GLOBAL private french bank
Optimising the travel booking and management process for private bankers
Uncoordinated scheduling in bankers' business travel led to high costs and frequent trips. To address this, the design team conducted a workflow analysis to identify inefficiencies and explore a structured Travel Window approach, optimising scheduling for better cost efficiency, time management, and client engagement.
Project Details
Scope
Research & Discovery, Project Management, Workflow Analysis, Problem Definition, User Stories, Service Design, Stakeholder Management, Workshop Facilitation
Timeline
Oct 2022 - Jun 2023
Teammates
Khai Liang, Raelene
Business Asia initiated a request to explore the potential development of an new application to optimise business travel for bankers. The existing travel process was fragmented, leading to high costs, inefficiencies, and limited management oversight. Recognising the value of early design involvement, the design team was engaged to organise workshops with the key stakeholders to help ideate and better frame the expected usage.
I collaborated with two other designers to conduct workflow analysis, lead a service design blueprint workshop, and engaged with stakeholders. Through this process, we identified key inefficiencies and proposed solutions to improve travel coordination, reduce costs, and enhance management oversight.
Project Goal
The goal was to analyse the existing travel process workflow, identify key pain points, and understand user needs to inform the design and development of a new application that will streamline business travel management for bankers.
Key Results
Executive Report Presentation
A documented analysis of key insights, opportunities, and proposed solutions to key stakeholders for decision-making.
Validated Travel Window approach
Evidence-based recommendations on how a structured scheduling framework could improve efficiency.
Defined user requirements
A clear set of needs and expectations for a potential new travel scheduling application.
Understanding & defining project needs
Recognising that user adoption would be critical to the project's success, the business team strategically engaged UX designers early in the process. This foresight allowed our team to provide valuable insights into user behavior and expectations, shaping the application's development to ensure it would meet real-world usage patterns and requirements.
To validate the need for a structured Travel Window, we conducted user research and workflow analysis, focusing on the following:
Stakeholder Meetings: Engaged business leaders to define key pain points and priorities.
User Role Identification: Mapped out all users directly and indirectly involved in the process.
Current Workflow Analysis: Identified inefficiencies in the existing scheduling and approval process.
Requirement Alignment: Ensured proposed solutions aligned with business goals and budget constraints.
Problem Statement
"How might we optimise the "Travel Window" process to productively enhance clients' engagement and improve time management to reduce overall travel frequency and cost?"
Workshop planning and execution
To address travel inefficiencies, we conducted two key workshops: the User Stories Workshop and the Service Design Blueprint Workshop.
Twelve participants, representing various roles, were recruited to participate in these workshops. We ran a total of six workshops with each group participating in one workshop each. I was responsible for planning and executing the Service Design Blueprint Workshop.
Why We Chose These Workshops
User Stories Workshop
We needed a deep understanding of the specific challenges each role faced and the features they valued in a potential travel management system. Through affinity mapping and collaborative discussions, we identified core user needs and prioritised improvements.
Service Design Blueprint Workshop
Once we had a clear picture of user needs, we mapped out the existing (As-Is) workflow to pinpoint pain points, then worked with stakeholders to define an ideal (To-Be) process. This helped us align our proposed solution with business goals and operational feasibility.
User Story Workshop
We invited the participants to share their experiences, challenges and workarounds within the process. They were encouraged to describe their needs using the format that was provided. Stakeholders voted on the most critical issues, helping us determine which aspects of the travel process needed immediate attention. By capturing their perspectives, we aimed to understand their pain points, identify key needs, and prioritise features that would improve travel coordination.
Affinity Mapping
With the data from the User Story Workshop, we grouped similar information to uncover common themes and priortise recurring pain points. This will later be used to map out the current (As-Is) process for the Service Blueprint Workshop.
Service Design Blueprint Workshop
The Service Design Blueprint workshop was crucial in visualising inefficiencies, identifying bottlenecks, and aligning expectations across teams.
The participants were presented with the current (As-Is) process and they were invited to make changes to fit their ideal (To-Be) process by writing post-its onto the map itself. We explored ways to integrate automation and improve visibility for both bankers and management.
By the end of the workshop, we had a clear service blueprint map outling how the travel process could be optimised, paving the way for future implementation.
Key findings
Through the workshops conducted, it became clear that system issues arose due to the involvement of multiple applications in the process. This fragmentation led to a disjointed experience when booking flights for business travel. The lack of a centralized overview made it challenging to coordinate bankers' travel plans, often resulting in higher travel costs. Additionally, the inability to amend a travel request forced users to repeat the approval process multiple times. It was suggested that implementing a seamless, end-to-end process within a single IT system would enhance efficiency and reduce costs.
Strategic Decisions & Next Steps
Due to the complexity and high cost of implementation, the IT group decided to pause its involvement in the proposed business process. Instead, it was recommended that the Business Transformation team lead the process design, conduct pilot testing with users, and refine the requirements to ensure a more structured and feasible foundation for future IT implementation.
Unexpected misalignment & Learnings
While the initial project aimed to gather strategic insights for process improvement to aid the development of a new application, a critical learning emerged when team expectations unexpectedly diverged. Despite initial alignment on project objectives and active communications, the business team sought incremental design solutions within the existing applications, insteading of developing an entirely new application.
This experience highlights that active communication doesn't always guarantee deep understanding. It demands intentional, deep, and continuously validated understanding between key stakeholders.
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Global PRIVATE FRENCH BANK
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