Building Smarter Chatbots.
UX DESIGNER
✦
10 WEEKS
✦
COLLABORATED WITH PMs & DEVs
OVERVIEW
BECU (Boeing Employees Credit Union) is Washington’s largest credit union. Originally created for Boeing employees, it has since expanded to serve everyone. As a member-owned organization, BECU emphasizes community, trust, and accessible banking, values that extend to its digital experiences.
The chatbot, however, hadn’t seen meaningful updates in years. Over time, the chatbot fell behind in both functionality and usability, creating friction in what should have been an easy support interaction.
As a UX Design Intern, I was responsible for leading the research for discovery and redesign of BECU’s chatbot experience identifying where it was falling short, understanding member expectations, and creating initial design directions for improvement. While I worked independently on this project, I was mentored by a senior UX researcher and a principal product designer, and reported directly to an Experience Design Manager. This autonomy allowed me to shape the direction of the project from research to concept design.
“By the time members came to us they were already frustrated and had spent long time on the chatbot without finding anything.”
- Senior Manager, Contact Centre at BECU
PROBLEM
Members often left chats frustrated, leading to consistently low NPS and poor post-chat
feedback.
Many members turned to call centers after failed chat interactions, increasing wait times and
service load.
The chatbot’s old tech struggled to understand queries, eroding trust and making support feel
unreliable.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
We evaluated 10 competitors (4 Credit Unions, 4 Banks, 2 Financial Services) against a set of usability heuristics. Each criterion was scored with a simple pass (+1) or fail (0), allowing us to benchmark their strengths and weaknesses and compare them consistently.
USABILITY HEURISTICS
(Improvised AI Version)
Ease of Access
Flow & Interaction
Visual Design
Usability & Navigation
Tone of Communication
Advanced Capabilities
BECU’s chatbot scored 14 out of 20, performing better than most but still lagging behind top performers that reached 19 out of 20 in experience quality.
THIS IS WHERE WE REALIZED,
The problem is deeper.
Our initial findings suggested low Night Ride usage due to app usability issues. However, discussions with drivers uncovered deeper operational challenges impacting the service’s functionality.
Drivers have to manually record each student’s destination on paper, making it difficult to plan an efficient route.
Remembering the order of stops and route sequence adds extra effort, leading to delays and occasional confusion.
COMPETITIVE "INSPO"
In addition, to gain insights into user preferences, we asked students, "What is your most used navigation app? Why do you like it?" Their responses highlighted key features that contribute to a positive navigation experience.
Google Maps
Overview
Google Maps is popular for its real-time location tracking, allowing users to see both their own location and live bus positions.
It also provides bus schedules, available timings, and delay notifications, making it a reliable tool for planning around public transit.
Widely used for discovering new places, which adds convenience for users exploring the area.
Limitations
Google Maps occasionally fails to adjust for special events or road closures, leading to inaccurate routes.
It may also display odd bus timings, sometimes suggesting later departures even when an earlier bus is available.
Direct Quote
" I like Google Maps because it is much better at searching things. Eg hotels, eating spots, petrol kiosks. The reviews, photos are also great."
Apple Maps
Benefits
Users appreciate the minimalist design, which makes it easier to follow directions, especially in urban areas with complex navigation needs.
It integrates smoothly with Apple devices and services, offering features like Siri voice commands and Apple watch.
Limitations
Despite improvements, some users report that Apple Maps occasionally provides incorrect or outdated information.
Compared to competitors, Apple Maps may lack certain advanced features, such as comprehensive public transit information.
Direct Quote
"I fell in love with Apple Maps when it started saying things like “after this light” cause it just makes everything so much easier for me"
OneBusAway
Benefits
Users say it's a great app for planning their commute, and that it's useful for knowing when to get on the bus.
Users often rely on OneBusAway alongside Google Maps because it helps optimize the timing of specific routes, making it useful for people who need immediate updates rather than static schedules.
Limitations
Users often experience missing buses altogether or buses that don’t arrive according to schedule, leading to frustration and uncertainty about arrival times.
Quotes
"I've found OneBusAway to be largely reliable when it's tracking buses. However, when it's based on a schedule, anywhere congested (like downtown) will have notable delays."
REFURBISHED DESIGN QUESTIONS
After uncovering new pain points from both users and drivers, we revisited our design questions. This allowed us to make them more specific and aligned with the deeper issues identified.
How might we provide students with real-time information on shuttle arrival times to minimize waiting uncertainty?
How might we streamline the driver’s route planning to reduce delays and improve efficiency?
How might we encourage group travel to enhance the safety and convenience of students using Night Ride?
QUICK EXPLORATIONS
Keeping our design goals in mind and after a lot of iterations, we came up with the following designs.
FINAL DESIGNS
Keeping our design goals in mind and after a lot of iterations, we came up with the following designs.
TESTING FEEDBACK
The redesign simplified the user experience, resulting in measurable business improvements:
Number of SIPs initiated grew by 18% in a quarter.
Average transaction volume per user grew by 20%.
Users shared positive feedback with the customer success team, expressing how much simpler it felt to set up their autopay.
LEARNINGS
Design is not Linear.
Understanding how users perceive and interact with your designs is essential, especially when they lack prior knowledge or context.
As designers, we have a responsibility to guide our users seamlessly through complex processes, making each interaction feel straightforward and accessible.