Redesigning the Capital Markets Engine
Creating Transparency & Trust in the Securitization Process
PROJECT OVERVIEW
​The Capital Markets Engine is an internal enterprise tool used by the securitization team to manage loan pipelines, conduct third-party audits, and prepare deals for the capital markets.
ROLE
User interviews, user flows, wireframing, interactive prototypes, refining requirements
TEAM
I worked alongside a Product Owner, User Researcher, Solution Architect, and multiple engineers
CATEGORY
UX/UI Design
Web
Enterprise Tools
DISCOVER
UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGE
As the sole designer for the Capital Markets team, I was tasked with redesigning the Capital Markets Engine — a complex tool used by the securitization team to manage loan pipelines, create scenarios, and ultimately form deals. The goal was to replace the legacy system, Sparta, and integrate the securitization workflow into the broader MyOptigo enterprise system.
USER INTERVIEWS
To better understand the securitization process and the different roles involved, I conducted four user interviews with members of the Capital Markets team. Each interview helped uncover unique perspectives on workflows, goals, and frustrations.
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As I progressed through the sessions, I refined my questions to dig deeper into areas of uncertainty and better tailor follow-ups. I partnered with a UX researcher who helped take notes and ask probing questions to enrich the conversation.
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After the interviews, I used card sorting to synthesize pain points and identify patterns across roles. This helped prioritize needs and informed which features would deliver the most value in the MVP.
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KEY DISCOVERIES
Data Integrity Issues
In the current system, loans remain in open flow until locked into a designated deal, pulling upstream data that users deemed unreliable. Inaccurate loan attributes (like loan balance discrepancies) forced users to run independent queries and audits outside the system.
Loss of Trust
Users created offline Excel workflows because they didn't trust the data flowing from upstream. This resulted in lack of transparency and duplicated efforts.
Failed Past Attempts
A previous redesign effort fell flat — an MVP was delivered but didn’t reflect real workflows. This caused user skepticism, disengagement, and reluctancy to adopt.
Third-Party Audits Were Manual
Auditors and analysts exchanged Excel files, then manually re-entered changes into the legacy system. The import function was broken, making things worse.
DEFINE
FRAMING THE RIGHT PROBLEM
With insights synthesized, I focused on reframing the problem and clarifying the scope of work.
How might we create a securitization tool that enables analysts to trust and edit data within the enterprise system without needing external workarounds?
CHALLENGES UNCOVERED
Ambiguous Requirements
The original ask was to redesign the “Pipeline Page,” but I discovered the scope included how data flows, locks, and updates across multiple touchpoints.
High Complexity, Low Clarity
One loan could exist in multiple scenarios, requiring careful thinking around edits, locking, and system behavior to prevent duplicate effort or data conflicts
Mistrust in the Process
Because users were burned in the past, I had to regain their confidence by showing how their feedback was actively shaping the solution.
I created this flow to visualize the securitization process based on early discovery. Since the requirements were still ambiguous, I added questions at each step to clarify gaps in understanding and align with cross-functional teams on scope and effort.
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IDEATE
DESIGNING FOR TRUST & FLEXIBILITY
Instead of jumping straight into high-fidelity wireframes, I explored multiple ways to rebuild trust in the data & offer flexibility.
Reimagining the Edit Experience
The original requirements assumed users only needed to edit seven key attributes per loan. However, user testing revealed that any of the 100+ attributes might need to be updated during the audit process—far beyond the initial scope.
While users preferred the ability to click directly into each field (as in Excel), technical constraints made this interaction unfeasible. To bridge the gap, I explored multiple solutions.
Modal designed to edit 7 attributes, but did not allow for edits to all other attributes. These fields were primarily associated with loans being removed from deals. However, edits are needed prior to this step in the journey as well.
While AG Grid allowed for users to click into each field, this was not feasible due to other requirements and did not provide users with visual cues to show which attributes could be edited.
Bulk edit feature designed to allow users to search for the attribute that needed to be updated and provide an input. This also allowed user to edit multiple attributes for the selected loan(s).
These explorations led to a more accurate MVP scope and set the foundation for scalable improvements. Most importantly, the solution gave users more control over data flow, without sacrificing performance or data integrity.
Designing with Familiarity and Functionality in Mind
To address the users’ need for an Excel-like experience without relying on external tools, I recommended using AG Grid—a flexible data table solution that was already in use across other parts of the enterprise platform. AG Grid closely matched user expectations for sorting, filtering, and bulk editing, and its adoption minimized engineering ramp-up time since the development team was already familiar with its implementation.​
In parallel, I leveraged my knowledge of design patterns used across the platform to quickly create aligned, cohesive screens for both the Pipeline view and the Scenario builder. I also looked at how other departments created and summarized scenarios to identify more intuitive UI models that could improve clarity and consistency for our users. This approach allowed us to rapidly iterate while ensuring our designs felt familiar, reducing the learning curve and increasing adoption.
DESIGN
TRANSLATING NEEDS INTO SCALABLE SOLUTIONS
The legacy system offered limited filtering, sorting, or customization options—driving users to rely heavily on Excel. I introduced an interactive data table powered by AG Grid, which enabled users to:
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Sort and filter by any column
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Customize which attributes are shown
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Save views tailored to their workflow
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By leveraging AG Grid, which was already in use across the enterprise platform, I ensured the UI was visually and functionally consistent with other tools. This not only reduced the design and development time, but also helped us avoid the higher licensing and build costs of alternative options like GrapeCity.​
Impact
Custom Views for Complex Deals
This improvement significantly enhanced the deal-building process, allowing Deal Managers to focus only on the loans and attributes relevant to their scenarios. It also reinforced trust in the new platform by mirroring the flexibility users loved in Excel, while keeping all data within a single, auditable system.