Information design applied to the documentation of a bank

The context: As the Raiffeisen Bank had taken the decision to move from an "in-house" banking system to an integrated banking software package, which imposed a specific way of operating, the redesign of its business processes became necessary.

The documentary challenges

Helping the experts in the various business lines to structure their knowledge in order to be able to document the application as it developed, and to draw up both training materials and user guides intended to make it easier for the bank’s 500 or so employees to get to grips with their new tool.

The starting point: business processes

For a bank, the life of its customers is punctuated by a succession of key stages: creation of the customer, opening of an account, account operations, opening of a credit, application for a payment card, opening of a securities portfolio, purchase of foreign currency, etc., all of which represent interlocking processes.

Each process takes place at a given moment and can only be carried out under certain conditions.

Building a framework

Analysing the processes allows us to ask the questions that will form the framework of the document.

A. At this stage, it is a question of knowing who should carry out which process.

B. You need to ask which tasks or other processes the employee must carry out beforehand.

C. Then the process is in turn dissected, in order to identify the steps that need to be taken to complete the operation in the software.

D. Do not forget also to look for and mention the information to be provided by third parties (colleagues, clients, etc.) in the document framework.

The creation of a model

The information is arranged so that it can be easily and immediately accessed.

Writing the content

The sheets are written in a clear and unambiguous way for use by all users, you should present the information in an attractive way to make it easier to understand.

Here we can see how a note sent by e-mail gains in readability and visibility and thus really hits the mark when the standards of analysis and structuring of information are applied.

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by Carole Brochard, responsable Touch of Content