Apply Platform
I gave twelve application flows the same four-step structure
Designing one platform for 12 regulated online financial application flows.
Three principles behind the platform
One template had to work for twelve legally distinct products, stay consistent, and not slow delivery.
One brand, a different experience in every application
There was no shared system. Each product team designed its own “Getting Started” step independently.
One flow for every product
The template did not remove design decisions, but it meant each decision was made once. Edge cases were specified once instead of being discovered again for each product.
Low-fidelity critique
To document a usability failure on the live site, a gray box and one sentence describing the problem were enough to change the specification.
Strategic context
In 2011, online account opening had become the main way new customers started a relationship with a bank. U.S. Bank’s application experiences, however, reflected an earlier period: fixed-width layouts, navigation that placed products in long, undifferentiated lists, and application flows that looked like different websites depending on the product.
In 2010, 46% of U.S. adults banked online, and preference for digital banking was growing quickly among younger adults. Each abandoned application was a customer relationship the bank did not start.
U.S. Bank decided to build a single “Apply Platform” that standardized online application flows for its financial products: car loans, checking, savings, home equity, mortgages, investments, student loans, and lines of credit. The platform had to be consistent across products, meet each product’s regulatory requirements, and be delivered quickly through an offshore development team (Wipro Technologies).
Problem
There were two related problems.
First, the existing applications were inconsistent. Each product flow had been built separately and updated at a different time. None had a progress indicator or saved state, and none matched the rest of the site.
Second, the live flows had usability problems. Early in the project, I documented several failures on the production site, including a session-timeout dialog with no countdown and a third-party exit that opened two browser dialogs at once.
The core information architecture question was how to apply one consistent, compliant structure to legally distinct and technically separate products, without slowing delivery, with limited institutional knowledge, and while fixing problems on the live site.
Solution
I designed the Apply Platform as a single template that gave every product application the same four steps: About You, About Account, Review & Submit, and Results. Product-specific fields and compliance requirements were placed within that structure. Every screen included a full Interface Specifications panel, so the wireframe also served as the specification for the offshore development team.
Impact
Around 250 wireframe screens across 12 application flows, delivered over 12 months.
Five documented usability failures resolved.
A consistent application experience across every major consumer financial product the bank offered online.
For context: according to Gallup, the average American visited a bank branch 1.7 times per month in 2011 and 1.0 times per month in 2014, while online and mobile banking grew. The application flows had to work as customers moved to digital channels.
Key learnings
Consistency helps customers trust a financial application. The template was an information architecture decision rather than a visual one, and designing the shared structure first is what made fast delivery possible.
Testimonial
“I worked with Alex at US Bank on highly technical and complex projects involving analyzing use cases and creating wireframes for a better user experience. Alex designed and created all wireframes carefully and meticulously. He typically worked on several simultaneously and somehow managed to keep them all straight. As a writer and on the more creative side of things, I asked questions frequently for clarification. Alex always listened and made adjustments if necessary. He knows how to collaborate and helps people get the information they need to make better choices.”
Carol Brenner, Content Strategist