Senior Manager of App-to-Delivery UX Tribe
About
I am responsible for all loan processes related to Fannie Mae from when a loan application originates to when it is sold to Fannie Mae. This encompasses two of the flagship products, Loan Delivery and Desktop Underwriter, as well as several supporting programs. I have conducted multiple effective design and research efforts in all Application-to-Delivery Products (Loan Delivery, New Document Certification, Title Enhancement, Uniform Closing Dataset, Early Check, Loan Quality Control, Desktop Underwriter) as well as large-scale explorations of strategic efforts for overarching strategy in the space. These efforts have included workshops, usability tests, contextual research, and user interface design.
Design: We were able to create new flows, screens, and designs for both flagship products (Loan Delivery and Desktop Underwriter) as well as several smaller efforts (New Document Certification and Uniform Closing Dataset). After iterating upon these flows with user feedback, we were able to simplify multiple processes, saving our partners on average 3.8 hours a week and increasing our satisfaction score by 20%.
Research: My research efforts gave critical information to decision-makers, reducing uncertainty for the product teams’ leadership. For example, with Loan Delivery and New Document Certification, the research identified usability issues in the interface; subsequent research and design work fixed those issues. In Uniform Closing Dataset, EarlyCheck, and Title, the research drove product direction and long-term strategy to better meet the needs of the end users. Based on these successes, product team groups now actively seek our partnerships in their projects and approach problems with our team in a collaborative way, utilizing the strengths of each group.
Why is this a favorite
This is one of my favorite initiatives because of both the quality of the product my team produced, as well as the “trial-by-fire.” We had just started the UX team and needed to quickly prove our value to our partners. It was very rewarding to steer that relationship from initial skepticism to valued partnership.
Documentation
Navy Federal Online Access Responsive COncept
About
Three years after I started at Navy Federal, I was asked to come up with a future vision for online banking. This was a major opportunity for my team to move UX considerations to the forefront of NFCU decisions. As this project spanned the entirety of NFCU's products, it necessitated numerous discussions with different stakeholders looking at what projects they had planned. We also explored new options that had not previously been considered, and engaged their teams in some of our design thinking. Together, we looked for opportunities in banking behavior that would allow users to better enjoy their banking experience. I really appreciated the chance to explore this design space with other NFCU leaders, taking a step back to put ourselves in the position of a NFCU member and think, "What would make this experience not only useful, but desirable and enjoyable?" The final product included using visualizations of data, a more interactive version of transferring money, and contextual help triggered by certain behaviors.
Since completing it, this vision has become the roadmap of NFCU's website as well as their mobile apps.
Why is this a favorite
This is one of my favorite projects for a number of reasons. I think most importantly, it really showed how the user experience/design department and UX mentality had taken root in the NFCU community. When I started there, the department had only been there for one year. At that time, one of the VPSs had mentioned to my supervisor that user experience would never be taken seriously at NFCU. This project showed how much that had changed.
Documentation
eNet
About
I was tasked with managing a UX team to update the design and IA of eNet (Navy Federal’s ten-year-old 11,000 page intranet). The suggestion of my VP was to "go to war" with the team running it. From the beginning of the first meeting with their team, I knew this was not the right approach. After talking with them, it was clear that they knew there were UX problems, but did not have the skill set to really identify them, let alone fix them. Instead of an antagonistic approach, we helped them recognize the UX problems and offered solutions for them. More importantly, we helped show them how to look at their work from the perspective of the NFCU employee and put that experience at the forefront of the team’s decisions. Nothing is ever a completely smooth process (and there were certainly disagreements and differences in opinion), but consensus was made easier because of the collaborative relationship.
In the end, our team updated and greatly improved the site, chopping over 3,000 pages of content and implementing a consistent design language.
Why is this a favorite
This is a favorite project because I could both markedly improve the intranet site, while simultaneously building a collaborative community of design within NFCU.
Documentation
Interactive Sketch Wireframes Concept 1
Interactive Sketch Wireframes Concept 2