Implementing meaningful UX improvements in complex banking and insurance platforms does not necessarily require budgets running into the millions. Nor does it require an immediate overhaul of key technology platforms or implementation processes lasting several months. There are a number of optimisations that can be introduced relatively quickly, bringing immediate operational relief to staff and increasing customer satisfaction. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
The key to success lies in accurately identifying the areas with the highest return on investment (ROI) and adopting clear prioritisation criteria.
Where can you find quick, ‘instant’ UX improvements?
- Redesign of the microcopy and system messages: Reviewing the error message database and replacing technical programming jargon with plain language (e.g. changing ‘ERR_INVALID_STRING’ to ‘Please enter a name without special characters or numbers’) is one of the simplest modifications. It eliminates up to 80% of repetitive queries directed to the helpdesk in a given process area.
- Eliminating unnecessary steps in workflows: During audits of financial processes, we regularly find that, on average, two to three steps in application forms or decision-making processes are entirely unnecessary. These usually persist solely due to organisational inertia and the ‘it’s always been done this way’ mentality. Removing fields that are not essential for decision-making or risk analysis directly reduces the time taken to process a case.
- Managing moments of uncertainty (Systemic feedback): Any system operation that takes longer than 2 seconds to process data requires visual feedback. Adding a simple progress bar or a message such as ‘We are processing your request…’ prevents users from nervously clicking the ‘Send’ button repeatedly. In financial systems, this is often the most common cause of duplicate transactions and database errors.
- Ensuring consistency in interface behaviour: Ensuring that core components, such as action buttons, filters and forms, behave identically across all modules of the system. This is fundamental for tools developed by distributed teams over many years.
- Field suggestions and autocomplete: Enabling the system to automatically suggest values based on previously entered data (e.g. automatically completing address details after entering a postcode, or searching for a business partner’s details using their tax identification number).
How can you set your priorities wisely?
To ensure that the selection of new features and interface improvements is not left to chance, we follow clear guidelines at Finture. Every change is assessed against four basic criteria:
- User Experience (UX) Impact: How often do users encounter this problem, and to what extent does it hinder their day-to-day productivity?
- Cost and implementation time (Feasibility): How much development time and resources does implementing a fix require? The best changes are those that deliver a significant impact with minimal development effort.
- Operational risk and data stability: In the financial sector, poor UX leads to human error, which can result in incorrect financial data being entered. If a flaw in the interface leads to errors in accounting or risk assessment, rectifying this issue becomes an absolute priority.
- Measurability of the effect: Once the changes have been implemented, will we be able to accurately measure the reduction in the duration of the process or the decrease in the number of errors?
Implementing small, targeted UX changes is the simplest way to improve operational efficiency. It also helps to build a sustainable competitive advantage in the digital financial sector.
