Strategic tooling

Company: NatWest (Commercial & Institute Digital Design)

Work stream: Digital Experience Design

Skills: Agile delivery, process assessment

Introduction

I led a software trial across the C&I Digital Design team to determine whether Figma would be a viable replacement for current design tools (Sketch/Abstract). This information was fed into a larger bank-wide business case for a proposed change in software.

Aim

The key aim of the trial was to determine functionality constraints/improvements for Figma in comparison to our existing software suite. It was important that feedback was clearly collated and from all areas of a multi-disciplinary team.

Approach

As lead on this trial, I adopted an Agile approach. I specifically chose Kanban as we had very limited time and resource to undertake the trial and this method ensures real-time communication of capacity, full transparency of work and full team engagement. Key areas of UI, UX, and UX writing were broken into tasks on a shared Kanban board, leveraging existing resources to accelerate delivery. Weekly working groups enabled ticket assignment, progress tracking, and collaborative problem-solving, ensuring timely completion and team buy-in.

Following the trial, the Kanban structure was refined to feed into the wider bank initiative, providing a clear foundation for analysis and the business case. The approach demonstrated effective process design, cross-functional collaboration, and successful scaling of a new capability.

Outcome

The trial contributed to a broader series of initiatives across NatWest franchises, feeding into a unified programme of work. It directly supported the successful bank-wide adoption of Figma, replacing Sketch, and ensured a smooth transition within our team.