Banking UX design: Redesigning a customer message management system

Despite the rapid advancements in AI and chatbots, there’s still a strong demand for human customer service, particularly in the banking sector. Complex financial products and security concerns demand a human touch for building trust and handling sensitive matters.

Our task was to revamp a customer message management system dedicated for the banking sector. The objective was to modernize it, enhance usability, and ensure it meets the highest accessibility standards.

About client

Consdata is a software development company specializing in crafting advanced technological solutions that empower financial institutions on their digital transformation journey.

Client’s needs

Consdata developed a platform enabling bank staff to manage customer messages. Although functional, the platform’s code was outdated. They decided to overhaul the platform using the latest technologies. Seizing this opportunity, Consdata aimed to also modernize the interface for a contemporary look and turned to Pragmatic Coders for help.

Client’s requirements

The requested platform is an internal system, so our goal was to create a user-friendly platform that employees could pick up quickly. We focused on improving the information architecture, layout, and other usability aspects.

While the solution can function independently, it’s still considered one of the Eximee‘s platform modules. Therefore, maintaining visual consistency was crucial.

Challenge

The main challenge was choosing the best solutions with the users’ habits in mind.

There are various examples of redesigns that met with drastically negative feedback (for example, Yahoo Mail), so we put special attention to not repeat these design mistakes.

Many solutions on the platform were non-intuitive. We needed to get the platform users’ feedback to understand which areas required improvement.

Solution

We redesigned the message management platform in accordance with accessibility standards. We changed the way users navigate the platform, maximized the workspace, and introduced new solutions to improve the user experience. Thanks to positive feedback from the bank’s employees, we were confident that the platform was usable and intuitive.

How Pragmatic Coders did it

Our collaboration’s success hinged on:

• effective communication,
• usability testing, and
• swift design iterations.

The screenshots that our designer, Damian, had to work with were a good starting point, but they didn’t show everything. To fill in the missing pieces, we met with the client twice a week to clear up any questions Damian had about how things worked. These meetings, along with summaries of what we discussed, meant we could quickly fix any design issues and avoid wasting time on false assumptions.

Our designer suggested it would be beneficial to have a client’s developer join the meetings. This way, we could quickly check if the solutions we were coming up with wouldn’t take too long to build.

We conducted usability testing with bank employees, which confirmed that they knew how to navigate the interface and it didn’t cause them any problems.

The redesign progressed smoothly and quickly. In fact, at each meeting the client was impressed by the number of new screens I had ready to discuss. – Damian Lipiński, UX Designer at Pragmatic Coders

Results of the collaboration

• Boosting back-office efficiency
  The redesigned system is not only more intuitive and accessible, but it’s also easier to use. This translates to real time savings for bank staff who no longer have to struggle with the previous system’s complexities. The result? Boost in productivity and a happier workforce.
• Comprehensive design system
  Damian created a well-prepared design system that allows for easier onboarding of another designer.
• Modern yet familiar
  While our redesign introduces many improvements, it remains intuitive for employees accustomed to the previous version.
• Great-looking designs
  The new platform design strikes a perfect balance between user familiarity and modern aesthetics.