As a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic, Nigeria implemented lockdown and curfew measures to control the spread of the virus in 2020. This meant that only essential workers were permitted to be physically present at their places of work. The bank needed to ensure the safety of its staff as well as continue to deliver excellent services to its customers.

This led to the HR unit informing staff of its plans to provide loans solely for laptop purchases to encourage remote working from home.

I worked closely with my Supervisor and the rest of the application support team in the Emerging Technologies Unit to brainstorm approaches in creating the loan application and deciding on the most optimal solution. Once an approach had been reached, I led the visual design process, working with Sketch to design the user interface, built clickable prototypes for user testing and iterating the design based on feedback provided. Finally, I collaborated with the developers and product owners to bring the product to life.

To begin the project, we first created a user flow to visualise the application process. The flow helped to simplify the process of how users would make use of the application.

Our team implemented the agile methodology which allowed for building the project incrementally. This assisted us to move fast and test clickable prototypes within the bank.

We were able to validate assumptions we made while drafting the proposed user flow, modified UI elements based on feedback from user testing sessions and focused on continous improvement on the project, to provide a wholesome and polished user experience in applying for a loan.

This wholesome experience also included adding a provision for cancelling loan applications.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the laptop loan project was one that needed to be launched and marketed to staff within the bank ASAP. This meant that some processes would have to be rushed and that is why the agile methodology was implemented. This methodology allowed us to create an MVP, which was incrementally improved upon till all stakeholders were satisfied with the process.

Furthermore, as with any organisation, there were constant engaging and re-engaging stakeholders to bypass bottlenecks. Since HR was the main product owner, we had limited flexibility with designing the product. However, we were able to make use of the resources we had and implement the requirements of the stakeholder and product owners to produce a one-size-fits-all product.

Subsequently, we’ve been asked to re-examine the application process and provide an easier alternative for staff to provide signed copies of their laptop offers. I conducted a business process analysis of the current user flow and proposed a new flow.

This was my first major project designing products for use by external stakeholders within the bank. It was a teachable experience that helped shaped my perception and passion for creating a user-centred design. I am very glad of the impact we as a unit were able to make in the lives of other staff and the brought into the unit within a year.