Credit Suisse has developed tools to help External Asset Managers (EAMs) efficiently select investment products for their clients. One of these tools, the Product Buffet, provided access to a wide range of Credit Suisse and third-party products.
With the launch of a new platform for institutional clients CSD Pro, my task was to redesign Product Buffet to align with the Credit Suisse design standards and integrate seamlessly with the new platform's features.
This case study highlights the redesign process, the challenges faced, and the impact of integrating the Product Buffet into CSD Pro.
When I joined the project, the product team had already completed the user stories and was ready to begin development from a functional perspective. My task was to redesign the application, propose enhancements to elevate the customer experience, and integrate Credit Suisse’s design system and guidelines to ensure alignment across all digital products.
Goals:
- Integration with CSD Pro: Position the Product Buffet as a central feature of the platform.
- Design System Alignment: Update the interface and workflows to reflect Credit Suisse’s official design standards.
- Improved Usability: Enhance navigation and simplify processes for a better user experience.
- Expanded Functionality: Add new features that leverage the platform's ecosystem
I began by analyzing the previous platform and processes, conducting interviews with all stakeholders, and reviewing each user story to create a detailed design plan.
The key feature was a comprehensive product list that users could filter, select, and organize into 'baskets'—groups of favorite products. These baskets enabled users to compare product performance within groups and download detailed product information, known as 'Dossiers.' The Dossiers included all relevant product data, which was periodically updated and always accessible for EAMs to download and share with their clients. This information was crucial for EAMs and their clients in making informed investment decisions on products such as ETFs, bonds, and more.
From a user flow perspective, one key process to simplify was the 'add to basket' functionality. The platform also featured a large number of filters, so I conducted user testing to evaluate their relevance and importance in this context.
Based on the findings,I proposed reorganizing the filters into logical groups aligned by their relationships. Additional enhancements included introducing semantic colors (e.g., red and green) to indicate trends, implementing tags to differentiate properties of values, and redesigning the tables to better handle the large amount of information. All these changes were aligned with stakeholders and the design team through regular design reviews.
Each product had a product card displaying up-to-date data, allowing users to see the information of the product or add the product to their basket of favorites.
The proposed enhancements for this screen focused on presenting key information visually through charts. The selection of relevant data was informed by user interviews to ensure it aligned with what users considered most important at this stage of the process.
The saved products are grouped in to baskets grouped by product type, the baskets can be edited and the information can be downloaded periodically, also EAMs can add their company logo to the product dossiers for better presentation of the investments strategies to their clients.
