UX/UI REDESIGN OF Bank CRM

Sparkasse Bank Loan CRM

I was asked to redesign Sparkasse’s (one of the biggest and oldest banks in Europe) most important CRM - the Loan Score Calculator. After six user interviews with bank employees, I’ve discovered subpar UX made them lose time each time they started a new process. After the redesign, we shortened the input time significantly.

My role

Lead UX / Product / Service designer

I worked as the sole UX researcher & UX designer. I held client meetings to bridge the gap between the Sparkasse's technical team and outsourced developers team.

The problem

Sparkasse's employees were unnecessarily losing time using the CRM

The current CRM was developing on the go, so each employee developed its own way of dealing with its issues. As the software progressed, the user behavior had to change, which brought more time investment by employees.

The Goal

Improve UX and save time

Quite early on, I saw the opportunities, where UX could be improved significantly and wouldn't challenge the developers.

User research

I had to dive deep into the banking world

During the tests, I had to learn the ins and outs of banking jargon and how the current CRM is connected to different established software and data centers. There were specific issues with each employee, how they enter data, by either clicking in the fields or using the tab button on the keyboard.

UX Research methods according to maze.co

Usability tests

I conducted six on-site usability tests

To get a deeper understanding of users, I conducted six usability tests with bank employees from two biggest cities in Slovenia.

Open ended usability test

I gathered experiences with the current CRM from six Sparkasse employees

Test participants gave me a broad specter of answers on current issues and possible improvements.

"I was in bad mood at initial use, I was only clicking due to lack of knowledge." "It was unclear what is necessary to fill."
"Many clicks necessary to go back when you've already done the deal."
"Why does the save button save automatically?"
"Graphs are great!"
"Why are text fields yellow? Is that necessary information?"
"SISBON comes too late."
"I did not know that 0 should be entered in the Euribor field."
"There should be clearer buttons for the fixed and variable interest rate columns."

Eve

"I would like to have other software connected."
"I would prefer SISBON later on in the process."
"It should generate the job number."
"Newbuilds are problematic at assesing the amount of loan."
"I would add Land registry to the menu."
"Online calculator should have more information."
"I would like Sibank automatic."
"Graphs should be bigger, and have more contrast."
"I would split documentation into two parts - necessary and additional."

John

"When it goes to the start of the process, the filters are turned off."
"Save work - does it save itself?"
"I need fewer client data (name, date of birth, tax)"
"Are yellow fields necessary?"
"I get Error on Enter and backspace
Insurances - only one option (not all licenses)."
"It bothers me because PDFs export on 3 sheets."

Natasha

"When I export Limit in CRM -> I have to correct it in Word."
"Download not required -> 0,"
"SISBON earlier, you tell the customer -> SISBON and SIBank are eliminated."
"They don't need the right side of the form, the GIBs need it -> differences between the Personal and Real Estate loan."
"We need less personal data - let's shorten it."
"Add account number with salary at Sparkasse bank - as 4th option."
"Euribor level -> aut. downloaded by the API."
"Internal behavior - open internal blocking -> no/on closed definition."
"I would combine the Insurance page it with the next page - Calculation."
"There should be a tab to the same table option."
"I have to enter the Account number manually, not all data is automatically shown."

Trent

"The download button is not ok -> it should automatically download SISBON not yet - maybe it doesn't have consent." "The input fields are too long. "
"Moratorium should have an automatic conversion."
"Other software entry must textually match the CRM." "Database in Excel was very good."
"I don't enter the field - Own funds."
"Euribor -> could be refreshed monthly (1st of the month)."
"Forms have too much information."
"2 columns, Mail missing
"Monthly annuity should be highlighted."
"Inappropriate head for documents."

Thea

"I don't know what the Calculate button does."
"I would like to export it to Excel"
"There should be 2 fields for salaries."
"I would add the database - as soon as possible."
"S. P. - it is not clear whether company is standardized - there are errors (single- and double-entry bookkeeping)."
"Escort. month -> credit conditions -> introduce archive for services rendered "The Search filter could be improved - what is in the work and by person."
"Internal behavior should be automatically refreshed."
"Arrange the order of data in a reasonable way."
"Possible change of credit from fast to classic."

Jasmine

Pain points

I gathered most important remarks and grouped them into themes

After I finished with the tests, I could pull a few common issues, which would have to be adressed as soon as possible.

TEXT FIELDS

- often too wide
- yellow fields are unclear to users

THE SAVE BUTTON

- unclear whether I have to use it on every page
- unnecessary

THE CALCULATE BUTTON

- it heavily impacts the flow
- if you don't use it, you could use all the data

SISBON INFORMATION

- it is unnecessary to get client's credit information in the start
- the need for it differs for personal and real estate loans

UX review

Resolving the urgent issues first

After performing an UX review of the current CRM, I could already point out where the current software could be improved and the developers team could start working on it.

Before / After

Final mockups

Finishing the project

With mobile first principle in mind, I created both the desktop and the responsive version.
The designs were handed off to the dev team.

Takeaways

The impact of the process

I had to deeply understand the banking sector, the loan systems, the software and the people using the CRM, to be able to offer insightful UX / UI solutions. I'm grateful for the chance to thoroughly learn about ins and outs of the banking system.