Role: Project Lead & Design Strategist

Client: Top 10 U.S. Bank

Platform: Migration of a commercial mortgage lending system to the cloud, with a focus on automation, usability, and client-specific workflow customization.

Users: Internal commercial lending teams and enterprise clients managing asset-based financing.

The Problem

The legacy system was:

• Ill-equipped for cloud infrastructure

• Cumbersome for internal users and overly reliant on rigid workflows

• Difficult to customize for varied client needs

• Fragmented across people, processes, and platforms

There was no clear strategic framework for modernization across domains.

Project Goals

• Assess the end-to-end maturity of the current system

• Identify opportunities for automation, workflow optimization, and client-specific customization

• Lay the foundation for a scalable, cloud-ready future state

• Build executive alignment on business, user, and tech priorities

My Role

As the Human-Centered Design Strategist, I led the discovery and insight synthesis phases, including:

• Facilitating workshops with internal stakeholders

• Conducting contextual inquiry and competitive analysis

• Mapping current-state processes and systems

• Building a cross-domain Capability Assessment Framework

• Delivering future-state recommendations and strategic roadmaps

Approach

Contextual Discovery

• Mapped internal workflows, user needs, and technology constraints

• Identified pain points, inefficiencies, and client-specific complexities

• Benchmarked competitors and assessed market shifts

Capability Assessment Framework

• Evaluated maturity across three lenses: people, processes, and technology

• Used the framework to identify targeted improvements

• Created a structured set of insights for executive decision-making

Strategic Recommendations

• Developed future-state concepts and operational models

• Defined anticipated outcomes to guide roadmap planning

• Delivered phased, business-aligned modernization paths for each capability area

Deliverables

• Executive Summary and Future-State Vision

• Industry Landscape and Competitive Analysis

• Current-State Assessment and Process Documentation

• Capability Assessment Framework (People / Process / Technology)

• Insight Report and Strategic Recommendations

• Phased Roadmaps per Framework Dimension

Challenges

• Aligning stakeholder goals across business, tech, and ops

• Defining platform-wide strategy amid an active cloud migration

• Translating complex internal systems into actionable insights

• Adapting solutions to support both standardized workflows and client-specific handling

Business Benefits

• Clarity: Provided a shared vision for transformation

• Readiness: Positioned the organization for cloud scalability

• Efficiency: Identified manual processes for automation

• Customization: Enhanced support for client-specific needs

• Alignment: Brought teams together under a cohesive strategic direction