Overview

During Innovation week we were encouraged to create new ideas and programs for our work.

Being in UX, every week is innovation week for me but it is fun to see other IT based teams get involved.

Problem Statement

We don't currently offer any environmental related programs. This is not only personally important, but also important to our members.

The goal of this program is to create a suite of products focused on positive environmental impact.

Users and Audience

The main user is the members of this credit union. These users are environmentally focused and want a financial institution that aligns with their values.

This user would already have an existing account with us, but be curious about what perks we could offer them. For example, a discount on a loan for an electric car or solar panel instillation.

Roles and Responsibility

I brainstormed ideas on what type of program we wanted to create, and ultimately went with the idea of a carbon calculator and green suite of products.

There was then an opportunity to present to senior level staff and they would choose a winner. It ended up being Wings Going Green. If this idea was executed upon, next steps would be to write requirements, collect data, and other business focused tasks to make sure everything was in order.

Scope and Constraints

I had a week to create this presentation and presented to a panel. Because this was just an idea, I didn't have requirements or project sponsors to support the work, but had the opportunity to push the idea forward for the business.

Process

1. Brainstorm project ideas

2. Research statistics for business case

3. Define scope of design

4. Market analysis of financial green products

5. Interview internal loan team & stakeholders

6. Research carbon footprint calculators

7. Compile findings

8. Create potential loan products and events

9. Mockup ideas in prototypes

10. Present research and findings

Outcome and Results

This ended up as the winning project for this innovation week. Through presenting to the panel they voted my idea and presentation as the most innovative and possible for future implementation.

Overview

I had the opportunity to promote building out a team to support the business and users from a UX perspective. A team charter, role definitions, mission statement, duties, and job descriptions were some of the ways I approached the task.

Problem Statement

My current employer needed an in house UX designer in 2018. Since then, the roadmap I created presented some gaps in resources to make the work happen. We had a problem of too much work, and not enough resources to make UX happen.

Users and Audience

Users started out as other team members in my department as well as general users of our web experiences. The main users later turned out to be members of the team I eventually added to the team.

Roles and Responsibilities

The main roles and responsibilities I had for creating a new UX team involved an HR business partner, accountant, and supervisor approval to add headcounts to the team.

Scope and Constraints

The original scope was to create an internship program and hire a candidate for the summer of 2019. The scope then expanded in 2021 to create two new roles and hire two people to fill them on the team. Constraints were mainly around budgets for salaries and candidate knowledge in the hiring process.

Process

1. Brainstorm team ideas

2. Research UX team structures

3. Present a need to senior management

4. Budget for new roles

5. Write job descriptions

6. Post job descriptions with our HR partner

7. Select candidates and host interviews

8. Make offers to final candidate selections

9. Create team documentation

10. Onboard new team members

11. Create new team process and best practices

12. Set up Jira and Confluence space for the team as a knowledge base

Outcomes and results

The results of this effort is a well-rounded UX team that consists of a UX manager, UX designer, and UX researcher. I was also able to add a seasonal UX intern to mentor and teach new designers coming into the industry.

Overview

We are looking for a way to meet ADA compliance standards on our storefront website first, then will explore more internal and external facing websites options for the future.

Problem Statement

We have some errors on our internal and external facing websites that don't currently meet ADA compliance standards.

“By 2023, digital products in full WCAG Level 2 compliance will outperform their market competitors by 50%."

Why does accessibility matter?

• Enhances usability

• Eliminates barriers for permanent, temporary, or situational disabilities

• It's the law

• It's the right thing to do

• Aligns with the Wings value of diversity and inclusion

Users and Audience

Main users would be our external website facing users.

Roles and Responsibilities

My roles and responsibilities for this project included:

• Research for accessibility vendors and tools

• Development for putting the javascript into the footer of our website

• Digital marketing for working with our storefront vendor to put the javascript in the footer

• Business analyst for documentation

• Vendor management to select a final vendor and budget

• Project management for establishing a timeline and goals

Scope and Constraints

The scope is to implement this on our public facing website before password entrance. This will allow us to see how the process goes and if it is successful on our website. One constraint is that we can’t customize legal fine print for the contract (it is what it is) and another is that it doesn’t cover our 3rd party chat bot.

Process

1. Market analysis for accessibility

2. Research vendors

3. Arrange vendor demos

4. Submit a project charter

5. Budget for a contract

6. Partner with the business units

7. Select a final vendor

8. Partner with legal and compliance

9. Start free trial with Accessibe

10. Test javascript on the marketing page

11. Gather feedback from internal teams

12. Implement changes and launch

Outcome and Results

We currently have the javascript in the footer of our marketing page and are able to see it in the stage environment. I sent out the link to business units and legal to get their overall feedback. We are not able to customize the widget much, but their feedback helps with pushing forward to signing a contract.

Next steps will be to finalize the widget and launch it to production. I've been working as the project manager and business analyst for this project, so I created a Confluence document for any documentation and steps taken in this project for when a more formalized project manager can step in, we are prepared with all of the information.

Another next step is to get Acessibe into the vendor management software with legal and set up ACH payments for their service.