Emily Fishbaine

Challenge

The client is a non-profit whose mission centers on promoting financial wellness and helping people across the US manage their debts. Their complex business model includes partnerships with financial institutions such as credit unions, loan servicers and other creditors, producing value in both B to B and B to C contexts. 

After 20 years, the client’s enterprise software needed an overhaul; our team partnered with the client team to envision and chart a path for the new design.

Approach

Our client saw its need for new core software as an opportunity to reevaluate its business processes. The team built its solution on a robust foundation of user research to ensure that the design and business model remained human-centered. This went beyond a customer-centric focus, as the client’s operating model depends on successfully balancing the needs of 3 distinct groups: its clients, its partners, and its employees. 

We spoke with over 25 stakeholders, 50 employees, and 10 end clients, and conducted 2 stakeholder workshops to ensure we achieved a deep understanding of pain points and opportunities that should be accounted for in the new system design.

Outcomes

• Mapping a complex business model with multiple revenue sources

• Understanding the distinct needs of multiple employee user groups, customer segments, and critical business partners

• Designing innovative solutions to alleviate highly manual, outdated, and inefficient processes

• Building a roadmap for the product rollout

• Training client team members to take on product and process ownership