Company: Scotiabank
Role: Senior Product Designer
Team: Cross-functional squad (Product, Engineering, QA, Operations)
Methodology: Agile (Sprint-based delivery)
Scope: Web and Mobile Banking (Help and search)
I inherited an in-flight appointment booking initiative and accelerated delivery by reframing the experience around conversation readiness rather than calendar logistics. Working within an Agile sprint model, I quickly adapted to the team’s velocity, prioritized usability improvements, and delivered iterative enhancements that increased clarity, speed, and service quality with each release.
Beyond stabilizing the initiative, I streamlined the booking flow, reduced friction, and introduced in-app appointment management — enabling customers to view, reschedule, and cancel existing bookings directly within mobile. During COVID, booking the right appointment — with the right advisor, format, and preparation — became particularly critical as branch capacity was limited and financial needs intensified.
The result was rapid adoption: 49,816 appointments completed in the first 13 weeks versus a target of 3,929, alongside reduced call-center dependency and improved advisor utilization.
Appointment booking was one of the highest customer and advisor requests. The existing process relied heavily on call centers, creating operational costs and unproductive meetings.
Core Frictions
Constraints
Research revealed that misalignment before meetings — not scheduling itself — was the primary breakdown.
Scheduling was framed as a guided decision-making journey structured around: What → How → Where → When
Close collaboration with product and engineering ensured sprint-ready design artifacts and continuous validation.
Intent-Driven Matching
Adapt scheduling options based on financial goals to ensure the right expertise from the start.
Speed as a Usability Metric
Reduce friction and improved completion time, critical during COVID constraints.
Booking Management as Core Capability
Enable customers to manage appointments directly, reducing operational load.
Preparation as Product
Structured confirmations and reminders to improve readiness and documentation alignment.
Delivered a scalable self-serve booking system across web and mobile through iterative sprint releases.
The system increased booking speed, reduced coordination overhead, and improved conversation quality during a period of constrained physical service.
Adoption
49,816 appointments completed in the first 13 weeks vs. a target of 3,929.
Business Outcomes
Experience Outcomes
Scheduling Is a Service, Not a Feature
Preparation, not time selection, creates value.
Speed Signals Confidence
Reducing friction was critical during uncertain conditions.
Operational Constraints Shape Architecture
Advisor capacity and expertise distribution must inform product decisions early.
Agile Requires Clear Prioritization
Sprint delivery demands tight framing and iterative validation.