The Challenge
Conduct a pilot to test a new Large Main Street Bank Retail concept that allows the company to create a welcoming space for clients and a flexible and professional work environment for financial advisors.
Timeline – over 8 weeks, we brought 34 diverse participants through the life-sized prototype to gather feedback on how might a new physical space influence client/advisor connections.
Methodology - Gathered and recorded feedback, analyzed and synthesized feedback to find deep insights instead of reactionary comments.
Findings - the new physical space should facilitate conversion, enable connections, provide privacy, and maximize efficiency.
Prototype Concept
To test our hypotheses on the usefulness of the space for our Clients and Advisors, before spending time and money on the real thing, a full-scale prototype was created inside the Large Main Street Bank Campus in St. Louis. The team would lead tours through the space to gather feedback to be used for further design iterations.
Full-Scale Model
- A full-scale model built from low-cost material.
- Shape masses were used to represent features within the space and designed to be reconfigured.
- High-fidelity renderings placed within each zone to give a sense of what the space could look like when fully realized
Targets:
The team captured qualitative field, client, and corporate feedback.
We aimed to understand:
- People’s perceptions of the space.
- If/how people will use the location in their everyday lives.
- If/how people will use the different areas within the space.
- Which parts of the space are effective and which parts need improving.
- If/how people will use the location in their everyday lives.
- If/how people will use the different areas within the space.
- Which parts of the space are effective and which parts need improving.
The team captured qualitative field, client, and corporate feedback around a low-fidelity prototype for a Next Generation Large Main Street Bank location concept.
Above image sourced from Tutorial: Agile for Researchers https://www.epicpeople.org/tutorial-agile-for-researchers/
2017 EPIC Proceedings, ISSN 1559-8918, epicpeople.org/intelligences
Approach:
Our team employed agile research sprint planning, meeting cadence, and reviews/retrospectives.
Timeline
Planning Phase
Scope - November 6, 2017 - November 16, 2017
Assemble - November 17, 2017 - November 28, 2017
Equip - November 29, 2017 - December 1, 2017
Feedback Phase
Sprint 0 - December 4, 2017 - December 18, 2017
Sprint 1 - December 19, 2017 - January 8, 2018
Sprint 2 - January 9, 2018 - January 23, 2018
Sprint 3 - January 24, 2018 - February 5, 2018
Report Phase
Report Building - February 9, 2018 - February 16, 2018
Socialization - February 20, 2018 - March 2, 2018
Notes from the Field
We created one-page summaries of the participants we met and interviewed during the research. They included background information, key observations, quotes, photographs, and other evidence formatted in a simple-read-to-read document that was shared with project stakeholders and teams.
Reasons to Visit
The majority said they will
- Meet with a Financial Advisor
- Attend or Host small or large client events, seminars, presentations
- Attend or Host small or large community events, seminars, presentations
- Attend or Host small or large client events, seminars, presentations
- Attend or Host small or large community events, seminars, presentations
Many said they will
- Hangout
- Grab coffee
- Use as an off-site office
- Check-in to meet someone
- Get help regarding their finances or issues/questions
- Get an introduction to brokerage products / options
- Grab coffee
- Use as an off-site office
- Check-in to meet someone
- Get help regarding their finances or issues/questions
- Get an introduction to brokerage products / options
A handful said they will
- Get money out of the ATM
- Network Professionally
- Print or get access to takeaways (for clients)
- Access catering options (for the seminar space)
- Network Professionally
- Print or get access to takeaways (for clients)
- Access catering options (for the seminar space)
We identified the realistic expectations of people navigating through the space and opportunities where the business model may benefit from a slight pivot.
After this pilot test, a follow up phase built concept iterations and identified a strategy for testing additional assumptions before the major investment.