Rebuilding Trust in the User Centered Design Process, IA Summit 2-28-04

COPYRIGHT Wachovia CONFIDENTIAL

Rebuilding Trust in the User-Centered Design ProcessSamantha Bailey, Vice President, Information Architecture

For the Record

•I’m a librarian who works in digital spaces

•Currently: VP, Information Architecture for Wachovia

•Pioneer in IA: First employee of Argus Associates, spent 5 years there developing their operation & methodology

•MILS from University of Michigan, 1996

http://www.mcphee.com/amusements/current/11247.html

Overview

What went wrong

How we addressed it

How do we keep from doing it (wrong) again?

What can you learn from our mistakes?

Background

Team structure & how we work with our internal partners

Relationship between Bank & Brokerage (Wachovia.com and Wachoviasecurities.com)

Internal Competition (“full service” vs. “self-directed”)

Audience: mix of novice & expert, variety of investing needs

We used a user-centered design methodology, how come we got a site no one was happy with?

Initial Design Process

When user-centered design…isn’t

Weaknesses:• Investing center as subset of much larger project• Internal politics and corporate flux (merger) • Working relationship• Shared understanding of goals & methodology• Our level of subject matter expertise

“You didn’t include us enough in the process.”

The Original Outcome

http://www.wachovia.com/personal/page/0,,327,00.html

Usability Test ResultsTested Wachovia.com site during site-wide redesign; users could successfully locate the investing center, but couldn’t successfully navigate it

Users don’t understand menu structure (select one, series of steps)

“If I were looking for advice on where to start, I’m not sure this would be helpful at all.”

Novice users particularly confused

“Wording seems to be confusing.”

Expert users don’t find scheme intuitive either

Knows she wants to invest in stocks. Comes here to determine whether or not she can purchase stock through Wachovia. She isn’t sure.

It’s humbling to plan the redesign of a redesign before the redesign launches.

Laying the Groundwork

Pre-Discovery

• Understanding why the first attempt failed (humble pie issues)• Time delays worked to our advantage• Relationship building• Establishing new working agreement

- Increased BU involvement- More sign-off points

Redesigning the Investing CenterPhases: Standard UE Process

• (pre Discovery)• Discovery• Design• Usability Testing• Iteration• Development & Implementation

Redesigning the Investing Center

Phase Goal

Discovery Improve understanding of customer’s & business needs

Design Design several versions

Usability Testing Test for most successful

Iteration Design best of breed hybrid

Development & Implementation

Trust Factor

If this was to be a pretty typical methodology, how was trust increased (and why did we expect a different outcome)?

• Communication—it’s cliché, but can’t be stressed enough• Repetition—didn’t rely on trickle down (luxury of time)• Pushed back on requests to compress discovery

Redesigning the Investing CenterDiscovery

• Clarifying the business needs

• Clarifying user expectations (conducted interviews with Financial Advisors and customers)

• Involving the business in the process—asking for specific kinds of engagement

Discovery Conclusions

Novice Users

Expert Users

Want Advice

Don’t Want Advice

User configurations

Discovery Conclusions

Novice Users

Expert Users

Want Advice

Don’t Want Advice

Discovery Conclusions

Novice Users

Expert Users

Want Advice

Don’t Want Advice

Discovery Conclusions

Novice Users

Expert Users

Want Advice

Don’t Want Advice

Discovery Conclusions

Novice Users

Expert Users

Want Advice

Don’t Want Advice

Discovery Conclusions

Business Needs:

• Tell the Wachovia story: what differentiates us as a brokerage firm

• Provide more real-time market updates and fresher content

• Focus the design on acquisition of new customers and on funneling verified leads to Financial Advisors

Sea Change

Focus the design on acquisition of new customers and on funneling verified leads to Financial Advisors

How were we able to come to this conclusion, this time?

• More stakeholders around table in environment focused on building trust led to more candid conversations

• The business units had more clarity about corporate goals and interdependencies.

Discovery Conclusions

Novice Users

Expert Users

Want Advice

Use website to direct qualified leads to Financial Advisors

• Criteria for identifying qualified leads

Discovery Conclusions

Novice Users

Expert Users

Don’t Want Advice

Guide users through self-directed Brokerage options• ID candidates for richer service offerings

Design

Three Approaches:

• Needs & Tasks (wizard)

• Filter

• Portal

Design: Needs & Tasks

Classification Schemes:

• Investing Tasks (e.g., locate an advisor, rollover an IRA)

• Life Event Planning (e.g., retirement, college)

• “Getting Started” tool that guides users through steps, intended for the novice user

Design: Filter

Tool (short series of questions) “filters” users into novice with advice, novice without advice, expert with advice, expert without advice categories

Design: Portal

Classification Schemes:

• Meeting Your Needs (i.e., investing tasks)

• Life Event Planning (e.g., retirement, college)

• Investing Choices (focus on investment vehicles)

• Current Wachovia Customers

Business Unit Reaction

• Had a hard time keeping the 3 approaches distinct—tended to want to converge by combining the elements they liked and removing the elements they didn’t—had to ask them to trust us & the usability testing process

• Very skeptical about filter approach

• Preferred portal approach

Trust Factors

• Looked for opportunities to demonstrate increased SME

• Relied on our business partners for SME guidance

•Demonstrated points where our expertise was brought to bear in unique ways

Usability Testing Results

Needs & Tasks

• Novice users responded extremely positively to wizard (wanted to be sure it would be useful to them and not just a tool to gather marketing info)

• Expert users generally successful (skeptical about wizard)

•Life Event Planning: generated high level of appeal across board

Usability Testing Results

Filter

• Users rejected the filter—they felt confident self-identifying the categories and either didn’t like the idea of answering questions or only wanted to do so if the result would be more tangible (e.g., advice)

• Novice users were less clear about whether or not they wanted advice

• Expert users readily self-identified

Usability Testing Results

Portal

• Those who didn’t like it felt there were too many choices; others not bothered by this

• No one understood the Current Customer category, didn’t like duplication in options

• Expert users liked the Investing Choices category

Usability Testing ResultsGeneral Findings

• Users thought the Wachovia Story was marketing and tended to ignore it

• Most expert users looking to other sources (e.g., Motley Fool) for market data

• Looking for Fees & Commissions info.

• Novice users intimidated by market chart

• Novice users open to tools

Design Iteration

Hybrid:

• Provide Wizard front & center for novice users

• I Want To… (task based)

• Accounts & Services

• Life Events Planning

• Investment Choices

Business Unit Reaction

• Confident about mix of options for novice and expert users

• Liked portal aspect

• Appreciated Wachovia Story, Market Research

• Fought for inclusion of Investment Choices

• Conceded to greater inclusion of Fees & Commissions info

Project Debrief

“You included us in the process too much.”

Conclusion—for us

• Rebuilding trust required focusing as much effort on nurturing the relationship as on our design efforts

• The final product is a user-centered design that we expect to be popular with our users

• The relationship with the business unit is such that we look forward to working with them in the future (and hope they feel the same way)

Conclusion—for you

• Examine situation from every angle; decide what you’re willing to “own”• Balance eating humble pie with reputation management • Anticipate the effort required in relationship management as part of the project planning process• Don’t underestimate the importance of SME • Use usability testing to validate recommendations

Contact Information

Samantha BaileyVP, Information Architecture

samantha.bailey@wachovia.com

COPYRIGHT Wachovia CONFIDENTIAL