The why:
HelloWallet’s web budgeting feature resided in an end-of-lifed, deprecated tech stack and our team was not able to iterate or respond to user requests or problems. In addition, the web budgeting feature was out of parity with a more recently developed mobile native-only flexible budgeting system. Web budgeting also wasn't responsive, and was blocked from use on small screens.

User interviews and use data showed that the users of web budgeting found fixed monthly budgets confining, that they were confused about some of the information architecture and naming conventions employed, and that small usability problems and inconsistencies in interaction patterns (such as save/edit/cancel) resulted in a lot of friction.

The how – process:
After a sprint zero devoted to competitive benchmarking research, user interviews, review of existing use data, and watching new usability tests we ran on the existing experience, my colleague and I facilitated sketching and rapid prototyping sessions that were attended by the full product team of management stakeholders, product, engineering, QC, and data.

With the help of our product team, we made the difficult choice to go with one of three compelling concepts generated in the design sprint, and then further pared down the experience for iterative, MVP coding using the metaphor of “scooter / bike / moped / car.”

Because none of HelloWallet’s previous features had been designed or built for mobile, my colleagues and I were not only designing budgeting for the web, but also creating a small screen responsive pattern library as we went! Though we knew this would add some time and weight to the project, we also knew it would pay off in terms of consistency and eventual speed/momentum.

Much to our squad’s surprise, our first deployment to the public was put on hold when KeyBank acquired HelloWallet from Morningstar in June of 2017.

It wasn’t easy to have Budgets 2.0 sitting on the launchpad only to see the launch canceled, but that didn’t mean there weren’t triumphs and takeaways:

• – On-the-fly creation of a responsive web pattern library
• – Facilitation of full-squad fun and lively war room collaborative work sessions at the start of the project, which kick-started morale
• – Learning to write a truly functional user story to help product accelerate the squad to action
• – Paired programming and seeing changes move from usability test to code in the same week or day

The why:
The amount of information needing exchange during a merger and acquisition is staggering. During the first 90 days of the KeyBank/HelloWallet M&A, I was tapped to lead one of six transition teams. My team’s mission was to ground our partner org in the types of client data we take into account when building experiences, and to look toward how KeyBank might build these data points into the various “engines” that will power our integrated financial wellness experience.

The scope of my team extended beyond just our primary data-centered function in that we had the opportunity to bring banking stakeholders into user-centered design techniques in active, participatory ways.

The how – process:
The first step was understanding the dense data models KeyBank was using to blueprint the upcoming financial wellness data engine, and then participate in extending these data webs to include additional kinds of data that impact our client’s financial well-being, types of data that differ from transactional data sets.

To facilitate this process and gain stakeholder buy-in, we mapped client life journeys, both around financial decisions (the purchase of a house, saving for college, or buying a car) and major life events (moving, the adoption or birth of a child…) From these journeys and the related data points, we built out archetypes bankers could use to test out data models.

In the end, we built out an entire new segment of client data points. Perhaps more importantly, we involved bankers and executives stakeholders in the design and user research process directly and through participation, illustrating how human centered design techniques carry over not only from the design we do for clients, but also in how we onboard each other as new colleagues who sometimes speak different work languages.

The why:
The iOS and Android native HelloWallet clients see some of our highest engagement. Enhancing ease of authentication via TouchID and password manager integration eliminated friction and got mobile users into the experience faster.

The onboarding experience needed to be lightweight enough for mobile while also allowing for the collection of enough data points for our user to get a score.

The how – process:
During a self-directed “innovation sprint” I led a cross-functional team that included visual design, QC, and engineering. In one week, we fully implement login to our iOS client via password manager integration.

Following this effort, I worked with the same mobile squad to implement TouchID on iOS, including improvements to the architecture of the related Settings area of the app. We also reworked the PIN authentication and lock screens to reflect the current more contemporary HelloWallet UI and brand standards.

To improve the onboarding experience, we leveraged the behavioral psychology principles of endowed progress and set completion, implementing a checklist experience to entice users to complete their profile information. This resulted in more users with a complete profile and a more accurate Wellness Score for more new users, and gave our onboarding experience a more concrete first step.

The why:
Pattern libraries and design systems not only ensure consistency of experience for our users, but also allow for designers to solve large and important problems, vs duplicating effort on rethinking common elements and patterns.

The how – process journey
I have been and advocate for and participant in creation of pattern libraries and design systems at LastPass, HelloWallet, Morningstar, and most recently KeyBank.

I have particular areas of interest in common behavior patterns users encounter when trying to get things done. Patterns like save / cancel / done and confirmation of edits/changes are only simple and invisible to our users when we as designers get in the weeds and solve for consistency, predictability, and every last finesse detail.

I’ve been an advocate for and leader in incorporating design survey methods via Usability Hub and Zerb into pattern library creation.

The why:
A difficult reality of the HelloWallet onboarding user experience is that we must collect quite a bit of data from our users to get them up and running. Further, the HelloWallet product itself is large and somewhat complicated. We heard from new users we interviewed, and witnessed through real use data, that our clients weren’t quite sure where to begin. As a consequence, they often completed the first time user experience and went no farther.

The how – process:
During some downtime prior to budgeting sprints, I had the idea that we might replace the final step of our new user experience (a data-gathering step) with a moment where we give the client a simple choice of a goal to springboard them in to the most relevant section of the app.

I rapidly prototyped this experience and created a clickable prototype that I was able to sell to our product team, and this became the first experience we shipped in the KeyBank ecosystem.

Not only did we see higher user engagement following the addition of this step, but we also heard from our in-branch wellness partners that they found this step gave greater potential for focused wellness conversations in the branch.

Further, allowing the user to choose from a limited set of goal choices allowed us to gather in-product data to guide which problems we should prioritize solving in what order of importance to align to our KeyBank clients’ preferences.

The why:
We spend most of our waking hours at work and I firmly believe that health, safety, inclusion, and trust are rights that each of us are responsible for fostering in our workplace.

If there is something I can do to make a teammate’s life easier, better, or more fun at work I feel very happy. The user experience of my teammates is as important to me as the user experience of my clients.

The how – process:
Throughout my time at Morningstar, HelloWallet, and KeyBank, I’ve sought ways to make small tasks easier for myself and my colleagues. I have:

• – redone the architecture of our internal wiki


• – created wikis of test accounts and user research resources


• – redesigned mobile testing launch screens for ease of login to test accounts


• – taught “InVision for developers and stakeholders” sessions

I’ve been the organizer of team game night, organizer of team museum and cultural outings, Brightfunds charitable giving representative for the highest-engaged site at Morningstar worldwide, United Way team representative for KeyBank, and somehow the creator of a tradition where every HelloWallet employee from 2015 - 2018 spent time with New Employee Underpants Squirrel.