Process

Product

Smartline Mortage broker platform
~Sydney / Xian

                    For 18 months I led the design team on a multi year re-platform / rebuild project for an internal core mortgage broker system. The product replaced a 20 year old system for product information and loan aggregation, client management, loan management and application tracking software. Moving users from a tool they have used every day for 20+ years, to something new (different) and modern required a deep understanding of their processes, objectives and workflows, and a lot of compassion and kindness.

I was responsible for the strategic design of new features to the company’s ~500+ franchise owners and their staff. The product enables the users to be more efficient, appear more professional with clients, and removes their technical frustrations and long wait times. I ran discovery phases alongside designing for continuous delivery, and created successful and innovative product release slices that meant our franchisees didn’t need to stop any work while we iteratively transitioned them to the product.

We spent time understanding the current user needs, actions, and pain points within the old system and transformed that into a modern web based product that helps mortgage brokers complete all of their daily tasks - redesigning useful functionality, and reimagining solutions to solve modern needs. We utilised user research techniques to shape the backlog of work, and adapt and enhance released features. I improved the management of research insights from 2 years of work with effective use modern tooling and changes to design team, and product team processes.

Advocating for the user while considering time and scope constraints, the business needs, and technical opportunities in the design of the product brings a need for strong collaboration across several streams of work, and carefully considered discovery. I worked closely with business analysts, the project manager, and the senior product manager from the client side, as well as the technologists, constantly looking for improvements to our processes and communications. I ran regular catchups and share backs with my design team and product manager to ensure the 30+ developer team was building a uniform and consistently designed product.

During my time with this client, the company rebranded to fit under their new parent companies brand. I worked with the parent company and our teams to bring their brand to life in our product.