Online banking usability tests

Client: Banco General
Year produced: 2004

Challenge

Banco General is one of Panama’s largest banks, and was one of the first to feature an online banking application. By 2004, this application was starting to feel unwieldy, and the bank wanted to refine its user interface.

Response

We proposed to conduct a series of usability tests (the first ever in Panama) in order to determine the places where most work was needed. We created a series of interviews, and held one-on-one sessions with clients (and non-clients) of the bank. Their onscreen activities and bodily expressions were recorded as they performed the tasks required in the interviews.

These tests led us to determine that the biggest problem areas were navigation and labeling. We proposed a new menu organization scheme for the application that collapsed what had previously been multiple-level dropdowns into one level, and included a two-color scheme to differentiate between routine tasks and those that only needed to be performed infrequently. The new design also featured improved labeling that was suggested by the users themselves.

We produced a DVD with highlights from the tests, which the bank could use to explain the project to upper management. We also produced an extensive report with the results of the tests and recommended solutions to the problems they uncovered. The bank’s IT team then implemented these recommendations.

Results

The redesign of the online banking application was very successful. Among the multiple feedback emails the bank received, there was only one that was critical, and that one complained that the application was now too simple.