Solid orange color background

CASE STUDY

IOS MOBILE APPLICATION

Wells Fargo logo with yellow text on a brown background.

A Better Mobile Banking Experience: Driving Higher Client Satisfaction

Duration

20 weeks

Three smartphones displaying a banking app interface with account balances, exclusive perks, and a benefits hub.

Wells Fargo excelled at providing “best-breed” in-branch service to our affluent clients, but their larger mobile and web solutions were subpar. As Wells Fargo embarked on establishing a division dedicated to serving affluent clientele and sought a mobile solution for customers to monitor their accounts, discover tailored offers, and easily connect with their personal bankers.

I spearheaded a design team consisting of designers from the US, UK and Poland to conceptualize and develop a mobile app tailored for this new segment of Wells Fargo, with a primary goal of emulating the personalized service of private banking for high-net-worth individuals.

PROJECT SUMMARY

Wells Fargo excelled at providing “best-breed” in-branch service to our affluent clients, but their larger mobile and web solutions were subpar. As Wells Fargo embarked on establishing a division dedicated to serving affluent clientele and sought a mobile solution for customers to monitor their accounts, discover tailored offers, and easily connect with their personal bankers.

I spearheaded a design team consisting of designers from the US, UK and Poland to conceptualize and develop a mobile app tailored for this new segment of Wells Fargo, with a primary goal of emulating the personalized service of private banking for high-net-worth individuals.

BUSINESS CHALLENGES

  • Converting in-branch service to downloads

  • Cooperation and coordination with the Benefits/Savings teams.

  • How does Wells leapfrog the competition, in regards to mobile features and service.

  • Embedding personal banking teams, and accessibility.

  • Ability to connect to external financial accounts.

  • Ability to incorporate Financial Planning on the mobile application.

Team Size

6

Roles

Product Design Lead, User Researcher, Product Designer

PROJECT SUMMARY

Type

0 → 1

Tools

Figma, Miro

increase in brand perception

RESULTS

68%

72%

increase in user satisfaction

PROJECT PROCESS

45%

decrease in user
confusion

05 Test & Evaluate

Understanding and documenting user requirements, pain points, and goals through research and observation to inform design decisions.

1.2 Secondary Research

Analyzed the consumer banking industry, to understand the needs of an affluent banking customer.

Timeline depicting the development roadmap for the Wells Fargo Affluent Mobile App from Q1 2021 to Q4 2023. It includes phases for MVP, Version 1 (H 1.1), and Version 2 (H 2.1), with features like "Account Summary," "My Team," "Benefits Hub," "AI Chatbot Integration," and "Personalization." The roadmap is divided into sections for what was done (MVP) and what’s next (Horizon 1), detailing advanced investment accounts and market insights.

WF UX Roadmap

We established SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) for the application.

The key goals were:

•       Improve Premier client and prospect

•       Increase mobile app user satisfaction

•       Decrease user confusion

•       Reduce support costs

01

Identify Challenges
& Objectives

1.1 Identify User Needs

1.3 Define Scope

The scope definition established clear boundaries focused on bridging the gap between Wells Fargo's high-quality in-branch service and its underperforming mobile solutions.

Key scope elements included:

•       Improving client perception

•       Increasing app satisfaction

•       Reducing user confusion,

•       Integrating personal banking teams

1.4 Establish Goals

02

Research &
Analyze Insights

2.1 Secondary Research

We analyzed the consumer banking industry to better understand the needs of affluent banking customers. In this competitive analysis, we examined competitors' mobile experiences. This approach helped inform our understanding of the affluent banking market landscape before conducting their primary user research with actual customers.

2.2 User Interviews

We conducted comprehensive user research that included 14 user interviews primarily conducted via web meetings, with 2 being done by phone. We supplemented these interviews with 4 in-branch visits in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. During the branch visits, the team shadowed personal bankers and was able to interview Premier customers, providing direct observation of customer-banker interactions. The research used two main methodologies: User Interviews (14 participants) and Cognitive Walkthroughs (4 sessions),.

This combination of remote interviews and in-person branch observations allowed us to gather both broad feedback and detailed contextual insights about the Premier banking experience.

2.3 Understand Users

Bank of America Private Bank logo with blue and red flag symbol.
Citi Private Bank logo with text and red arc design.

We developed empathy maps and personas for key user groups based on our research findings. We created five distinct personas that represented key customer archetypes, using these realistic character snapshots to help the team stay focused on actual user needs when making design decisions.

For each of these personas, we went a step further by developing detailed journey maps that tracked how users interacted with Wells Fargo. Additionally, we created future journey maps to specifically highlight what customers would need during their transition to a new mobile banking experience.

2.4 Define Their Journey

We developed journey maps for each of the five key personas to understand user interactions across the banking experience. We mapped the customer experience across five key phases:

•       Awareness

•       Consideration

•       Onboarding

•       Usage

•       Advocacy

Geometric logo with text 'Private Client'.
Sam's Banking Journey Map illustrating customer experience stages: Awareness, Consideration, Onboarding, Usage, Advocacy, with emotions and tasks visualized. Includes activities like exploring options, onboarding, managing finances, and advocating, highlighting user sentiment at each step.

03

Ideate & Envision

3.1 Brainstorming

While we were all remote, we used techniques like mind mapping, and rapid sketching to generate individual ideas.

3.2 Alignment Workshops

To encourage active participation for SMEs. stakeholders and executives to align on KPIs and goals for their individual parts of the organization.

3.3 Find Themes

We created affinity diagrams to have several divergent ideas and converged the ideas using dot voting techniques.

3.4. Rose, Thorn, Bud

We identified positive and negative aspects of the options from the workshop using the Rose, Thorn, Bud technique.

04

Design & Prototype

4.1 Information Architecture

We developed an application flow that started small (like we have here), and iterated it with Wells’ api team, snd it got more complex as we mapped where we were going to get the data. The flow helped define how features connect and interact to create intuitive user workflows and seamless task completion.

Early Application Usr Flow

Smartphone displaying a banking app interface with sections on premium benefits, personal banking support, and financial goal planning. Includes placeholder text and an image of a woman labeled Mary Sanchez for support services.

Mid-Fidelity Wireframes

Smartphone screen displaying a financial planning app interface with options like supporting family, managing debt, and preparing for retirement.

4.2 Low-Fidelity Wireframes

Flowchart illustrating customer account management process with decision nodes and links to various features like accounts, planning, and perks.

We then created low-fidelity wireframes that we iterated through several rounds, until we got to a more mid-fidelity wireframe.

Smartphone displaying a page about bank premium benefits. It mentions "WIP - to be replaced with Premier benefits hub next week" and lists benefits such as waived non-Wells Fargo ATM fees, free outgoing online wire transfers, and a 2% foreign exchange discount.
Mobile banking app showing account balances and savings, greetings, and navigation options at the bottom.
Smartphone displaying a Wells Fargo app screen showing 'Earn Cash Rewards' section and 'My Wells Fargo Deals.' It lists cashback offers with one labeled 'Activate' and two 'Activated.' Text reads 'Reimagined benefits, find premium perks and offers relevant for you.'"

Low-Fidelity Wireframes

4.3 Detailed Design

We transformed the wireframes into polished, high-fidelity interfaces by incorporating visual elements, branded components, and refined interactions, bringing the application to life.

Mobile app screen displaying financial priorities update and contact details for banker and advisor with options for debt management, retirement preparation, and emergency preparation.
Smartphone screen displaying "Premier benefits hub" app interface with options like "Exclusive perks," including a travel offer. The image shows an airport terminal scene with a plane outside the window.
Mobile phone screen displaying a financial app with a section titled 'Reimagined benefits hub.' It mentions waived ATM fees, free online transfers, and foreign exchange discounts. Options listed include 'Advice and planning,' 'Exclusive Premier events,' and 'Special offers and perks.' Bottom buttons labeled 'Finish' and 'Back.'
Smartphone screen displaying a financial app interface with an estimated net worth of $1,802,239.28. It shows a graph of financial trends over months and detailed account values managed by Wells Fargo. The accounts include an IRA with $978,034.11, another account with $197,970.38, and a trading account with $212,334.76. The page is advised by Mary Sanchez.
Smartphone displaying a financial services app with a welcome message for a user named Henry. The screen features options like premium benefits, access to a dedicated team with contact details for a banker and advisor, goal planning, and exclusive rates information.
Smartphone screen displaying a financial app with a bar chart and statistics. The chart shows monthly values from June to November 2021, highlighting a value of $530.94 for November. Text states average monthly redemption of $350.22 and a yearly total of $4,034.08. A value breakdown section indicates earned rewards of $283.42."
Mobile phone screen displaying a scheduled appointment interface, showing details like guests, type of meeting, location, date, time, and reason for the meeting.
Mobile screen displaying a reallocation proposal with current and proposed percentages for retirement, travel, and second home goals, plus circular charts for investment allocation.
Smartphone screen displaying a financial planning app showing goals for retirement, a second home, education, and travel with corresponding dates, required amounts, and success probabilities.
Mobile app interface showing a "Talk to my team" section with options for "Dashboard," "Messaging," and "Scheduling." It displays team members Mary Sanchez and Gerald Addy with contact information and a button to "Set up an appointment." Also shows next appointment details.
Mobile banking app interface showing team member contacts and appointment setup options, including profiles for two employees, Mary Sanchez and Gerald Addy.
Smartphone screen displaying a messaging app with a conversation between Mary Sanchez and Henry about retirement planning. The app includes tabs for dashboard, messaging, and scheduling. PDF attachment labeled 'Retirement Form.'"
A smiling woman on a video call displayed on a smartphone screen with options to mute, share screen, stop video, and end call.
Smartphone screen showing a map with locations of Wells Fargo branches in Manhattan, NYC. The interface has a zipcode entry field with '11746' input, and options for 'Use my current location.'

4.4 High-Fidelity Prototypes

Mobile app displaying an investment account home screen with estimated net worth, monthly growth chart, notification icons, advisory team access, account tiles showing account values, and navigation bar with home, collaborate, plan, explore, and menu icons.
Mobile app interface displaying a 'My Team' section with advisor contact cards for Mary Sanchez and Gerald Addy, along with navigation options like Dashboard, Messaging, Scheduling, and appointments setup. Includes icons for notifications and a navigation bar with Home, Collaborate, Plan, Explore, and Menu options.

I also managed a team in Poland that did the prototyping for the team in Figma. The US team would finish sections of the application, the Poland team would start the prototyping and we would review in the morning.

A smartphone screen displaying the "Premier benefits hub" app interface labeled with navigation and function elements. It shows subsection navigation, benefit detail tiles, benefits filter, and a navigation bar with Home, Collaborate, Plan, Explore, and Menu icons. Features include notifications, an "All Benefits" link, and specific benefit overview tiles, such as a free subscription to CLEAR for travel security.
Mobile banking app home screen displaying account balances, navigation bar at the bottom, and labeled features such as notifications, advisory team access, onboarding, and account overview tiles.

5.0

Test & Evaluate

5.1 Usability Testing

We conducted prototype testing with current and potential customers to identify usability issues early in development.

5.2 Iterative Design

We refined the application’s design, based on insights from the usability testing.

6.0

Implement &
Evangelizing

We created comprehensive design documentation that provided developers with detailed specifications, and interaction guidelines to ensure accurate implementation of the design vision.

6.1 Final Design Documentation

We enhanced Wells Fargo's design system by creating components tailored to affluent customers, ensuring a consistent mobile experience across wealth management products.

6.2 Design System Improvements

The interactive prototype enabled stakeholders to demonstrate the application's value and functionality across the organization.

6.3 Evangelizing

ContactMe

bbulman@gmail.com
(847) 951-5938