HSBC's Global Online Banking Platform

Project: HSBC Global Services Platform (GSP) - Global Online Banking

Role: UX Designer / Senior UX Designer

Client: HSBC

Agency: Heathwallace/Mirium

One of the final designs for a Move Money journey within the HSBC GSP banking application.

The Challenge:

HSBC, a leading global financial institution, embarked on a significant undertaking to create a unified and enhanced online banking experience for its diverse global customer base through the Global Services Platform (GSP). Our agency was brought in to take the UX and UI reins, building upon previous work and collaborating closely with HSBC's product team and their distributed engineering partners.

GSP presented a complex landscape. It needed to cater to a wide array of international markets, each with unique regulatory requirements and user expectations while still maintaining consistency.

TThe UX team operated in a dynamic fashion, with individual designers picking up new pieces of functionality as they became available – a system that mirrored the 'Cab Rank Rule' for barristers, where whoever is free takes the next case. This fluid approach, requiring strong communication and the ability for team members to quickly context-switch and collaborate effectively, was essential given the complexity of the global platform.

My Role & Approach:

As a UX Designer (later progressing to Senior UX Designer), I was deeply involved in shaping various aspects of the GSP user experience. My responsibilities spanned the entire design lifecycle, including:

• Collaborating with Product Owners: Working directly with HSBC's product team to dissect business requirements, challenge assumptions, and translate them into clear and actionable user stories and site requirements.

• Defining User Journeys: Creating detailed user flows to visualize and optimize the steps users would take to complete specific tasks, such as the below example of initiating a Pay Multiple Beneficiaries journey.

  
  

  

  Example of a simple user flow within the Pay Multiple Beneficiaries journey

  
  

• Developing Wireframes and Prototypes: Designing low-fidelity wireframes and interactive prototypes to explore different interface solutions and test core functionality. These ranged from simple sketches to more detailed digital prototypes, primarily built in Axure RP Pro due to the more complex nature of form-based journeys.

• Facilitating & Participating in Usability Testing: Collaborating with HSBC's research partners to plan and execute usability testing sessions. This involved producing the test scenarios, facilitating and observing testing sessions and analysing the findings alongside the wider UX team. Critically, I also actively participated in peer reviews, moderating tests for colleagues to ensure unbiased feedback and shared learning across the UX team.

• Translating UX into UI: Working closely with our agency's UI design team to ensure the final visual designs aligned with the established HSBC design system while effectively communicating the intended user experience. This involved providing detailed specifications and iterating on designs based on both UX principles and brand guidelines.

• Liaising with Development Teams: Providing comprehensive design specifications, prototypes, and other documentation to the development teams, primarily based in India and the UK. This required meticulous attention to detail to mitigate potential misunderstandings due to geographical distance, time zone differences, and cultural nuances. We fostered open communication and proactively addressed development queries to ensure accurate implementation of the designs.

  

  Screenshot from a specification document for this project, showing an anotated wireframe with associated notes.

• Addressing Unique Regional Needs: I gained valuable experience in designing for specific regional requirements. For example, working on the Jersey market required a deep understanding of their distinct financial practices, such as customers often managing multiple personal accounts from within a single primary account, and translating those into intuitive digital solutions.

  
  

Collaboration & Iteration:

The GSP project was a highly collaborative effort. Working within a dynamic UX team, I learned the importance of clear communication, shared understanding, and mutual support. The "Bar System" approach to task allocation fostered flexibility and allowed us to leverage the diverse skills within the team.

Usability testing played a crucial role in our iterative design process. The insights gained from user feedback directly informed our design decisions, allowing us to identify and address usability issues early on. The practice of peer-moderating tests was invaluable for both reducing bias and gaining different perspectives on our designs.

Navigating stakeholder feedback from HSBC was also a key aspect of the process. While we always aimed to align with business objectives, we were also prepared to advocate for user needs based on research and UX best practices. This often involved presenting evidence from usability testing or clearly articulating the rationale behind our design choices.

Image from one of the Axure prototypes use for testing this functionality.

Lessons Learned:

My experience on the HSBC GSP project provided invaluable lessons in:

• Designing for Global Audiences: Understanding the nuances of different regional requirements and user behaviors.

• Collaboration in Large, Distributed Teams: Effectively communicating and collaborating with product owners, UI designers, and development teams across different locations and time zones.

• Agile UX Practices: Adapting to a dynamic workflow and managing multiple design tasks simultaneously.

• The Importance of Detailed Documentation: Creating clear and comprehensive specifications for development teams to ensure accurate implementation.

• Advocating for the User: Balancing business goals with user needs and using research to inform design decisions.

Outcome:

My UX contributions aimed to create a more user-centered HSBC GSP. Through user flows, prototyping, and usability testing, we addressed pain points in key features like the ability to pay multiple beneficiaries within the same transaction, saving users time and repetition. This iterative approach, combined with close collaboration, ensured designs met both business and user needs, contributing to a more intuitive and efficient global online banking experience.