Partnering with ABSA to design a best-in-class business intelligence application

Client / Amalgamated banks of South Africa
Domain / Business intelligence, Data science, SAAS.
Services rendered / User Research, UX Design & User testing.

About The Client

ABSA Group Limited (ABGL; formerly Barclays Africa Group Limited), and originally Amalgamated Banks of South Africa, is a South African-based financial services group, offering personal and business banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, wealth, and investment management, as well as bank assurance. They approached ZEUX to redesign their BI (Business Intelligence) tool called LUM.

About ABSA LUM

LUM is an interactive data visualization software product developed by ABSA with a primary focus on business intelligence. LUM is a collection of software services, apps, and connectors that work together to turn unrelated sources of data into coherent, visually immersive, and interactive insights. ABSA wished to do a UX overhaul of the product and launch LUM as a white labelled product globally.

The UX Challenge

Interface challenges

  • Looks ‘homegrown’.
  • Needs to compete in the external market with established players.
  • Designed for overly complex use cases.
  • Caters to multiple user personas and buyer personas.
  • Created a Blackbox experience for business users.

Goal: make LUM commercially viable: how?

  • Ease and adoption
  • Efficiency
  • Transparency
  • Contemporary look & feel.
  • Differentiation
  • White label the product within first quarter of launch

Our solution

Methodology

User research conducted with 26 participants across 8 countries.

Client management of 24+ key stakeholders

Facilitated 6 Co-creation design thinking workshops to align the key stakeholders.

Agile weekly design sprints & development support to design 100+ screens of the application

2 rounds of user testing with low and high- fidelity prototypes conducted with 25 users and 5 competitor product users.

ZEUX ran and managed an Iterative design process & a full circle agile UCD practice for 9 months.

 

The Design Approach

Defined the user’s goals and needs: LUM was designed for a diverse set of users with multiple roles. It was critical to understand the user’s goals and needs and propose design solutions to meet them. We Conducted 1:1 user research interviews with 26 participants across 8 countries to gather information about the users and their requirements.

We kept the interface simple: ZEUX Made sure the interface is easy to use and intuitive enough for both novice and power users. We avoided overwhelming users with too many options, and made sure the tool’s interface is easy to navigate in order to increase the productivity of the organization.

Provided system feedback and status indicators: ZEUX Provided users with feedback and status indicators that show users what is happening with their data in real-time. Users needed to know what is going on when they interact with the tool, so they can monitor the progress of their tasks. This was achieved by the use confirmation messages when users take critical actions to help them avoid unintentional errors. This included confirming that an action is irreversible or verifying that the user wanted to proceed with a potentially risky operation.

Used clear and concise language: Error prevention required the interface to use clear and concise language to communicate with users. ZEUX Avoided technical jargon and provided definitions for any terms that may be unfamiliar to the user. For error messages ZEUX Provided clear error messages that explains the issue and provides suggestions on how to fix it. This helped users quickly rectify any errors and prevent data loss.

Used visual aids: ZEUX Used visual aids, such as charts and graphs, to help users understand the data they are working with. This made it easier for users to spot trends and patterns. We used visual clues such as colours, icons, and warning messages to highlight potential errors or issues. This helped users to recognize potential issues before they occur and take corrective action.

Offered training and support: ZEUX Provided training and support mechanisms in the interface to help users learn how to use the tool. This included documentation, video tutorials, and better error comprehension from the support teams that LUMs users can contact if they need assistance.

Conducted user testing: ZEUX Conducted user testing to identify potential sources of errors and gather feedback from users. This helped us understand the user’s perspective and identify areas for improvement. We conducted 2 rounds of user testing with low and high- fidelity prototypes with 25 existing LUM users and 5 competitor product users.

 

Designs: Light Mode Neomorphism

 

Designs: Dark Mode Neomorphism

The Outcome

300+ Unique screens delivered for desktop and mobile footprints.

1 design system delivered.

The overhauled product launched in the ABSA ecosystem by 2021 April and is currently being sold as a white labelled product.

“Thought I’d let you know that the new LUM designs went live yesterday. The initial feedback has been great. Thank you for all of the hard work you put into this project.”

Client feedback