Transforming Broker Experience for Efficient Loan Processing
Role: Product Design Lead
The Context
The client, a burgeoning business loan provider, faced challenges with their existing loan application process. Slow processing and a lack of real-time updates were causing a significant loss of deals to competitors.
Timeout deals also posed a concern. To tackle these issues, they sought to develop a broker platform with enhanced interaction, granular deal visibility, and real-time updates. The project required demonstrating feasibility and desirability to secure buy-in.
Goals and Tasks
As the Product Design Lead, I orchestrated a comprehensive discovery process to uncover user experience requirements, align with the client's value proposition, and ensure project feasibility. The objective was to elevate the broker experience, streamline conversions, and devise a solution that catered to all stakeholders' needs.
- Experimental Goal: Validate the new broker platform's desirability, feasibility, usability, and viability.
- Design Hypothesis: Developing a system aligned with the lender's internal CRM and common CRM practices in sales would facilitate user adoption and satisfaction.
- Measurement Plan: Develop and integrate relevant metrics into the platform's design to capture key business insights over time.
- Constraints: Technical limitations and time constraints dictated the scope of implementation. Limited early access to broker feedback posed an additional challenge.
Actions
Journey Mapping and Pain Points Analysis
Through collaborative workshops involving diverse stakeholders, including client relationship specialists, engineers, and brokers, we mapped out the borrower journey, identifying pain points and goals. Key findings included the need for application status visibility and reduced back-and-forth communication.
Metrics and Performance Tracking
I led the team in identifying and capturing critical metrics to improve efficiency. We transformed application-related metrics into ratios for more meaningful comparisons, aligning these metrics with the lender's internal CRM for transparency.
Value Unearthing
By integrating business processes into the design, enhancing familiarity, and removing friction, we uncovered the platform's value for both brokers and the business. Transparency, efficiency, and performance management emerged as crucial elements.
Prototype Iterations
Collaboratively, we developed a prototype informed by the journey map and metrics. Features included a Kanban board, a notification centre, application tracking, and performance monitoring. Considering stakeholder feedback, we iterated the prototype to accurately match the lender’s processes.
Results
The outcomes of the project were highly encouraging:
Executive Buy-In Achieved
Senior executives endorsed the platform's development after witnessing its potential value.
Stakeholder Alignment
Key stakeholders in broker relationships recognised the captured value, driving engagement with brokers.
Positive User Reception
Brokers provided overwhelmingly positive feedback, expressing immediate interest in using the platform.
"I've seen so many platforms based on banking platforms but not based on how the business actually works. This is absolutely where we need to go as an organisation.” - Company CTO
Key Takeaways:
This project underlines several essential insights for successful design:
- Value-Driven Design: Aligning design with business and user value improves customer appeal.
- Balancing Feasibility and Desirability: Acknowledging technical constraints while striving for user satisfaction is paramount.
- Comprehensive Approach: Addressing feasibility, desirability, ethics, usability, and viability ensures a robust solution.
- Stakeholder Collaboration: Collaborating with stakeholders from various domains enriches insights and secures support.
This case study reflects my commitment to designing solutions that merge user-centricity with practicality, achieving results that resonate with users and stakeholders alike.
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lautecce@gmail.com