(US & Canada) VIDEO | User Experience of Data Products Is Super Important —  Webster Bank CDAO

Vishal Patel, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Webster Bank, speaks with Savio Rodrigues, Head of New Business Acquisition at Trianz and CDO Magazine Editorial Board Member, in a video interview about the CDO's approach to designing intuitive and user-friendly data products – applying the product management mindset, considering reusability and simplifying data for users.

Webster Bank is a leading commercial bank that delivers financial solutions to businesses, individuals, families, and partners in the U.S. It also has a subsidiary called HSA Bank or Health Saving Account Bank.

Speaking about his approach to defining a data product, Patel says that it is like a typical product development mindset – starting with an idea, defining a product, pressure testing it, and then going to the market with it.

He adds that the mindset has allowed the data office to build data products with a “minimum viable product” approach so that products can be created and refined to make them fit for business use. It also strategically aligns with the bank’s business strategy.

When asked about prioritizing user experience in the development of data products, Patel says that his mindset is based on three key pillars:

• The manufacturer side where the data gets created

• The warehouse side where the entire governance and data quality aspect

• The showroom where the product has to be good enough for somebody to be able to use it

Patel stresses that his team does not compromise the quality of the product and that user experience is super important.

Sharing his thoughts on gathering feedback from users of data products, he adds that there has to be continuous refinement of products to make them more relevant for users.

On a similar note, Patel reveals his operating model called “data center of excellence,” where the team continuously engages the business community to understand the business problems they are trying to solve for and align the data products. They then consider the success criteria, usability, and metrics to understand if the product is useful.

Patel also highlights the reusability aspect and states that products need upgrading and refining to make them more relevant for the business side. He further states that as a CDAO of the company, he follows the three pillars, completeness, consistency, and accuracy.

Next, Patel goes on to speak about the impact of AI on his role. He says that from the internal use case POV, it is more about efficiency than impacting clients. The key approach is to try and test things before embracing them.

He further reveals building an internal AI product that helps business colleagues look at deposit and loan trends to make more relevant decisions.

CDO Magazine appreciates Vishal Patel for sharing his insights and data success stories with our global community.