Project Description

Mobile Cheque Payment App for a High Street Bank

I managed the design and build of this neat mobile banking product which allows customers make a pay in cheques from their mobile phone by taking a photo of a cheque. This product is designed for retail and business customers. Key dimensions of this project were:

  • Built and delivered in 3 months for  demonstration to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to kick-start a government led legislation change to enable digital images of cheques to be processed by banks. More than just a ‘proof of concept’, the app was included into the next scheduled release for the banks Mobile App .
  • Effective cross departmental communication and influence was pivotal, with key stakeholders  heading up key functions including Risk, Fraud,  and Customer Service.
  • Project team comprised BAs, designers, developers, technical architects and the infrastructure team plus multiple suppliers and external agencies.
  • Technical resolution (design and implentation) of complex middle tier/back-end integration with legacy systems
  • Digital transformation (business and ops processes) of cheque processing services, some of these services being outsourced through iPLS, a service provider, shared with other leading banks .

Agile methods were used to deliver the UX design.  I worked with a lead designer and an agency to capture the user journey, mock-up the UX and test and build in an iterative way.   The back-end integration required a more waterfall approach to specify and schedule changes to core systems.   Similarly, changes to the business model followed a more traditional waterfall approach.   The project broke down into the following key work-streams:

  • Design concepts / ideation / scope
  • Requirements definition
  • Initial planning and estimating
  • Supplier selection / RFP
  • Revised estimates / proposals leading to commercial agreements
  • Design and Development (Agile methods / iterations)
  • Test and bug-fix (Agile methods / iterations)
  • Submit for publication (inclusion in next release / App Store )
  • Launch readiness

Mobile App (on eCommerce Programme) at The AA

Complexity and hence development costs were kept relatively low. Apps included guides for hotels, pubs, restaurants, golf courses etc, plus a variety of route-planners, maps and other useful travel apps providing information on car-parks, fuel prices, hazards/roadworks etc. Some of the most popular free apps such as the Driving Theory Test app were being downloaded at a rate of tens of thousands per month.

Context:  This Mobile App ‘work-stream’ was part of an overarching Group level  eCommerce programme which I was managing for Acromas Group:

I led the mobile work-stream  for The AA  to deliver a series of highly popular apps for customers to enjoy the use of travel and leisure services and features on their mobile devices. I established and managed a dedicated mobile team, retaining the design, integration and test functions in house and outsourcing the development.

During peak production, the programme was achieving a launch rate of one new branded mobile app  every 6 to 8 weeks. Many of the apps were free, attracting new customers to the brand with really useful, easy to use and good fun features.  The apps were mainly designed to run on Android, iPhone and iPad devices.

Standard approach for mobile app development: Once the requirements were established and design concepts agreed, the development phase was run over a matter of weeks, using agile methods, working through the following key activities in an iterative fashion to completion/launch readiness.

Mobile App (on eCommerce Programme) at SAGA

Context:  This project was part of an overarching Group level  eCommerce programme which I was managing for Acromas Group:

Saga provides compelling array of products exclusively to the over 50’s demographic, came up with a great idea to develop a ‘Health App’.  It provides a medical fact sheet (containing descriptions of ailments, symptoms, treatments) and a list of affiliated service provider who specialise in treatments for each condition. Monetisation comes from the selling of related health/insurance products services. The app includes a claim form for existing customers and a quote option for potential new customers.

I directed the design, build and launch of the  Saga Health App which was included in a mobile work-stream as part of the wider eCommerce programme that I was leading.

This smart branded app was launched to budget and on time and runs on an Apple iPhone.

Context:  This project was part of an overarching Group level  eCommerce programme which I was managing for Acromas Group:

Saga provides compelling array of products exclusively to the over 50’s demographic, came up with a great idea to develop a ‘Health App’.  It provides a medical fact sheet (containing descriptions of ailments, symptoms, treatments) and a list of affiliated service provider who specialise in treatments for each condition. Monetisation comes from the selling of related health/insurance products services. The app includes a claim form for existing customers and a quote option for potential new customers.

I directed the design, build and launch of the  Saga Health App which was included in a mobile work-stream as part of the wider eCommerce programme that I was leading.

This smart branded app was launched to budget and on time and runs on an Apple iPhone.

Alternative approach: DHL

DHL needed a mobile product for its customers (business and consumer) to access their courier products and services. A team in the US was designing and building mobile app but had run into some unexpected complexity and budgetary issues and progress had been stalled. Meanwhile two major competitors had managed to launch an app.

I created the business case and led the design, build, test and launch of this mobile optimised (adaptive) website, or web-app. Designed to run on any modern smart phone, DHLs’ web-app was claimed to be an industry first in this business sector and was ‘a first’ for the client, a global logistics business.

Offering ‘app-like’ functionality, this product provides customers with self service functionality to track a parcel and find nearest Service Point. Really useful features undlude:

  • An interactive route-planner will trigger the phone’s sat-nav to guide the user into their desired service point.
  • Non-account customers are able to get an online quote and all customers can be routed directly through to the call centre in one click.
  • Designed to respond quickly and efficiently with minimum page load times and easy navigation.
  • The UX design allows for call-centre integration for account customers and is suitable to extend to further levels of self service

DHL’s mobile optimised site was delivered in a fraction of the time and cost of the alternative mobile app being developed in parallel in the US. It runs on any modern mobile smart phone (unlike an app which needs a new custom build for each type of phone). It can be included in online marketing and campaign management, allowing the business to drive traffic and conversions (and use analytics and KPIs to measure performance) just as we do with desk-top websites.

I led the project from start to finish. The project was delivered in 6 weeks by a small team who were multi-tasking across this and several other business priorities. Agile methods were used to manage the following activities.

  • Front end / user journey design
  • Tech design
  • Front end development
  • Server side development and database build
  • Back end integration (to web-service layer and custom database)
  • Test and bug-fix
  • Launch website
  • Launch on-line marketing and measure performance

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