CASE STUDY
Chase Business Mobile — Elevating the UX for SMB Banking
Project Details
Client:
JPMorgan Chase
Role:
Lead Mobile UX Designer (Vice President)
Team:
Chase Business Mobile
Duration:
Multi-Year Initiative (2018-2021)
How This Work Nurtured the UX Leadership Lab Philosophy
I joined the Chase Business Mobile initiative as a Senior UX Designer on a pilot project focused on the needs of small and medium-sized business (SMB) owners. The research we conducted uncovered foundational insights that shifted how Chase approached business banking on mobile—and planted early seeds of leadership thinking that would shape my future work.
As I grew into the role of Lead Mobile UX Designer (Vice President), I led the redesign of the core app experience within one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world. I saw how embedded UX leadership—strategic, cross-functional, and grounded in user insight—could drive clarity, accelerate decisions, and empower teams to deliver more thoughtful products.
This experience helped nurture the core philosophy behind The UX Leadership Lab: that the right UX leadership, applied at the right moment, can turn complexity into momentum and unlock transformative outcomes.
The Challenge
Problem
When I joined the project, we knew the user experience for Chase Business Mobile felt fragmented. Internally, there was recognition that the app wasn’t meeting the full needs of small and medium-sized business (SMB) owners—and that improving it could help attract and retain more of these customers.
But it wasn’t until we engaged in deep user research that the core problem came into focus: the way SMB customers organized and interacted with their accounts didn’t align with how the app was structured. Our users had clear mental models around business entities, cash flow, and daily priorities that weren’t being reflected in the experience—making even simple tasks like checking balances harder than they needed to be.
Goals
Redesign the Chase Business Mobile experience to:
- Provide fast, intuitive access to account balances
- Accommodate a range of mental models (e.g., grouping by business, account type, or usage)
- Seamlessly fit within Chase’s broader design system and technical infrastructure
- Build user trust and confidence through simplicity and clarity
Research & Discovery
Methods Used
- In-depth 1:1 interviews with SMB owners
- Collaborative design sprints with business customers
- Paper prototyping and wireframe testing
- Interactive workshops to explore account organization models
- Remote and in-person usability testing across multiple rounds
Key Insights
- Business owners organized their finances based on personal preference: Either by account use or by Business entity.
- Visibility of account balances was a top priority
- Clear, straightforward data presentation was favored over graphical UI
- Customers wanted to personalize their views based on real-time needs
- Mental models diverged significantly from those of personal banking users
Design Process
From Pilot to Platform-Wide Redesign:
The initiative began as a targeted pilot—researching whether a standalone Chase Business app would best serve customers. Our team prototyped and tested two competing concepts during an intensive sprint. Ultimately, the business chose to evolve the existing mobile platform instead of launching a separate app.
Rapid Iteration & Collaboration:
We moved from paper sketches to interactive prototypes using Sketch, Figma, and InVision. As the work grew in scope, I led design planning, testing cycles, and cross-functional collaboration with product and engineering teams.
Leadership Progression:
After the pilot’s success, I was promoted to Lead Mobile UX Designer (VP), where I drove the strategic design direction for Chase Business Mobile across multiple releases.
Final Solution
Challenges and Solutions
-
Collapsible Wallet-Style Account View:
Allowed users to group and prioritize accounts by business entity or usage, reflecting how SMB owners actually manage their finances. -
Business vs. Personal Toggle:
Supported entrepreneurs with blended financial lives through easy context switching -
Configurable Dashboard:
A flexible, user-driven interface tailored to individual preferences while remaining consistent with Chase’s broader visual system.
This work began as a standalone pilot initiative, but the most valuable insights didn’t stay siloed. As we validated what business banking customers truly needed, we worked closely with product and engineering partners to integrate those insights into the existing Chase Mobile app.
Importantly, this integration happened in parallel with a major redesign effort across Chase’s Retail Banking experience. Rather than fragment the platform or create competing design systems, we aligned our business banking enhancements with shared components and scalable design logic—delivering focused value while contributing to broader system improvements.
Results & Impact
satisfaction
Among Chase Business Mobile users
Key Features:
- 18% increase in satisfaction among Chase Business Mobile users
- More efficient task completion and improved account visibility
- Pilot insights successfully integrated into the core application—without creating technical debt or introducing design divergence
- Platform-wide adoption of shared components grounded in business customer research
- Demonstrated a model of the UX leadership that prioritized integration, alignment, and user value—an approach that now informs the philosophy behind The UX Leadership Lab
Final Thoughts
This project sharpened my perspective on what it means to lead UX inside a large organization. It reinforced my belief that UX leadership must be embedded, adaptive, and customer-centered—especially when working across long product timelines and shifting business constraints.
These lessons are baked into the DNA of The UX Leadership Lab.
