Conquest
FINANCIAL PLANNING SOFTWARE
A fintech start-up with a mandate to make a product that is beautifully uncomplicated—utilizing AI to help our partners help their customers, at any income level, create a financial plan and achieve their financial goals. Project Brief: Conquest Planning Inc. is a fintech start-up aiming to revolutionize financial planning with our B2B2C SaaS applications that equip advisors with collaborative planning tools for higher engagement with clients. It's a flexible platform intended to deliver AI-driven, algorithmic advice to a wide range of clients, including those already working with an investment professional (B2B) or self-service clients seeking their own planning paths (B2C). Challenges Stepping in as the first UX expert at Conquest, I was immediately tasked with navigating the complexities of creating a user-friendly interface for an advanced financial planning tool. My role at Conquest started in the company's formative phase, where quick adaptation and implementation of initial designs were crucial. Building a dedicated design team and refining our project management approach were vital milestones. I also spearheaded the development of a unified design system and pattern library to maintain consistency across our expanding product suite. A significant part of my challenge was promoting and advocating for UX best practices in an environment heavily geared toward rapid development and client-driven demands. My Approach In my drive to establish a user-centric design framework, I championed usability testing to refine UI concepts and formulated the visual language of our application. However, my role went deeper: I advocated for integrating product analytics, feedback surveys, and regular user interviews into our design process. This commitment to empirical data and user feedback was instrumental in developing best practices that aligned perfectly with our user experience goals. By pioneering a design system that was both visually cohesive and functionally robust, I ensured a consistent and engaging user experience that resonated with our clientele.
Project Outcome My commitment to design in the early years was crucial in helping the company attract $3M in funding from Portage3 Ventures and a $6M collaboration with IG Wealth Management. These investments propelled our expansion into key international markets, including the UK, US, and Japan. Through these efforts, I laid the foundation for a dynamic, user-focused design culture, and contributed to making Conquest the financial planning software of choice for Canada's central banks while setting the stage for our next leap into the US market.
Loyalty and lotteries
WHITE-LABEL LOYALTY APP
This white-label loyalty app successfully created a new, lucrative revenue stream for our client, while demonstrating to the executive team the value of best practices in UX design. Project Brief: An international lottery management client, traditionally focused on B-to-B print-based products, sought to diversify into the B-to-C market with a new digital loyalty platform. They partnered with the Online Business System's Digital Studio, for whom I was the principal consultant of UX Design at the time—to ensure the application of UX best practices in their maiden B-to-C venture. Challenges: This was the client's first foray into the B-to-C digital product space, and they required expertise in user-centred design to validate their concept and build a scalable product. With the client having limited experience building and managing Agile development teams, our biggest challenge as an Agile software consultancy was achieving inter-departmental alignment to facilitate a smooth development process from design to delivery. My Approach: With the help of our software architects and Product Managers, we assessed user needs, mapped key flows, and examined the requisite technology. I actively facilitated Design-thinking exercises and prototype testing through a Design Sprint. This helped the client validate the concept with real users, ensuring the development team had a clear roadmap and purpose. Project Outcome: The client successfully launched their loyalty platform, attracting multiple organizations across the US. Our collaboration gave them the design strategy and user validation needed to successfully move forward in a new market.
Lease management
RESPONSIVE WEB PORTAL
At CWB National Leasing, I spearheaded the UX design of an intuitive financing portal, enhancing customer access and driving operational efficiency within Canada's leading equipment financing company. Project Brief CWB National Leasing, Canada’s premier equipment financing company, aimed to enhance customer service by providing a comprehensive online financing portal. This digital transformation initiative is intended to make financing details accessible to over 324,000 business customers. Challenges I was tasked with helping the client create a scalable, responsive, and accessible client portal against CWB National Leasing's recent acquisition by Canadian Western Bank and a cultural shift towards digital transformation. There was a need to overcome the traditional management structures and the parent bank's cautious stance towards new technologies to introduce user-centred design and Agile methodologies within the development teams. Many of their customer support teams still relied on faxed information and direct phone conversations with their lessees. This created a uniquely challenging environment for comprehensive usability studies. My Approach I initiated the process with as much user research as possible and feedback from internal stakeholders to form the foundation for a responsive and intuitive portal interface. Prototyping and iterative usability testing were vital in refining the user experience, ensuring simplicity and efficiency in customer interactions. A clear information architecture and consistent visual design aligned with the CWB rebrand reinforced user trust and engagement. Working within an Agile framework, I collaborated closely with development teams, embedding best UX practices to design a comprehensive online financing platform empowering users and advancing CWB National Leasing’s digital presence. Project Outcome The result was a successful redefinition of the client's digital strategy, resulting in a user-friendly financing portal that aligns with CWB National Leasing’s commitment to customer empowerment and accessibility. This initiative marked a significant milestone in the client's digital journey and set the stage for an ongoing digital transformation across the company.
Permission Click
EDTECH START UP
Creating streamlined digital consent management for schools with a user-centric design, while navigating start-up challenges and complex educational policies. Project Overview Permission Click is a unified, reliable document-sharing and online permission-slip platform offering a streamlined experience for parents, coaches, teachers, staff, and district administrators. The system's two editions are designed to provide a customized experience tailored to each school’s unique needs. Challenges Working in the dynamic environment of a start-up, I faced the dual challenge of navigating the intricacies of change management in the education sector while also dealing with the inherent uncertainties of a burgeoning company. School districts across North America present a highly political landscape with varied requirements and regulations, making the adoption of new technologies a complex and sensitive process. The task of aligning diverse stakeholder interests with innovative product design demanded meticulous strategy and adaptability. My Approach I worked closely with the CEO and internal teams, designing the product to meet short-term and long-term goals. This involved a deep dive into product analytics and an open dialogue with the support and sales teams to harvest valuable internal feedback. Simultaneously, I conducted regular interviews with customers to ensure our product development was user-centric and met the practical needs of school districts. In addition, my partnership with the development team was integral in creating a coherent style guide and a robust design system, ensuring consistency and clarity in our product's interface. Results & Impact My early involvement culminated in transformative results that significantly improved the efficiency and user experience of schools’ administrative processes. Digitization of forms has since resulted in increasingly rapid response rates, with over half of the digital forms being returned in under 30 minutes. While I am no longer a part of the organization, I’m happy to say that the innovations we created at Permission Click not only optimized operational efficiencies but also played a part in showcasing the product's value, contributing to the successful acquisition of Permission Click by PowerSchool in 2022.
Kindoma
MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT D2C
Kindoma, an innovative video calling app, was crafted to connect children with loved ones, using thoughtful design to nurture family bonds over long distances. Project Brief At Kindoma, as part of a small team of three, I led product design for child-friendly video calling apps, coordinating UX research and design with the CTO and overseeing visual communications with the CEO. We directed the company’s strategy, prioritizing growth and resource allocation. Challenges I contributed significantly to shaping the product roadmap in a fast-paced start-up environment. My role involved sole responsibility for initiating user test hypotheses and carrying out design experiments through various methodologies such as A/B testing, usability funnels, and user interviews. Creative responsibilities encompassed designing various digital and physical brand materials, from app assets and prototypes to marketing and pitch materials. My Approach My role fused strategic design with hands-on creation. I implemented mobile application and responsive web design principles in a user-friendly interface with aspects meant to define sections specifically for children and other features for supervising adults. This approach utilized an array of my skills, including UX research, mobile application design, product design, prototyping, and a keen understanding of the user experience. By directly engaging with users through interviews and usability testing and analyzing their interactions via A/B split testing and usability funnels, I consistently adapted and refined the design to meet our young audience's and their guardians' evolving needs. Results & Impact An early testament to our product's potential was being chosen for Colab's 5th cohort, offering invaluable insights from tech giants like Apple, IBM, and Sesame Street Ventures. While this experience did little to help Kindoma achieve the product-market fit we sought, it catalyzed the product’s growth trajectory. Since my departure, the product, now known as Hoot, has utilized our early learnings and has become a product company dedicated to mitigating educational disparities through scalable literacy programs. They’ve achieved international market expansion and significant growth, including successful funding rounds exceeding $3 million.