Collaborate, Innovate and Create

Case study provided by: Dora Baltrusaitis and Kirk Tsai

2

Introductions• Who we are:

– Dora Baltrusaitis, eBusiness Architect– Kirk Tsai, Information Architect

• Comerica Bank Case Study– Large-scale, corporate portal initiative– Required strong collaboration between eBA and

IA roles– iRise played integral role in project’s success– Unable to provide iDoc; sensitive information

3

Who is Comerica Bank?• Began in 1849 as Detroit Savings Fund Institute

• A financial services company headquartered in Dallas with:– Over $58 billion in assets– Over 11,000 employees– Main customers in Michigan, Texas, California, Arizona

and Florida

• Among the 20 largest U.S. banking companies.

• Part of the Emerging Technology and Strategy Development Group– 3 eBusiness Architects, 3 Information Architects/UXs, and

12 Developers– Follow iterative development; moving to agile

4

Collaborate, Innovate and Create• Project:

– Design, develop, align and implement a large, corporate initiative involving new technology and dozens of stakeholders across multiple disciplines.

• Challenges:– Variety of stakeholders from different disciplines and at

different levels.– Stakeholders geographically dispersed.– Project communications.– Dealing with new and unproven technology. Not

understood; difficult to articulate needs.– Short window of opportunity. Speed to market was key.

5

Collaborate, Innovate and Create• How we faced the challenge and seized the

opportunity– Built a strong, committed Team– Leveraged iRise to:

• Foster strong collaboration• Innovate to create a better solution• Seize the need for speed to market

6

Why iRise?• To build upon previous successes• Helped Team focus and visualize towards a common

direction. It’s easier to reach a destination when you know where you’re headed.

• Wireframes weren’t working – difficult and time-consuming to change and understand; static

• Enables you to make changes dynamically• Had broad stakeholder involvement, requiring strong

collaboration and flexibility• Shared server enabled real-time, remote access• To improve understanding between business and IT• Supports iterative development

7

eBA Role• Ensures involvement of appropriate SMEs and

stakeholders• Coordinates and facilitates requirement sessions• Captures requirements and decisions• Confirms alignment of functional requirements to

business objectives• Tends to ask more business-related questions (vs. user-

focused) – E.g. Is it necessary to provide online user guides if we

have FAQs?• Ensures all IT Team members are (i.e. eBAs, IAs,

Developers, etc.) on same page prior to meeting with clients

• Ensures IA design meets original business requirements

8

IA Role• Serves as a user advocate

– Ensures users can complete tasks efficiently and effectively

• Tends to ask more user-focused (vs. business-related) questions– E.g. Where should we put the FAQs so the user can easily

find them? What FAQ topics should we use?• Assists eBA during requirements gathering / envision

sessions• Creates low-to-high fidelity simulations to help solidify

requirements• Participates in initial and formal testing• Reviews site graphic design and content

9

Process – Collaborate, Innovate and Create

iRise Simulations

• Define requirements• Validate and approve

requirements• Create design• Iterate possibilities

• Use as visualprototype

• Provide abilityto view & approvesite content

• Validate expectedresults

• Simulate potentialsolutions to defects

• Enable early usertraining anddevelopment of documentation

ClientSMEs Executive

Stakeholders

Tech TeamseBAs

IAs

DevelopersBusinessPartners

Define &Design

Develop Test Implement

10

Original Login

11

iRise Simulation

Production

Phase 1 Login

12

iRise Simulation

Production

Phase 2 Login

13

Results• Improved speed-to-market by shortening definition and

design phases by 30%, or about two months• Reduced rework associated with functional defects by

80%• Built trust and confidence of the client, resulting in a

strengthened working relationship• Clients more confident signing off on simulations and

text-based requirements• Improved working relationship with internal team, i.e.

IAs, eBAs and Tech Team• Able to redesign potential technical challenges before

they were developed• Identified approximately 250 changes prior to coding• Prevented the development of unnecessary pages

14

Results

“iRise enabled all stakeholders to focus and visualize a common solution and direction. It provided a value-added WOW factor! It was a big time saver for everyone. I couldn’t imagine doing the project without it!”

Becky Siewert, VP of Treasury Management Product Development

15

Recommendations• Have eBAs and IAs work closely together; concurrent focus on

definition and design • Involve Information Architects early on to integrate usability

into design• Include cross-functional team members (e.g. client SMEs, IAs,

eBAs, and Technical Team) in requirement sessions– Pre-meeting planning to ensure on same page

• Engage core team and extended client SMEs throughout the process

• Conduct regular checkpoint reviews with executive stakeholders– No surprises– Builds support

• Tailor review and approval processes based on solution complexity and user audience

16

Recommendations -What Updates to Make on the Fly• Label changes (e.g. content, buttons, etc.)

and additions• Moving things around / placement• Page linking / sequencing• Demonstrating to make a point, e.g. mock up

something that isn’t optimal• Anything that takes less than a minute

17

Recommendations -What Updates Not to Make on the Fly

• Page redesigns• Logic changes• Anything that requires more analysis • Things that require screen shots or additional

widget modification

18

Questions?

19

Thank You!

20

Contact Information

Kirk Tsai, Information Architectktsai@Comerica.com

Dora Baltrusaitis, eBusiness Architectdbaltrusaitis@Comerica.com