Background

nCino's Commercial Servicing platform was facing usability challenges that were impacting financial institutions' ability to efficiently manage post-close loan operations. Users reported difficulties navigating complex workflows, accessing critical information, and completing tasks in a timely manner.

Identify the problems

📍 Users were often forced to navigate through multiple pages and menus to complete even the most routine tasks. This excessive clicking not only slowed down operations but also led to frustration and increased the likelihood of user errors.
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📍 The platform’s structure lacked clear organization, resulting in inconsistent placement of key features and data. Users struggled to find what they needed quickly, which created confusion and disrupted their workflows.

📍 The process that was put into reaching our users goals was thought and completed throughout this user research. During our online kickoff meeting, we started with a very expansive subject matter and settled on a result to complete our research report.

📍 Important information, such as loan status updates and key performance indicators, was either buried deep within the system or not easily accessible. This lack of visibility hindered timely decision-making and negatively impacted customer service.

‍As a team, we identified our main objectives as:
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✋ Simplifying navigation to streamline task completion
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✋ Creating a consistent information architecture
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✋ Enhancing visibility into loan status and critical data points
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✋ Optimizing workflows to reduce processing time

Research and Discovery

✏️ To deeply understand user needs and pain points, our team conducted a comprehensive research phase. This included 12 in-depth interviews with loan servicing specialists, 4 contextual inquiry sessions observing real-world workflows, and a detailed analysis of support tickets, feature requests, and competitive servicing platforms.

✏️ We also engaged stakeholders across product and business teams to gather broader organizational insights. Our research revealed several critical user needs: quick access to essential loan information, streamlined workflows for common tasks, enhanced data visualization for portfolio analysis, improved search and filtering capabilities, and contextual guidance to support complex processes.

What is the problem statement?

📍 Financial institutions were struggling with inefficient and fragmented servicing platforms that made completing everyday tasks slow and confusing. Users faced complex navigation, inconsistent information architecture, limited access to critical loan data, and cumbersome workflows, all of which increased processing time and operational costs. New staff also faced a steep learning curve, making onboarding difficult. These challenges highlighted the need for a more intuitive, efficient, and insightful platform experience to support both users and business goals.

Design Process

Based on our research findings, we developed a comprehensive design strategy:
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📍 Information Architecture Redesign
We reorganized the platform's structure to align with users' mental models and task flows. This involved card sorting exercises with users to ensure the new navigation made intuitive sense.

📍 Workflow Optimization
We mapped and optimized key workflows, reducing the number of steps required for common tasks by an average of 40%. This included creating task-based navigation and contextual action menus.

📍 Visual Design System
We developed a consistent visual language that improves scalability, reduces cognitive load, and creates a more modern, professional appearance aligned with nCino's brand.

📍 Iterative Testing
We conducted multiple rounds of usability testing with actual users, iterating on designs based on feedback.
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Results and Impact

✏️ The redesigned platform delivered significant improvements
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40% reduction in time to complete common servicing tasks
65% improvement in user satisfaction scores
30% decrease in support tickets related to usability issues
50% reduction in training time for new users
25% increase in adoption of advanced features

Results and takeaways

⏱️ Through this project, we reinforced the importance of deep user understanding by spending time observing users in their real-world contexts, uncovering insights that would have otherwise been missed. We learned that designing for complex workflows requires multiple rounds of iteration and testing to truly get it right. Effective data visualization proved critical for making complex information more accessible and actionable. Additionally, close collaboration with engineering and product teams ensured that our solutions were not only user-centered but also feasible to implement.
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🙆 Building on user feedback and early release analytics, we have identified key opportunities for future improvements. These include introducing advanced reporting and analytics features, developing AI-powered recommendations for portfolio optimization, launching a mobile companion app for greater accessibility, and expanding integration with third-party data sources to enhance the platform’s capabilities.

nCino's Commercial Servicing

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