Case Study: Designing the OLOC Restriction Workflow

Case Study: Designing the OLOC Restriction Workflow

Enabling Operational Resilience and Compliance through Scalable UX

Company: Ironcrest Bank

Role: Lead UX Designer

Tools: Figma, Lucidchart, Confluence

Platform: Internal Servicing

My Role

As Design Lead, I owned the full design execution.

I partnered with:

  • Risk & Compliance
  • Product & Ops
  • Engineering
  • Other Designers
The Problem

The legacy process involved:

  • Frequent TRIPS outages
  • Manual duplication of effort
  • Spam and duplicate cases
  • Inconsistent decision-making
  • Compliance risks

Background

Some Ironcrest Bank customers experience financial hardships and hit Statute of Limitations (SOL). Although they want to continue their relationship with the bank—such as paying off balances or reopening accounts—the Overdraft Line of Credit Restriction (OLOCRES) process was outdated, inconsistent, and complex.

Customers frequently shared sentiments like:

"I want to use my account again, but it's restricted."

"I want to reopen or receive a deposit, but I'm blocked."

Internally, the TRIPS system—used by the Bank Customer Resiliency (BCR) team—was unreliable, causing compliance risks, slow handling, and duplicated efforts.

Discovery & Research

Agent Shadowing

Shadowed agents using TRIPS and spreadsheets

User Interviews

Conducted async interviews with BCR call center and back office staff

Pattern Analysis

Audited existing case submission patterns (spam, duplicate, incomplete cases)

Compliance Mapping

Worked with compliance team to capture the logic tree for waiver/refund eligibility

Key UX Contributions

Logic-Driven Flow Design

I mapped out and embedded conditional logic into the workflow:

  • OLOC-linked?
  • Charge-off present?
  • Bankruptcy flagged?

This reduced decision ambiguity and ensured agents followed the right process path.

Smart Intake Form

The form dynamically revealed or hid sections based on account context:

  • If account tied to bankruptcy or SOL → downstream options were disabled
  • Relevant fields pre-populated where data was available
Visual Risk Flags

I designed visual cues (banners) to surface key risk indicators like:

  • Bankruptcy involvement
  • Address on file not matching
  • Balance not being waived

Agents were prompted to pause, escalate, or reroute.

System-Aided Decisions

Where possible, I offloaded decisions from the agent to the system:

  • Ineligible actions were blocked automatically
  • Determining the eligibility status of each account
Confirmation & Audit Trail

A new summary screen offered:

  • Case outcome confirmation
  • Reference ID
  • Notes for traceability and follow-ups

Final Workflow

1

Agent enters account number

2

System checks OLOC, SOL, bankruptcy, and flags

3

Logic determines eligible path (waiver/refund/deny)

4

Form updates dynamically → Agent completes intake

5

Final review screen → Submit

✓

Case confirmation + reference ID + audit log

Additional Workflow Screens

No OLOC → Positive CO
Refund DetailsRefund Details No RefundRefund Details RefundSelect External AccountSelect Internal Account 2Refund Details CheckRefund (SOL/CO) ReviewRefund (SOL/CO) Confirmation More DetailsRefund (SOL/CO) Confirmation
Small Balance → No SOL
Select Account SOLSmall Balance Waiver Confirmation More DetailsSmall Balance Waiver ConfirmationSmall Balance Waiver ReviewSmall Balance No SOLWaiver Details 2Waiver Details
Small Balance → SOL
Small Balance SOL Select AccountSelect Account X SOLSOL Red Alert
Unhappy Path: No OLOC → No CO
Select AccountSelect Account NO CORed Alert NO CO

Results & Impact

The redesigned OLOC restriction workflow successfully addressed the key pain points identified in the legacy system. By implementing logic-driven flows, smart intake forms, and visual risk flags, we significantly improved agent efficiency and reduced compliance risks. The new system eliminated reliance on spreadsheets and email-based submissions, while enhancing auditability and case tracking capabilities.

MetricOutcome
Handling Time↓ 30% per case
Projected Operational Savings> $500,000 annually
Compliance RiskSignificantly reduced
Duplicate/Spam SubmissionsNearly eliminated
Agent SatisfactionIncreased significantly (qualitative feedback)
Adoption of Process FlowUsed by other designers across teams

Takeaways

  • ✓Operational UX is just as critical as customer-facing UX—agents are users too.
  • ✓Building logic-first design improved scalability and compliance.
  • ✓Reusable frameworks (like my flow chart) helped elevate cross-team collaboration and workflow clarity.