Developer
Ecosystem
+ JP Morgan | Product Design
The year is 2020 in Hudson Yards, New York City and Chase Business has developed a plan to merge two families of API and XML based products into one developer ecosystem. Delivering the world class application program interface repository would encompass cross functional collaboration across several teams.
Framing
the Problem
The two financial institutions have developed a repository of business tools to address the needs of public and private equity partners in the form of legacy XML products and API tools. The Merchant Services division of Chase Business was tasked to consolidate the API & XML products into one ecosystem, optimize documentation, and improve user flow through research and development between both brands.
Visual Language Consistency
The merger of JP Morgan and Chase introduced overlapping lines of business. Creating a consistent visual language for both brands posed an aesthetic and system design challenge. I employed comparative analysis and best-in-class audits to generate insights that would empower our combined resources to approach design exploration holistically, in conjunction with traditional design thinking methods.
Optimizing Documentation
The project entailed optimizing legacy products in two repositories with XML, JDF, and API integration formats to ensure consistency across JP Morgan and Chase businesses. Limited access to sandbox and sample code for public users was due to private partner restrictions, available only to internal users. Collaboration among technical writers, engineers, and legal teams was crucial for delivering the solution.
Path of Least Resistance
I partner with our UX research associate Matt Karp to gather insights of potential and current users based on qualitative metrics from JP Morgan’s API Portal & Chase’s Developer Ecosystem. By distilling these findings, we meticulously formulate interview questions tailored to each use case, to develop user personas & journey maps. Our ultimate goal was to pave a path of least resistance, minimizing obstacles for our users.
Interviewee - Tech Lead
“Developers hope to see a glass door leading to documentation and user guides within every API portal.”
Interviewee - Engineer
“Theres no sandbox environment, and documentation is unavailable.”
Service
Blueprint
I crafted a service blueprint aimed at gauging the depth of information available at each stage of the user journey, ensuring comprehensive coverage across every step of the process. The activity involved documenting each persona journey from their initial consumer entry point all the way to API consumption. Recognizing the significant role of inadequate documentation in the abandonment of developer portals, our exploration validated our theory that “The absence of user guides resulted in a lack of support”.
Project Planning
I was tasked to visit our Tallahassee HQ to assist our legacy team in defining a project plan and roadmap that would help migrate our traditional legacy products into our optimized developer portal. This would mean retooling a host of products and microservices while also rewriting documentation - Our workshop would consist of engineers and technical management.
Scope & Roadmap
I traveled to our affiliate office in Tallahassee to meet API experts from the "Chase Business" sector. Our aim was to develop a plan to refine old documentation and seamlessly integrate it into our updated system. We identified resources that could facilitate the transition within a specified timeframe that aligned with our delivery goals.
Interview Takeaways
Equipped with qualitative analysis from our workshop, user interviews, and service blueprint, I compiled firsthand stakeholder attributes and characteristics for each persona to develop an empathy Map. These key data points enabled me to identify opportunities for improvement throughout the developer portal and facilitate solutions.
Output & Solutions
Content Strategy
I worked congruently with Bryndon Diaz and Martha Garvey to address opportunities of improvement within our current marketing material and existing landing page. The first plan of action would be defining our value proposition or unique selling point, and then meeting with content strategist to develop a voice for our marketing and consumer facing web pages.
+ Content Strategy Session (NYHQ)
Ideation & Exploration
Our user experience methods unearthed numerous opportunities within the current user flow. I provided comprehensive comps encompassing every aspect of the developer ecosystem user flow (Home, Solutions, Collections, Support, etc.). The process was highly iterative, taking months to develop as we awaited agreement from content strategy and legal on terms of use.
+ Iterative Concepts (NYHQ)
