Quick and simple

Bringing pensions closer to the people, and letting them live more - that is the ambition of pension provider BeFrank. BeFrank asked us to design a solution for pension administration by employers and employees, within a short timeframe. Our resulting solution fits in seamlessly with the values that BeFrank puts first: making things innovative and as simple and understandable as possible. We executed the project at lightning speed, based on our three-step design approach: 'understand, ideate, create'.

We started with the 'understand' phase; taking stock of the current situation. In what context do customers use the existing BeFrank applications? What tasks do they carry out and what ideas do they have for improvement? For the employer portal, we gathered input by interviewing users in organizations from different sectors and roles, such as pension administrators and the heads of HR. Subsequently, for six main tasks identified (such as implementing a change in the profile or reviewing a pension plan), we set up a customer journey with the pain points and 'moments of truth'.

In the second phase - 'ideate' - it's all about creativity. We developed innovative ideas with the team in a brainstorming session. We began by visualizing them in sketches and then translated them into a concept for a dashboard in the new online environment. We tested the new screens in real-life situations with users. Based on their feedback, we modified and improved our concept design.

In the third phase - 'create' - we worked out the details of the design in an interactive prototype (built in HTML, CSS, and JS). With this prototype, users could realistically perform tasks from start to finish, allowing us to validate specific interactions. The prototype's code was able to be immediately put to use by the third-party developers.

Thanks to our design approach, we have developed online pension solutions for BeFrank in a rapid manner:

• Based on customer research.
• With an optimal user experience.
• Described in a style guide with a view to maintenance and further development.

With these pension solutions, BeFrank customers quickly know where they stand, both now and in the future.