BNY Mellon's Data and Analytics division transformed their internal investment tools into a self-service platform, enabling clients to directly manage and analyze their data stored in BNY Mellon. This shift from developer-dependent tools to a client-facing platform fundamentally changed how BNY Mellon's clients interacted with their stored data and were provided better tooling to manage risk and analyze investments from an ESG perspective. As a full-time product designer, I led the creation of a few of these tools, as well as the design/strategy of the design system that decreased development implementation time by 40% and increased design iteration speed by 70%.
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01 The Who
BNY Mellon, one of the world's largest custodian banks, handles vast amounts of investment data through their Data and Analytics division, Eagle Investments. They've built sophisticated tools for institutional investors to analyze and manage their portfolios, with a growing focus on ESG investment solutions. Their expertise in investment management tools positioned them perfectly to meet the rising demand for ESG-focused investment analysis.
02 The What
Despite having developed powerful data management capabilities, BNY Mellon's tools were trapped behind a developer-centric interface. This created a bottleneck where every client request required manual intervention from the development team.
The tools, originally built for internal use, lacked essential features like user permissions and consistent design patterns. With multiple disconnected systems and no standardized approach, scaling these solutions for client use would be inefficient and risk creating a fragmented user experience.
03 The Why
Market pressures and evolving ESG requirements created an urgent need for change. Clients couldn't afford delays in accessing and manipulating their data or implementing ESG strategies. The developer-dependent approach was becoming unsustainable as request volumes grew. This combination of market demands and internal technical challenges made it clear: BNY Mellon needed to reimagine how they delivered these tools to clients while modernizing their development process.
04 The How
Starting with just two designers and expanding to a team of six, I led the design and implementation of a comprehensive design system strategy that balanced immediate impact with long-term sustainability:
Foundation Building
Created a unified design system from scratch, including a starter kit of base styles and components for immediate use
Developed an application shell that could house multiple tools in one cohesive interface, enabling teams to deliver consistent products within a tight two-month deadline
Established page templates and UX patterns to accelerate development
Team Enablement
Built assistive components that accelerated both design and development work
Conducted regular 1-1 sessions and design workshops to help designers effectively use the system and prevent duplicate work
Developed a contribution model that made it easy for teams to share components and maintain cross-team alignment
Client-Focused Implementation
Collaborated with technical product managers to translate client needs into working solutions
Established an iterative feedback process to continuously improve the platform and ensure it met evolving client needs
Implemented a user-friendly GUI that gave clients direct access to tools
05 The Results
The transformation yielded significant improvements in both client experience and operational efficiency. Clients gained self-service capabilities, allowing them to manage their data and analyze investments from an ESG perspective without developer intervention. What once took weeks now took days or provided immediate access.
Internal operations saw substantial improvements, with development implementation time decreasing by 40% and design iteration speed increasing by 70%. The new system significantly reduced technical maintenance overhead and established a repeatable model for transforming internal tools into client-facing solutions. Most importantly, clients gained the ability to respond quickly to market changes and regulatory requirements, maintaining their competitive edge in a fast-moving industry.
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