Banking Reimagined: Rapid Redesign of Qudos Internet Banking and App
In 2016, Qudos Bank partnered with us to rapidly redesign their outdated internet banking platform and mobile app as part of a brand refresh, delivering a complete solution within just eight months. As UX Lead and team lead, I guided a cross-functional team through a fast-paced, user-centred design process using Agile sprints and the Double Diamond framework. We engaged real users and stakeholders throughout, prioritised features, built interactive prototypes, and ran usability tests. The outcome was a responsive internet banking platform, a hybrid mobile app with key modern features, and a scalable design system, transforming Qudos’s digital experience and setting a strong foundation for future growth.
Year: 2016 Client: Qudos Bank My Role: UX Lead, Team lead
THE CHALLENGE
As part of their brand refresh, Qudos Bank looked to re-design their current Internet Banking (IB) and mobile App. Their existing IB and app had become outdated, slow, and frustrating for members due to limited functionality and poor usability.
Unlike larger financial institutions that typically invest significant time and resources into digital product redesigns, Qudos required a solution to be delivered in just eight months—a significant challenge.
The project objective was clear: create a new, responsive Internet Banking platform and a hybrid mobile app that would deliver a significantly improved user experience.
THE APPROACH
We utilised HeathWallace’s process of rapid ideation, design, and validation that involved business stakeholders and real users. A staggered Agile sprint cycle was used to ensure UX, visual design, and development flowed smoothly and was collaborative throughout.
Double Diamond Process
1. Discover
During the discovery phase, our team conducted the following activities:
Domain Familiarisation: Gained an understanding of the financial domain and Qudos’s unique needs.
Competitor and Landscape Review: Researched best-in-class solutions from competitors.
Tech Review: Collaborated with Infosys, Qudos’s tech provider, to understand system opportunities, capabilities, and constraints.
User Engagement: Conducted interviews and diary studies with real users to uncover pain points and needs.
Stakeholder Engagement: Held workshops to align business goals with user requirements.
We captured insights on a Discovery Phase Wall, enabling easy collaboration and transparency.
2. Define
In this phase, we:
Defined and prioritised user stories and requirements based on user needs and business objectives.
Estimated the value, impact, and effort for each user story, organising them into three-week sprints.
3. Design
To ensure the project’s success, we kept the client actively engaged through:
Co-Design Sessions: Collaborated with Qudos stakeholders to ideate solutions together.
Design Walkthroughs and Showcases: Regular presentations to maintain alignment and transparency.
Our UX Process – 3 weeks sprintsA Design Wall at the client’s office served as a living document for the team, fostering alignment and visibility.Sketched user flows and wireframes.Built interactive prototypes using Axure for rapid testing.
Conducted usability testing at the client’s location, setting up both a testing room and an observation room for stakeholders to watch live sessions.
User Testing – observation roomWe ended every sprint with a showcase presentation to stakeholder – a great way to show all the work done and keep stakeholders engaged.
THE OUTCOME
4. Deliver
In line with Agile principles, front-end developers began coding early, working a sprint behind the UX and design teams to accelerate delivery.
We successfully delivered:
Design System
A reusable design system for Qudos’s digital properties, enhancing their brand identity and ensuring consistency across the Internet Banking platform and mobile app.
Documentation in Confluence, including a digital style guide.
Design System in confluence
Responsive Internet Banking Platform
A fully featured, user-friendly website with responsive design, making banking accessible across devices.
Digital Styleguide as part of the Design SystemLive example of responsive page/flow
Hybrid mobile app
A hybrid app for Android and iOS, featuring key banking functionalities and native device integrations like biometric security and location-based assistance.
Live example of page/flow for the App
A BIG THANK YOU
Special thanks to the team of Sydney consultants, many new to HeathWallace, who brought this project to life. From project managers to UXers, visual designers, and front-end developers, this talented and collaborative group overcame a massive challenge to deliver exceptional results.
THINKRUIZ 