Component-based design for complex systems
Merchant Portal - Standard Bank (2016)
The context:
Card features are not just for consumers. The other primary user group is merchants. We built a data analytics portal for them to better understand their customers’ spending habits and trends.
The information provided to the merchants revolves around their customers’ (aggregated) demographic information, how they spend their money, and who the most valuable customer types are.
This was a challenging project because of the amount of data involved, and the widely varied merchant requirements and value propositions. It is currently in a pilot phase.
I introduced a new design approach as part of this project: component-based design (UI) rather than pixel-perfect layouts.
It increased efficiency within the design as well as development teams
My contribution
This was a team effort, where the UI designer and I worked hand in hand. There were no formal wireframes, but plenty of sketches (which naturally I didn’t take photos of).
It was my first time visualising data and the challenges that came with that were interesting!
What I enjoyed:
Lean design processes
Working with data and appreciating the varying value to our customers
Helping to define the strategy of the billing model
What I struggled with:
MVP scope was too large
Not enough user testing during concept and design
The project didn’t run in an agile enough manner
Tools I used:
Lean UX
Personas
Product strategy
Information architecture