Creating a Financial Application that serves as a Digital Wallet
The goal was to create a finance app that eliminates the need for multiple finance apps. Designed for everyone, it was created to accommodate a wide variety of personal finance needs.
Sector
Finance
Project
Mobile Application
Client
Student Project
Role
Lead UX/UI and Researcher
Timeline
January - August 2021
01
Context & Discovery
Process
The focus of this project was to dive deep into UX methodology in order to create an intuitive, streamline application. Not only was the goal to identify the needs of the user, but to provide concrete solutions.
Objective
02
Research
Competitive Analysis
Competitor Profile
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Market Strategy
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Key Features
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Market Advantage
UX Analysis
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Strengths / Weaknesses
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Opportunities / Threats
SWOT Analysis
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Usability
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Layout & Navigation Structure
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Composition
Results Summary
Where Paypal and Venmo excel is in their usability, familiarity, security, marketing and reputation, and clear and simple layouts. Competing with them would require the same levels in all these areas in addition to the added features. However, neither of these apps focus on creating an all-encompassing banking experience, and this is where I believe there is room to create something.
Surveys & Interviews
In order to add value through my designs, I needed to understand how people currently use financial apps and discover what problem is the correct problem to solve. In order to do so, I conducted interviews with 4 people ages 19-52 of various demographics via Zoom.
I then boiled down my findings into 3 key design principles.
Personas
Before creating User Personas, I created user stories to better understand someone’s potential needs. This also helped me decide on the functional requirements for Cove Wallet, so that I could refer back to them throughout the project and keep focused.
Mental Maps
Using all of the research collected, I created a mental model for each user persona in order to understand how someone might interact with the app, and to create a more intuitive experience from start to finish.
Information Architecture
Based on the insights gained from the initial content audits, competitor analysis and card sort from my user interviews, I designed the sitemap
Task Analysis
Finally, I created a task analysis and user flow for each persona. This gave me a clear picture of the steps that someone would need to take to get to their final goal, and how to deliver this goal in the most effective manner possible.
Jackson's Objective
Jackson wants a way to send money to friends quickly through an app that will track and combine his spending so that he can keep track of how much he has spent.
Start Point: Dashboard
Success Criteria: Confirmation Screen
Tasks:
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View Dashboard
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Send & Receive on Navigation Bar
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Search by phone number or email
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Type in amount
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Choose a way to pay
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Review Transaction
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Send or cancel
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Confirmation Screen
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Return to Dashboard
03
Design
Wireframes
Since simplicity and ease of use are some of the biggest aims of Cove Wallet, the number of screens were kept to a minimum and I wanted to focus on highlighting the core features. I started with pen and paper wireframes, and created multiple versions of each screen until I found a combination of features that I believed could help someone solve problems in an intuitive way.
Low-Fidelity Mobile
Create
Spending Report
Cancel a
Subscription
Transfer Money
Mid-Fidelity Mobile
04
Testing
User Testing
The goal of this study was to observe and document the learnability for new users interacting with Cove Wallet for the first time on mobile devices. Specifically, I wanted to observe and measure if people could understand the app, its functions, and how to complete basic initial functions such as logging in and searching for and navigating to a specific task.
Methodology
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Moderated Remote Tests
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Participants tested a mobile prototype meeting via Zoom
Metrics
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Learnability: Success Rate
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Errors: Jacob Neilson Scale
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Efficiency: Length of time to complete task
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Satisfaction: 1-10 point rating scale
Key Questions
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Is it understandable?
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Is it easy to use?
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Does it add value?
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Does it solve the problem?
Analysis
I then created Usability Test Results through Affinity Mapping I extracted Positive Quotes, Observations, Negative Quotes, and Errors from my interviews. I created a Rainbow Spreadsheet (click to view) and identified which areas to iterate.
05
Outcome
Design System
Lastly, I created a design system language that could be followed in the future to ensure consistency throughout the app. To these designs, I applied Gestalt Principles, color theory, and grids to maintain consistency.
High-Fidelity Prototype
I made changes based on the user feedback and then reached out for additional feedback from some fellow designers. I created a newer, high-fidelity version of the app that featured improved spacing, larger icons and clearer text.
