Overview

SUMMARY:

The client, an insurance company, wanted to redesign their internal insurance tracking software.Their current software involved users handling multiple, out-dated insurance tracking systems for their clients, leading to an inefficient and unproductive process for years. As such, the client wanted to create a cohesive system where internal employees could track insurances all in one place to streamline the process. Neudesic replaced their legacy system with a new web-based application that could track insurances all in one place.


Project Duration:

May 10, 2021 - present


The Team:

Shanaya Ukuwela - UX/UI Designer

Senior UX/UI Designer

My Role:

UX/UI Designer

Tools Used:

Adobe XD, Azure DevOps, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Teams


Final Product:

Insurance Tracking Reconciliation Prototype

The Challenge

The project consists of over 10 different teams (each team handling one function of the system such as loan payments, wire payments, reconciliations, etc.), most of which final designs have been built out by previous designers over the past 6 years. When I first joined this project, I learned the developers misunderstood the intention of those designs and used them as a guide rather than the final product. As such, I was hired to assist in the “Upgrade” phase of the project, where the Lead UX Designer and I compared the developed product functionality to the original UX wires to fix any UX inconsistencies. We would create a new set of wires calling out any updates to the styling and interactions of the product. Along with creating these Upgrade wires, the project still had multiple areas where new designs were needed, ranging from small feature additions to existing functionality to entirely new sections of the application.

Our Process

The Scope: UX Strategy and Research

Our team works by a three-week sprint process. I would refer to Azure DevOps to see any stories assigned to me by the delivery manager or business analyst for the upcoming sprint. At the end of each sprint, we hold preplanning and planning meetings to review designs and confirm we are ready for the upcoming sprint. As the sprint begins, we hold a sprint retrospective to review what went well, what did not, and what could be improved from the last sprint.

The Surface: Creating the Mockups

In Progress Reconciliations - Release Assignment Successful
In Progress Reconciliations - Release Assignment Successful

Designs need to be completed before a sprint begins so the developers know what to work on during the sprint. The Lead UX Designer and I review stories in Azure DevOps to track what designs are needed in the upcoming sprint and get to work. I attend multiple elaboration meetings for both the Upgrade and any new functionality work needed by the 10 other teams on the project, where the Delivery Manager (client-side), Business Analyst (client-side), Subject Matter Expert (client-side), Lead Developer(client-side) and myself (Neudesic resource) discuss and determine Conditions of Acceptance (COAs). COAs are usually roughly drawn out before each meeting by the Business Analyst. If wires are ready before the meeting, it is reviewed by the team. Development effort always comes into play for every design decision made. I used Microsoft Excel to track COAs and made sure I am not missing any crucial details discussed. I created the mockups, annotating any changes that QAs need to test during development. If the team preferred a direction that I felt would not be beneficial for the user, I would create multiple options of the design and present these designs to the team. I would note and explain how each design addressed the problem differently, and what any possible issues each could incur. This process helped me determine whether my assumption was correct and helped the team visualize if this idea would work. By getting real examples of my own ideas, as well as the team’s, I was able to reach an unbiased decision on what design worked best with the team. In the end, it helped us come to a consensus and determine the best course of action. After multiple meetings and iterations of the designs, the story’s COAs were finalized by the Product Owner(client-side) and moved to ready for the next sprint. As any changes occurred, I would update the style guide for this project, which is saved on the client’s server.

UX Review

In Progress Reconciliation Details - UX Review
In Progress Reconciliation Details - UX Review

As features are completed, my team and I review what has been developed and if it aligns with the mockups. I create an XD file per story, with screenshots of the developed product, redlining what needs to be updated and sending it back to the Delivery Manager so that she can send it over to the development team. If a bug is found, the Delivery Manager creates a story for it so that it can be addressed.

User Testing

This project has dealt with scope creep due to clients’ evolving business decisions and developed solutions not matching the designs made over the years, leading to overspending. Since the client does not believe they have the budget to spend on user research and testing, our work ends after designs are developed. If possible, our team would conduct usability tests to confirm designs meet users’ needs.

Our Results

Overall, due to the client’s UX maturity level, UX is not at the forefront of the process. As such, the Lead UX Designer and I do our best to incorporate UX by asking questions to the team (Business Analyst, Product Owner, Lead Developer, and Delivery Manager) and challenging ideas when possible by creating multiple design solutions to address a problem and inquiring what the problems the ideas are trying to solve.

Even so, this project has allowed me to improve my communication with developers, delivery managers, product owners, and business analysts as well as an understanding of clients’ needs. It has challenged my perspective by allowing me to test and iterate ideas I would not believe possible until I see them myself. One of the most important things I learned is that communication of ideas is especially useful when visualized because it helps incite collaboration among the team by allowing the team to understand the idea from a perspective that may be different from their own.