2005 C.I.P.A. Winners

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RBC Financial Group

RBC Action Direct Online Investing Site

Royal Bank of Canada and its subsidiaries operate under the name of RBC Financial Group. It is Canada's largest bank with 1,433 branches and other units, 3,999 banking machines, and 3.1 million online and 2.4 million telephone clients.

Action Direct is RBC Financial Group's online investing firm, providing access to a wide range of investment products, including GICs, T bills, equities, bonds and more than 3,000 mutual funds. Clients can research, buy or sell securities and view their portfolio positions through the Action Direct investing site, www.actiondirect.com. The service provides clients with 24-hour access to their Action Direct accounts, market research and real-time information.

Challenge

RBC's challenge was to balance the needs of active traders while simplifying the Web site for those new to online investing. In the previous version of the site, information was difficult to find and navigation was not as intuitive as it could be. Content changes to the site were time-consuming and involved considerable manual processes.

Objectives

RBC wanted to improve the user experience and add functionality for existing clients while attracting more online banking customers to the investing site. It aimed to increase revenue by:

• Providing greater awareness of the full range of products available through Action Direct;
• Creating a more user-friendly design and easier navigation with most functions no further than two mouse clicks away;
• Creating a common look and feel for clients enrolled in both the online banking and online investing service;
• Realizing organizational efficiencies by streamlining back-office functions and automating processes.

Solution

RBC adopted a "user centred design" methodology to provide an optimal client experience while on the site. In consultation with a US-based company, Human Factors International, a new site navigational structure was created. The new design also moved Action Direct to RBC's "Blueprint" online standards. These design standards, first applied to RBC's online banking site, provide a consistent client experience across multiple platforms.

Other enhancements included:

• A shopping-aisle format that makes it easier for clients to locate more products, including mutual funds and fixed-income products which were previously difficult to find;
• Helpful illustrations that give investors a visual snapshot of their investments, broken down by percentage and charts. An asset-mix calculator asks basic questions about investment goals and comfort with risk and then provides investment guidance;
• Step-by-step instructions that simplify the order entry process. New Action Direct clients are able to use the site with little or no additional help required. Users can go directly from a detailed quote to an order-entry screen, creating an easy place to trade.

Since implementation of the new site, RBC has seen a 36-per-cent increase in online enrolment, representing approximately 100,000 new clients. Mutual fund sales have increased by 35 per cent and fixed-income sales by 43 per cent. A 50-per-cent reduction in the number of trade orders rejected by staff has resulted in significant time and monetary savings, and more client satisfaction.

In addition, a new content-management system has enabled Action Direct staff to update product and marketing information almost instantly with complete self-sufficiency.

Innovative Use of Technology

The entire project was developed in an iterative way following what is known as the rational unified process (RUP). This was a significant change from the typical waterfall approach to software development. It was used to identify risks early in the project and mitigate their impact.

Development of the site was executed through co-sourcing from two firms with expertise in RUP and usability. In co-sourcing, an external supplier shares the risks of development with the client. Development was conducted by pairing an internal RBC resource with a resource supplied by the vendor.

Initially, internal staff was wary of the co-sourcing/outsourcing model, but the advantages became clear and resistance disappeared. As the project continued, the team atmosphere grew stronger and a new mindset emerged. Co-sourcing was seen as a robust collaborative experience for all parties where knowledge transfer was very high.

RBC also formed a strategic alliance with the Globe & Mail newspaper. Previously, the Globe provided news content for the site but it was not well integrated. Under the new partnership, the Globe not only provides news content but develops and hosts pages on behalf of Action Direct. Forty per cent of the content is hosted and maintained by the Globe & Mail.

"In this major upgrade to the site, we were looking to do things differently," says Michael MacDonald, manager of .NET technology, Applications Development, Online Self Service Solutions, RBC.

"This was an opportunity to go back to school and understand our clients in a different way. In the 14 short months this cycle took, we made revolutionary changes to our developmental processes and our business. Our team learned their lessons well and we were rewarded with a phenomenal response from our clients."

A 2005 CIPA Winner!

For its exceptional and innovative application of information technology to solve real-world business problems, RBC Financial Group has been awarded a 2005 CIPA Silver Award of Excellence in the Customer Care, For Profit category.

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