Case Studies > Document Processing Workflow Redesign, CapitalOne

Lending is a very paper-intensive field and CapitalOne is a very large lender, scanning and shipping thousands of documents daily. To meet aggressive cost-cutting targets, CapitalOne needed to improve the efficiency and usability of a custom internal n-tier .Net web application that is used to manage the 20,000,000-document warehouse.

I led the software usability and strategic business process analysis initiative. Specifically, my team was asked to improve the usability of the application, decrease manual document sorting, decrease processing mistakes, and improve efficiency.

Before The existing interface had a "one-size-fits-all" document tracking screen that supported all of the workflows on the loan level. Because of this, workflow-relevant information was not being displayed and workflow-specific user actions were not validated. To find all the relevant information, the users had to hunt through other system screens to complete the task. Users often got lost and made mistakes, because they did not remember all of the necessary steps in the workflow. Documents had to be re-sorted by type and re-entered individually at each workstation.

After My team created new document-centric screens to fit specific receiving, scanning and shipping workflows. To eliminate manual sorting, documents were scanned via a new barcode that included the document type. On each of the new screens, we pulled together all of the information required for processing and implemented specific business rules and validations. To tie different workflows together, we created a "document package" that can transfer hundreds of documents between workstations with a single barcode scan.

Our Solution

In order to design any aspect of the new interface, my team had to first understand the environment in which users operate, and their complex document processing workflows. We also had fire-up the users, team leads and warehouse management on a personal level and get the users involved in the design process. Once we gained this understanding, we formulated the following solutions:

Create Document List

The existing "create list" function created a list of loans, not documents. To create the list, loan number typed in manually, then processed one document type at a time. The new document list screen was document-centric, not loan-centric. It recognized the barcode with a document type placed on a special document coversheet. This completely eliminated the need for manual sorting.

Specific Workflow Screens: Receiving, Scanning, Shipping, Memo

The existing "one-size-fits-all" screen was not capturing the business rules and information needed to complete the tasks. Instead, my team has developed a set of new screens -- each specifically designed to help the user step-by-step through the workflow. All the new screens implemented workflow-specific business logic and validation and pulled together all the necessary information. Now users had all they needed to complete the task right at their fingertips, and made fewer mistakes due to carefully chosen defaults and thorough validation.

Document Package

In order to tie disparate workflows together and eliminate the need to re-enter thousands of documents at each workstation, we created a "document package" which allowed the users to scan the document list once and "carry it forward" through each step of the workflow.

Ergonomic Considerations

• A larger-font display with industry-standard abbreviations that show more information "above the fold" without scrolling
• Strict layout rules (outlined by the new "User Experience Guide") for the spacing of all items on the screen and to provide consistent user experience and clear access to information and functions
• Information design to rationalize display of data; for example, list and row functions were grouped in different areas
• Well-placed large buttons with clear labels to minimize mistakes and the need for precise mousing

Benefits and Return on Investment

Because the warehouse processes thousands of documents daily, we were able to very precisely measure efficiency improvements and compute the ROI by simply measuring how much faster the document took to go through the workflows using the new screens. Although the user satisfaction was not a usability goal set by the management in this case, our carefully designed screens, larger font, clear alert messages and well-placed functions produced a side-benefit of a huge improvement in user satisfaction.

• Created "obvious and abundant" ROI of over $300,000/year
• Saved 6 FTEs (2 on the scanning team + 4 on the shipping team)
• Increased process efficiency by 60%
• Improved user satisfaction from F to B+

Tom Mitchel
Director of Document Warehouse, CapitalOne, Inc.

George Knight
Sr. Manager, Document Warehouse, CapitalOne, Inc.

David Deyoe
Web Systems Manager, CapitalOne, Inc.



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