Pricewaterhouse Cooper

Introduction

PwC, or Price Waterhouse Coopers, is a renowned global network providing services in auditing, consulting, and taxation. Recognizing inefficiencies in their traditional audit processes, PwC sought to modernize their approach by implementing a new internal tool. This tool was designed to streamline the financial audit process, reducing human error and speeding up the audit approval cycle. Philosophie, a contemporary design consultancy, was tasked with creating an intuitive and efficient application to achieve these goals. This case study explores the design journey, from initial research to final implementation, and the impact of this new tool on PwC’s audit practices.

My Role and Responsibilities

As the UI/UX Designer for this project, my role encompassed a wide range of responsibilities:

▪ Stakeholder Interviews: Engaged with PwC’s internal teams and stakeholders to understand the existing audit process and identify pain points.

▪ User Research: Conducted extensive research, including field visits and interviews with PwC staff, to gather insights into the auditing workflow.

▪ Design and Prototyping: Developed wireframes and high-fidelity prototypes to visualize and refine the application’s user interface and interactions.

▪ Collaboration: Worked closely with the product owner and the engineering team to ensure the design was feasible and aligned with PwC’s requirements.

▪ Testing and Validation: Participated in usability testing to validate design decisions and iterated based on feedback.

Research

Understanding the Existing Process: To design an effective solution, we first needed a comprehensive understanding of PwC’s existing audit procedures. This included:

▪ Stakeholder Interviews: We conducted interviews with key stakeholders, including audit team members and managers, to understand the current process and gather feedback on inefficiencies.

▪ Field Visits: A visit to PwC’s office in Tampa, FL provided valuable insights into the day-to-day operations of the audit team. We interviewed Resource Specialists, Primary Specialists, Checkers, Coaches, and Managers to gain a holistic view of the auditing workflow.

Key Findings

Our research revealed several critical issues:

▪ Inefficiencies: The previous audit process was highly manual and prone to human error. Specialists frequently copied data from multiple documents into spreadsheets, increasing the risk of mistakes.

▪ Complexity: The process involved multiple stages, from receiving an audit request to final approval, each of which was susceptible to delays and miscommunication.

▪ Data Management: The secure transfer and management of sensitive financial documents were cumbersome and inefficient.

Ideation and Design Process

Discover and Define: In the initial phase, our focus was on defining the problem and setting the foundation for our design approach:

▪ Journey Mapping: We created a journey map to visualize the auditing process from start to finish. This helped identify critical touchpoints and areas for improvement.

▪ Flow Diagrams: Detailed flow diagrams were developed to illustrate the existing process and highlight inefficiencies.

Ideate and Design

In the ideation phase, we explored various design solutions:

▪ Wireframes: We developed wireframes to outline the user interface and interactions. These wireframes illustrated key features such as the audit setup, data entry, and document management.

▪ Prototyping: Rapid prototypes were created to test different design concepts and gather feedback from stakeholders.

Develop and Implement

In the final phase, we focused on bringing our design to life:

▪ High-Fidelity Design: A mood board was created to establish the visual direction. We adhered to PwC’s brand guidelines while designing a clean, intuitive interface.

▪ Collaborative Development: Worked closely with PwC’s engineering team to ensure the design was implemented correctly and integrated seamlessly with existing systems.

▪ Piloting: The application was piloted with actual users to test its functionality and gather feedback for further refinement.

Testing and Validation

Usability Testing: We conducted several rounds of usability testing to ensure the application met user needs and expectations:

▪ User Feedback: Collected feedback from PwC staff to identify any usability issues or areas for improvement.

▪ Iterative Design: Based on feedback, we iterated on the design, making necessary adjustments to enhance the user experience.

Cross-Platform Consistency: Ensured that the application was consistent across different devices and platforms. Testing was conducted to confirm that the application functioned correctly and provided a seamless experience for all users.

Final Design and Implementation

Design Features:

▪ Audit Portal: The application features a centralized portal where managers and specialists can access and manage audit assignments. This portal allows for efficient allocation of tasks and monitoring of team progress.

▪ Audit Workflow: Users can create and set up audits by uploading documents and templates, or by starting from scratch. The workflow includes steps for data entry, formula application, and review.

▪ Document Reader: A critical feature, the document reader securely parses and populates data from client documents into the audit spreadsheet, reducing manual data entry and minimizing errors.

▪ Test Summary: Managers and coaches can review progress across ongoing audits, leave notes, and participate in the audit process, enhancing communication and oversight.

Implementation: The final design was implemented with careful attention to detail, ensuring that all features were functional and met user needs. Collaboration with the engineering team was crucial to integrate the design with PwC’s existing systems.