Credz:
proposing improvements with time and personnel limitations
Project: A website for credit card-linked insurance subscriptions for Credz.
Role in the project: Screen audit and MVP proposal (research, flow improvement, and interface design).
Client field: Card administrator
Context
One of the client’s POs, who was responsible for several projects, approached us to conduct an analysis of the design for an ongoing project for which my company was only handling the backend development. At the time, there was dissatisfaction due to inconsistencies with deadlines and a lack of quality in the service provided by the company contracted for design and frontend development.
Audit of Screens Designed by Third-Party Company
As requested by the client, I was responsible for analyzing the screens produced by the third-party company. I conducted the analysis based on design principles, usability, and accessibility. The following issues were observed:
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The screens had severe contrast errors (e.g., white on yellow).
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Inconsistent screen flow; the insurance subscription steps did not make sense.
Taking Over the Project
Six months after the initial consultancy, the project had not progressed positively:
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The website delivery was delayed with no estimated completion date.
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As a temporary measure, the client’s marketing team had created a landing page linked to a Windows' form to capture potential customers for the insurance that should have been signed. All data processing for interested parties was being done manually, negatively impacting the conversion rate.
At this point, our company was called in and agreed to propose a new MVP from scratch in 4 sprints to temporarily replace the landing page and handle potential customers in an automated manner.
Defining Challenges and Tactics
In the new context, there were new challenges to consider:
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Our backend development team lacked extensive frontend knowledge but would be responsible for this part.
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Since my last audit, the client had undergone a rebranding, so new interface rules needed to be considered.
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My design time was not included in the sprint, so I had only 3 days to deliver a technically viable and valuable proposal.
Given these limitations, I outlined the initial steps for approaching everything in a more focused manner within the short timeframe:
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Revisit the old designs to analyze workflows and identify what could be retained.
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Understand the implications of the brand rebranding on the new site.
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Evaluate the effectiveness of the developers' plan to repurpose the flow of another product from the same client to save on development time at the sprints, and suggest improvements if necessary.
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Assess whether, within all the constraints, it would be possible to find space and technical feasibility to enhance the user experience compared to what we had previously.
Outiling Improvements
To assist in designing the new proposal, I conducted benchmarking and cross-referenced it with the business needs. This helped me understand:
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Standards patterns commonly used
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Popular features and which might be relevant for the project
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Subscription flows with which users would be more familiar with
The MVP
Based on the research and analysis of the materials we had:
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I designed a new flow with only one modification affecting the backend (which I validated for feasibility before proposing) that created a new business opportunity for the client beyond the insurance product.
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I developed a new sitemap, improving information distribution and making it possible to expand the MVP into a portal if the client desired.
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I defined a visual design for the interface that incorporated elements from the rebranding while leveraging visual approaches that would minimize the impact on the frontend, thereby reducing development effort.
Check out the delivered MVP prototype below!
Final Thoughts
For an MVP, the project achieved its objective and even exceeded expectations, delivering greater value than anticipated:
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We identified and created an opportunity to engage new users for Credz cards beyond just Credz Insurance products.
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We secured a partnership for another product within the client, including the addition of the design service in the contract.