UX Design Internship
Rocket Mortgage
My Role
Designer + Researcher
Timeline
May 2022 - April 2023
Overview
I spent 10 months working as a UX Intern for Rocket Mortgage, America's largest mortgage lender. Specifically, I worked within the Team Member Experience Design Team (TMX). Our team focused on designing interconnected systems that our bankers leverage across Mortgage Origination. We worked side-by-side with our product, engineering, and business partners to research, design, and deliver improved product experiences for Team Members throughout the mortgage process.
So what did I do, exactly?
I helped 4000+ Bankers close loans.
I was responsible for conducting UX research and redesigning the 'Product and Pricing' section within the enterprise tool that Bankers use to recommend loan options to clients. My efforts aimed to simplify and streamline the loan review process by enhancing the section's information architecture and ease of use. This falls within our team’s north star goal which is to decrease the loan-to-close time and empower bankers to provide the best possible loan options to our clients.
Where does this process start?
Aligning with cross-functional teams on the problem.
Our Design team facilitates agile project planning by regularly meeting with product, engineering, and business partners to develop a cohesive plan that we can all take action on.
The Problem
Bankers rely heavily on the old loan origination system “AMP” when recommending loan products to clients. AMP is an outdated system, and it is being replaced by the new cloud-based UI system “Rocket Logic”. Inside of Rocket Logic, bankers are expressing frustration with the Product and Pricing section, which is the new destination where they recommend these loan options to clients.
Why is relying on the old system bad?
When bankers have to switch between the two systems this increases their cognitive load, increases the redundant tasks they have to complete, and decreases the speed at which they can close loans.
The Goal
Identify and solve bankers’ pain-points with the product and pricing process inside of Rocket Logic, and eliminate their dependency on AMP.
Research Methodology
Stepping into the bankers’ shoes.
In order to implement valuable design solutions and solve for banker’s pain-points, I needed to understand how they operate, and what was going wrong. I wanted to observe the bankers in their natural setting when working with the product and pricing section to gain insights into their tasks, motivations, and challenges. I decided the best way to do this was through Remote, semi-structured contextual inquiry shadow sessions.
How did this work?
1. Shadow sessions
When interviewing each banker, I first aimed to observe their workflow. I had them share their screen, and asked them to walk me through the entire product and pricing process as if they were on the phone with the client. By observing the banker in their natural environment, I was able gain insights into how bankers use the tool, what challenges they faced, and the specific areas / features of the tool where pain-points occurred.
2. Semi-structured contextual inquiry
After shadowing each banker, I had a script prepared that allowed for flexibility in the conversation while also focusing on specific topics related to the product and pricing tool.
Script:
Do you prefer to use AMP or Rocket Logic for product and pricing?
What data fields on the main screen are essential for you to do your job?
How do you utilize information about the secondary goal?
How do you utilize county limits?
How would you go about saving your progress on the current page?
What challenges, if any, do you have when making product comparisons in Rocket Logic?
If you had a magic wand, what would you do to improve the page?
If you do, how do you utilize the graphs to make decisions?
The Process
It all starts with shooting a banker a DM.
User Interviews
~1 hour with each banker.
30 minutes for shadow session + 30 minutes for contextual inquiry.
Notes
An example of how I summarized each session.
I screen recorded each call so that I did not have to worry about missing information and I could focus more on connecting with the banker.
Research Synthesis
I created an affinity map from banker feedback that emphasized three recurring pain-points.
1. Lost Trust
Loan prices often differ from AMP to Rocket Logic.
2. Efficiency
Bankers can navigate faster through AMP than Rocket Logic.
3. Information Architecture
Bankers are having to search to find data fields in Rocket Logic, and this disrupts the flow with the client. Screen is also not responsive.
Aligning with stakeholders
I Presented research findings to the Product, Engineering, and Business teams
After presenting my research findings to cross-functional stakeholders, we completed a “How Might We” exercise to to agree on design requirements.
The Designs
Original Design (June 2022)
Implemented Redesign (January 2023)
Design Rationale
Design Changes:
The implemented redesign allows bankers to easily scan and find data points that are relevant at any given moment.
Sales benefits (to connect with the client) and Shortage Information (which helps prevent banker error), have been relocated to be alongside the loan product option.
All data points have been reordered to align with their banker training and structure of the old system (AMP).
The screen is fully responsive, which is critical because bankers often work at a reduced screen size.
Redundancies such as Primary Goal, Secondary Goal, the large RKT Logo, and an extra support button have been removed.
Color / UI has been changed to be consistent with the color themes and Call-To-Action buttons of Rocket Logic.
Clicking “Save Product” locks the banker from making additional changes during the saving process, reducing perceived price discrepancies between AMP and Rocket Logic.
Continuous Discovery
My research and design work with the Product and Pricing section of Rocket Logic is ongoing until my internship ends in April 2023.
I am proud to have had my internship extended twice with the TMX design team at Rocket Mortgage, and balancing my UX work at school and Rocket during my Senior year at Michigan has been invaluable to my growth as a designer.