Senior Product Designer @ BlackRock
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QuickBooks Business Account onboarding at Intuit
Customers who want to get the QuickBooks Business Account today have to apply through our banking partner’s website, which is time-consuming, confusing and not straightforward. We started building an easier and more straightforward application in QuickBooks by leveraging existing technology.
Duration
3 months (deprioritised later)
Role
Lead product designer
Impact
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Localised a global experience to the UK
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Contributed specific components to the global onboarding pattern
"From" and "To"
Application for limited companies
Process
1. Complete requirements gathering
In order to easily build the application flow within QuickBooks, we wanted to leverage existing technology and experience built by our US counterparts. However, the requirements of opening a bank account in the US were different to those in the UK.
My goal was to get a complete understanding of all of the requirements of our banking partner and the technology and APIs we were going to use. I regularly met up with my internal and external stakeholders to do so. This saved the team time by eliminating any potential of re-work and ensured the success of the project.
2. Adapting the user interface
I took and adapted the US designs to fit our target UK customer. I added unique form fields and designed unique components based on what our banking partner needs to check in the application process. Getting the fields right and making sure users enter the information correctly would get applicants approved as quickly as 7 minutes.
Components I designed which were later added to the global pattern
3. Rounds of usability testing and iteration
The application flow differed based on the business type. I designed and prototyped two flows - one for sole traders and another one for limited companies. I did multiple rounds of testing with 8 small business owners. I continuously iterated on the UI based on feedback.
4. Identifying the customer problem and ideal state
I ran multiple workshops with cross-functional partners and we identified three main customer problems from the user research findings. Users were hesitant in signing up to something new without understanding how it worked. If they decided to apply, they wanted the application to be easy, short and relevant. We determined the ideal states of each of these problems, which acted as the team’s north star.
5. Provoking US counterparts
Given the rapid advancements of the fintech market in the UK, expectations of users from a bank account in the UK are higher than expectations of users in the US.
With this in mind, I provoked and pushed our design counterparts in the US to improve the designs based on expectations of UK customers. I also had the chance to influence the global design pattern with the components I specifically designed for the UK application flow.
QuickBooks Business Account was deprioritised for the UK business during build.