Self-Service Tool for Loan Program Setup

Introducing a product configuration tool that empowers banks with branding customizations, customer applications builder, rule-building capabilities, and a flexible pricing grid for efficient loan program setup and management, all without requiring extensive technical expertise.

Roles and Deliverables

User Research and Analysis
Defining User Personas
Information Architecture
Design of the Version Management Page

 

Project Duration

Feb 2023 - Apr 2023

 
 

Problem and Challenges

The company experiences extended delays, often spanning several months, when configuring and setting up loan programs for credit unions and affiliated banks. How might we create a tool by streamlining and expediting the setup of product configurations and loan programs?

Avoid Delays

Which part of the manual current services can we include in the product configuration tool to avoid delays?

Vision of Transitioning into a SaaS Company

What elements align with the company's vision of transitioning into a SaaS company and should be incorporated into the configuration tool?

 
 

Research

The goal of design research was to gain clarity on the current workflow by conducting stakeholder interviews.

 
 

Implementation Flow

The interviews aided in understanding the business flow, and product implementation flow, pinpointing the root causes of delays, and evaluating the potential advantages of automating various workflow stages.

 
 

Reasons of Extended Delays

Through research, I found that the solution team primarily communicates client requirements and preferences via Excel sheets. However, this process often requires additional explanations through meetings. Clients spend months refining their preferences, leading to back-and-forth with the solution team. Once finalized, preferences go to the product, development, and testing teams for implementation and review with clients. Frequent updates from clients often involve application-related questions and criteria.

 
 

Configurable Items

  • Customize the loan program's visual identity with branding options. Tailor the logo, color schemes, typeface, card art and favicon.

  • Define the layout, content, and user interface elements to create a seamless application experience including Mobile Verification, Personal Information, Membership Eligibility, Financial Information, Additional Information and Result Page.

  • Customize email and text message templates to deliver tailored messages, notifications, and updates. Default template includes will be provided.

  • Empower the program with rule builder capabilities. Define eligibility criteria, credit rules, and identity verification rules to automate decision-making processes.

  • Fine-tune the pricing strategy with a flexible pricing grid. Set interest rates, fees, and repayment terms that align with the program's financial goals.

  • Maintain control over program changes with version management. Keep track of updates, revisions, and historical data to ensure transparency and compliance.

 

Findings Implementation

The Product Configurations Module is structured based on the configurable elements. Each client may possess multiple products, including credit cards and unsecured installment loans (UILs). Within each product, customization options are available for branding and rules. This approach aligns with common product creation practices among our clients. It's important to note that while it might seem redundant to set the same logo multiple times for one client, this accounts for scenarios where we have credit unions as direct clients and regional banks as secondary clients.

 
 
 

Product thumbnail offers users a quick understanding of product status, type, and recent edits. This design approach prioritizes user comprehension, efficient categorization, and transparent version tracking.

 
 

Design Highlight

Category Organization of Configurable Items in Side Navigation

Categorization for Clarity

Proper categorization of configuration items ensures that users can quickly locate the options they need.

Sequential Flow

Organizing configuration items from top to bottom based on the order used by both the solution team and client banks optimizes the workflow. Users can seamlessly work through the customization process by following a logical sequence that mirrors their actual workflow.

Collapsible and Expandable Side Nav

It expands on hover, overlaying the content layer. This approach maximizes content space, simplifies development, and ensures effortless navigation with contextual access.

 
 

Promoting Efficient Collaboration

The bottom bar aims to optimize configuration management by enabling individual section saving, offering an auto-save option, and providing essential contextual information through timestamps and editor names. This promotes efficient collaboration among team members and ensures transparency, with a more extensive activity log available in version management for comprehensive tracking and analysis.

 
 
 
 

Goal

- Find out which part of the manual current services I can include in the product configuration tool to avoid delays.

- Discover elements that align with the company's vision of transitioning into a SaaS company and should be incorporated into the configuration tool.

Result

  • Secured one credit union client, which has 2,400 financial institutions and processes nearly 7.7 billion transactions annually.

  • Efficiently distributed design tasks among team members, ensuring consistency and coherence in the design process.

  • Led project and structured product configuration module through collaboration with cross-functional teams.