sites. This, in turn, caused a significant misalignment with the bank's brand guidelines.

Reviewing the top 5 investment banks; confirmed key platform issues.

I assessed elements such as IA and talent campaigns. This confirmed some issues discovered earlier:

  1. Uclear misrepresented group programs

  2. Poor usability and aesthetic appeal

  3. Complex page navigation

DEFINITION

Aware of the information architecture’s complexity, I sought out to simplify it.

I validated the new information architecture (IA) with bank stakeholders. This allowed me to ideate potential solutions with confidence.

To start ideating solutions, I led a team wireframing session.

We made sure everyone was on the same page. Moreover, I collected the necessary input before starting mockup creation.

With a clearer grasp of our revamp plan, I crafted mockups.

I focused on achieving a streamlined platform navigation, while also prioritizing the bank's main objectives:

  1. Designing simple and complex micro-sites.

  2. Attracting a diverse talent pool.

  3. Connecting advisors and their clients.

VALIDATION

I presented a lo-fi prototype to collect quick feedback.

We were unable to conduct testing. We resorted to presenting the designs to 6 advisors and 4 bank stakeholders.

ITERATION

I discovered conflicting views among advisors.

Advisors didn't agree on the contributor's information shown on their micro-sites.

To resolve this, we made it an option from the CMS side

I collaborated with the bank developers to introduce this customizable layout. This added the flexibility to add or remove sections as desired.

We uncovered an opportunity to improve micro-site referencing.

Advisors pointed out the challenge of making their profiles easy to discover. This led me to design investment advisor cards. Their integration into the platform would also improve profile filtering.

HANDOFF

Following two more feedback rounds with stakeholders, I successfully delivered the enhanced user interface of the platform.

We had some alignment meetings with bank stakeholders leading to copy and design adjustments. After this, I handed off the designs to the bank development team.

KEY LEARNING

Embracing flexibility over a traditional testing process

Limited time to deliver the solution forced us to skip usability testing. Regardless, I validated designs through a collective user and stakeholder review meeting. This led to important discoveries and crucial design changes.

“Yanick transforms any comments into new opportunities to make the projects shine, jumping back with joy to the drawing table.”

Sebastien Catoire, Senior Art Director @Valtech

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