Mastercard Case Study #1

Reimagining B2B Implementation Infrastructure for Network of the Future (NoF).

Project name: Switch Configuration Management Services (SCMS)

Context 

Reimagine the Network of the Future (5 -10 year vision)

“What if we could design an agnostic scheme configuration management system for our customers to define how they want their systems to handle Mastercard and non-Mastercard transactions?”

Customers’ perceptions of Mastercard are a risk to future business and growth – “it’s not easy to do business with Mastercard, from a technology standpoint.”  

Research Inquiry

Business Problems:

  • Customer implementations average 6-9+ months time-to-market.
  • Implementation operations are siloed by product systems (or schemes), requiring separate implementation teams and processes. 
  • Customers rely heavily on Implementation Managers’ handholding throughout the implementation process.
  • Customers always face multiple barriers when adjusting (or adding features) to products.

Research Request:

  • Generate an understanding of the scheme-product implementation landscape.
  • Identification of points of friction/gaps in the current implementation journey.
  • Recommendations for an experience vision of Network of the Future in the short term.
  • Learn about the interconnectedness between customers, other entities, and Mastercard.

    My Role & Contributions

    Business Leader, UX Research, led foundational research for this 5-10 year strategic initiative. Influenced 12 stakeholders across Product, Engineering, and Operations; reported insights and recommendations to the SVP of Network Operations.

    The Implementation Journey – Why Customers Struggle

    Key Insights & Opportunities

    My research highlighted what to focus on to deliver customer value. 

    Key Insights

    The Language Barrier

    The Empathy Gap

    The Visibility Problem

    The Complexity Multiplier

    Customer speaks “Product” and Mastercard speaks “Technology” >> leading to delays

    Opportunities

    Make clear how technology translates to business early. Highlight a straightforward digital workflow and what (why) it entails.

    Extremely aggressive timelines and limited knowledge of the Customer’s technology

    Conduct a technology assessment of the customer within the platform during the pre-implementation phase.

    Inconsistent progress tracking – Multiple Implementation Managers with different levels of knowledge >> leading to delays.

    Incorporate visual indicators and status notifications within the digital experience during the implementation journey.

    Third-party dependencies are untraceable >> leading to delays.

    Make clear third-party dependencies in the workflow, what is required from them, and the ability to track requests for action, Provide third parties with easy access to the platform.

    Expected Outcomes

    My research clarified how to unify Mastercard’s implementation into a single, intuitive experience – saving time, reducing costs, and building trust. 

    Business Impact

    Automating Customer Implementations