Making the IPO application process easier for investors
MetroIPO’s target customers for the web app were banks, specifically ones who wanted to provide their clients with a digital way of investing in IPOs.
With COVID-19 restrictions, each of these banks realised that the manual in-office process of applying for and investing in an IPO was outdated. They also recognised the potential to increase revenue by increasing the speed at which they could receive and process applications.
Through research, however, I learnt that a significant issue the MetroIPO team ran into was the existing user base of the web application was not the bank’s decision-makers but the investment bankers and investors. This distinction caused a disconnect between what the users required to invest and the banks’ decision-makers requested.
My role in the project
As the sole Product Designer, I collaborated with five (5) Engineers and a Project Manager to redesign and reimplement the application flow of MetroIPO’s client-facing web app and restructure the admin-facing IPO upload.
My job was to organize and conduct usability testing sessions with various users to figure out gaps in the current application process and redesign the application flow to match the in-person standards of multiple banks.
The mandate - reduce the time taken for applications before the next IPO Launch
With a new Initial Public Offer (IPO) just on the horizon, the executive leadership was feeling a great deal of pressure from their first client to ensure that the product was working correctly and that the application process was easy for new applicants and old clients.
With a new IPO coming in just six months, the team had to ensure that the process was smooth and that the new interface would effectively tackle the issues presented by the current application. Due to the legal ramifications of an IPO offering process, we were only given the six months to completely rework MetroIPO’s entire interface on both the client and admin dashboards. However, the design phase was only given three months to ensure that the development team had sufficient time to implement everything.
Month 1
With the limited timeline in my mind planning the implementation process was the best way for the team and me to start this project. We focused on prioritizing which aspect of the software worked, what were the high-priority targets and the best way for the development team and I to work in design and implementation.
I spent the two weeks doing a full dive into the issues affecting the MetroIPO platform on both the Admin and Client dashboard and a walkthrough of the manual IPO application process used by our initial client to find a way to modularize the process.
After this, I was able to dive deep with some users to figure out where their frustrations were and how they intertwined with some of the changes the client wanted for the platform. Through this process, I was able to draft the Information Architecture and figure out the unnecessary parts of the application as well as some missing vital features.
I presented these details to the Project Manager and Lead Developer. We finalized the low-fidelity mockups for a small run-through session with some sample users.
Month 2
Once I had gained a thorough understanding of the challenges at hand, I began to work on devising a solution. Operating side by side with the development team utilizing daily design sprints, I could iterate on the look and feel of the MetroIPO. The main focus was to use the new IA to reduce the application process and remove the manual aspect required.
The solution we implemented allowed users to do their IPO application process online; we could even add an e-signature aspect that would force our client's customers to go into the office. This breakthrough was especially significant as the project was done throughout the height of the covid pandemic.
By the end of this month, the base visual style, the components, and some of the elements for the webapp's various sections were completed.
Month 3
Being in the final stages of the project, we dedicated our attention to the customer (client’s customer) facing aspects. I spent time to bring the IPOs and Application process in front of the user by allowing a user to view IPO details without being logged in, They are then only prompted to sign in once they have shown interest in the IPO. This allowed customers to quickly check out IPOs and decide faster, reducing the drop-off from being forced to log in immediately.
Finally I focused on prototyping to allow potential customers to run through the application process one last time before the final handoff to the development team was made.
