Overview
As a team we wanted to revolutionize how farmers applied for business loans
by creating an intuitive and easy to use product.
This involved an all hands on deck approach from everyone involved. We wanted to
take an
existing process and completely overhaul it. An important aspect of this was
creating a
seamless, intuitive, and easy to understand UI which would in turn give the user
a wonderful
experience. We wanted to turn a process that is naturally long and confusing and
make it
something enjoyable for anyone and everyone.
My Responsibilities
I was tasked as the lead designer on this project and was involved in every
step of the product development process from the early stages where we gathered
requirements to
guiding the development team through the buildout of the application.
- Designed a sleek and intuitive interface that’s simple to navigate and easy to understand
- Collaborated with developers and project owners in order to effectively fulfill user needs
- Created various deliverables such as wireframes, high-fidelity prototypes, and flowcharts
- Conducted user testing in order to fully understand user needs and frustrations
Challenges
As with any complex project the challenges were plentiful. They ranged
anywhere from generating ideas during our whiteboarding process to deciding on
what features we
wanted to have for our first release. These were some of the challenges I faced:
Taking a complex process with many steps and dramatically simplifying it
Distinguishing between business needs and wants for MVP
Effectively guiding the business through difficult design decisions
Very stringent project timeline.
Sprint Zero
With this being a new product that was being built from the ground up we
decided to completely reset the clock and start at sprint zero. This helped us
establish
timelines, set up ground rules as far as how our sprints would go, and so on.
Our first sprint consisted of gathering requirements for the project from
various sources on the
business side of the company. We spent a majority of our initial sprint
whiteboarding how the
application would flow and what it would be composed of. We used Miro as our
tool of choice to
create flowcharts and jot down what features we wanted for the MVP release.
- Creating a persona that would accurately represent our end user
- Developing a flowchart that would allow the business to see how the application would flow through and through
- Gathering examples of existing applications in order to have something to draw from when creating the initial prototype
- Setting up various meetings between the development and lending teams to close any gaps in the requirements
- Building out the skeleton of the application for my first iteration and presenting it to numerous individuals within the company
Did Someone Say High-Fidelity?
Developing a prototype was single-handedly the most important aspect of my
design process for this project. This allowed me to present the design to the
business as
something more than just a set of sketches and wireframes.
It gave them the ability to run through the application and experience it almost
as if it was a
fully functioning product. This gave them the chance to pick it apart, see what
worked, and what
didn’t. The feedback that I got from the first iteration of the high-fidelity
prototype would
drive the rest of the design process throughout the entire
duration of the project. The prototype was integral from the very start of the
project to the
very end and was used by almost every individual that was assigned to this
project.
Initial Feedback
Feedback was extremely important throughout the span of the project but the
initial comments I received upon completing the first prototype proved to be
some of the most
integral feedback.
The feedback I received upon submitting my first few deliverables for the
project was
incredible. It helped me distinguish between what I was doing right and what
needed to be
improved in the following iterations. I received input from all over the place,
whether it be
project managers, developers, QA, everyone managed to voice their input. There
was a ton of
dialog between all of the various teams which helped drive a lot of my future
design decisions.
Also, it was very gratifying hearing all of the positive feedback and very
humbling hearing the
constructive feedback that came along with it. I strongly believe that this
initial feedback I
received helped turn this project from something good into something great.
Summary
It’s always a pretty great day when you manage to successfully create a
product that will help people. It’s what we set out to do as a team and I think
we achieved just
that.
This project was a whirlwind in the most positive way possible. I got the honor
of designing an
application from the ground up and making sure it hit all of the marks as far as
requirements
went. Apart from that I got to work with so many different individuals in our
organization that
I wouldn’t have gotten to work if it wasn’t for this project. I loved every
challenging second
of this project and the fact that it truly pushed me past my boundaries as a
designer.