Utilising the GDS 'one thing at a time' pattern to create a triage user flow we could ensure the illustration's main screen only contained relevant variables. In previous designs, various fields became invalid or conditional depending on values entered. Our Google Analytics event reporting showed users were coming up against these 'errors' regularly and to expand out the product to less expert users, we knew something needed to be done.

Brokers told us how they captured most of a full application's data when they first dealt with the borrower but were prevented from inputting it into the bank's system until quotes, illustrations and indicative offers were completed. 

The main issue was not one of mere inconvenience but a situation where the Broker wasn't able to submit data that they knew would derail an application.

The hub and spoke pattern allowed brokers to upload any data they had while flagging any potential blockers to the bank within the system.

The slide-out modal was used for self-contained microtransactions. Having the main page in the background provided the orientation a user needed and the modal pattern allowed us to make modular transactions in a tightly controlled part of the screen estate.

The add borrower journey was a nice example of creating a 'wizard of oz' prototype. By utilising the free Companies House API I was able to mock up a realistic journey where users could add their data and get real results back.

This avoids leveraging a users suspension of belief which often diminishes the returns on the feedback you get.

I spoke about the benefits of using data prototypes in a blog article originally written for the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

Adding securities was a feature of the current site that most users hit an error on multiple times. It used a different address micro-interaction to the borrower.

My design hinged on the hub and spoke pattern + the modal slide out to reduce the cognitive load on Brokers when adding securities. It was clear which properties were added, it was simple to add new ones and safe to remove existing ones with a confirmation modal dialogue.

Every application needs an ending and we wanted to make it absolutely clear the journey had concluded.

To achieve this we created a super clean UI that clearly had the result of any outcome displayed to the user.

The engineered delay and loading messages created a sense of trust because the anticipated effort was being applied to the process even though it happened almost immediately. We found users waited patiently and were satisfied with the outcomes. This echoed thoughts from Google Venture's Braden Kowitz, although not universally supported.