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Online Account Opening: Usability Testing and Adoption
Project Overview
Introduction
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My background in Psychological research methods along with recent certifications in UI/UX, Product Management, and Digital Marketing allowed me to join the Vancity MECE Learning and Readiness teams as they worked on the launch of Vancity's Online Account Opening tool
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As an Account Manager with a unique educational background I was asked to help on the project at the request of my management team
Problem Space
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How does the proposed Online Account Opening process compare to current Account Opening process?
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What potential business problems stem from these differences?
Usability Testing
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Test multiple scenarios for the Online Account Opening tool
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Record feedback for each scenario
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Present feedback to MECE Readiness and MECE Learning teams for review
Future Iterations
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What are the potential areas of improvement for future iterations?
Problem Space
How does the proposed solution compare to current state processes?
Current Process
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Vancity accounts can be opened in branch or via phone call
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All account openings are facilitated by staff and thus require an hour long appointment be booked in advance
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All account openings require documents such as member services agreement and membership application be signed (wet signature)
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Proposed Solution
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​Online Account Openings allow prospective members to join Vancity without needing an appointment in branch or over the phone
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Online Account Openings do not require documents be signed unless member is requesting lending or cheque books
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Online Account Opening can be completed within 10 minutes
Potential Business Problems
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The main business problem that we found may stem from Online Account Openings is attempted fraud, which is mitigated by taking photos of ID and selfie of applicant during the Online Account Opening
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A secondary business problem that I identified was a decrease in follow-up appointments being booked by Account Managers and Member Experience Officers as Account Opening appointments often generate follow up lending and investment appointments
Usability Testing
Multiple Scenarios for Usability Testing
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Happy Path: Online Account Opening where everything goes smoothly, no errors in address, work, SIN, selfie, or photo of ID
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Error Path: Enter an address that does not match the address on the ID being used in the ID verification photo
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Other Paths: Block part of the ID when taking photos of it, where a hat when taking selfies, take a selfie in the dark/with glasses, non-BC resident, non-existent SIN
Usability Testing Feedback and Findings
Abrupt Crashes
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The flow would be interrupted by random error messages saying the tool was not available and to try again later
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Error message was encountered randomly but using dropdown lists when picking employment category seemed to trigger the crashes most frequently
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Photo Verification
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In cases where personal information such as name or address did not match IDs the Online Account Opening would fail, which was the expected result
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Interestingly, covering part of the name or address when taking photos of the IDs did not result in a failed account opening
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Few Account Options
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I noted that the tool only included 3 accounts to choose from (Pay as you Go Chequing, E-Package Chequing, and Jumpstart Savings) and that having such limited options may prompt prospective members to find other institutions that have accounts that better fit their needs
Future Iterations
What is next?
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After tweaking the prototype that I tested, the Online Account Opening tool was soft launched and eventually fully available to public via the Vancity Website
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Future iterations are to include more account options for those wishing to open accounts with Vancity
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Future iterations to also look at joint accounts and the viability of doing this remotely
Concluding Thoughts
It was a huge privilege to be recommended by my management team to work with the MECE Learning and Readiness teams on their Online Account Opening tool. The collaborative problem solving environment is something that I truly enjoy. I hope to continue using my psychological research methods, UX/UI best practices, and knowledge of product management to help Vancity improve their current state processes in an attempt to serve our members as best as possible.
This project acted as a springboard that allowed me to become a Subject Matter Expert that worked with the CRM Product Management Team along with MECE Readiness staff on the upcoming CRM overhaul at Vancity. Working the Online Account Opening project along with the CRM project has helped me learn that I want my work to help impact companies on a larger scale than just Account Management.
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