automated investing
Mehzad Chavoshi
UX/UI Designer
12 weeks
July to Sep ,2022
Tools: figma, miro, UsabilityHub, Askable
A design sprint on improving investing experience and redesigning sign-up & investing flows to drive strong conversion rates.
overview
Investing is a proven strategy to achieve greater financial security later in life. Financial services like Unhedged amplify this problem with frustrating digital products awash with investment and usability issues. Following the user-centered design process, I investigated and iterated on ways to improve the Unhedged mobile investment experience. The result is a redesigned mobile investment app that allows investors to efficiently accomplish their signup journey and investment tasks while growing their investing knowledge through interactive learning moments.
Brief
How might we improve their user experience while Enhance sign up & investment flow to increase conversion
Design thinking process
I followed a user-centered design process to investigate how to improve the mobile investing experience. Guided by user research, I identified several pain points and addressed them through new visual and interaction design solutions. Then I tested my designs with users in moderated sessions and created high-fidelity interactive prototypes incorporating their feedback. I employed the following research and design methods to explore the solutions to the problem.
Affinity Mapping
User Personas
Journey Mapping
Opportuntiy statement
HMW Statements
Ideation
Sketching
User flow
Information Architecture
Empathise
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
RESEARCH
Stakeholder interview
user interviews
Guerrilla Usability Testing
competitors analyzing
Lean UX canvas
Low-fidelity prototype
Wireframe prototype
Clickable prototype
High-fidelity prototype
UX Recommendations
Itration
usability testing
1.1 stakeholder interview
1.3 USER interview
1.2 USER testing
I run interviews with five users about their experience using digital financial products. I also watched two Unhedged customers (one new, one existing) complete an investment task in person.
I asked users to think aloud for the in-person interviews as they navigated the steps. I noted the places where they had the most issues and questions. These sessions confirmed some of my usability concerns from the product audit and surfaced new problems.
Target Audiences
● Beginner investors - those who want an easy way to invest, typically because they don't have time or interest to learn how.
● Intermediate investors - existing non-professional (retail) investors, who have typically used similar apps or have brokerage accounts, but are looking for a product that can provide better results
● Time poor investors - those who have the knowledge, but not the time to do the research and/or manage their investments
Guerrilla Testing Original Design
The next step in the design process was to understand what users felt and how does the original design worked for the target user group. I planned a direct guerrilla testing session with 10 user.
After the guerrilla testing of the existing design, I had an opportunity to identify key problem areas. They were based on the open questions asked to the users and my understanding of usability heuristics.
task
investing
sign up
create acount
personalize
Heuristic evaluation
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Thousands of Australians have joined Unhedged and it took them on average 4 1/2 minutes to open a live account...
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Phone Number
Personal Details
Bank Details
4:20
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I have read and agree with the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), the Target Market Documentation (TMD) and the Financial Services Guide (FSG).
Account Name
BSB
Account Number
52360149
653201
Jeet Sean
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Real investments actually require real money. (Gasp!) Connect your bank account to start investing today. But do check that your account allows direct debit first (many savings accounts do not).
Choose how much you start your investment journey with on the next screen, and we’ll debit your account this ONE TIME to get you started investing with Unhedged.
You hold the power with direct debit. No transfers will ever be made without your say so.
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Start from as little as $100.
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A$450
A$550
A$500
4:20
1.4 Lean UX Canvas
Comparative Research
analyzing 3 Competitors
Reduce the amount of text and use more visuals with minimal description
Consistency of control
Flexibility and efficiency of use
Visual Hierachy(top to bottom)
Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
Visibility of system status
color contrast and emphasis
intutive icons
make main task apparent
Define
User research findings
Overwhelmed with insights, we needed to start prioritizing to form a strategy. Created affinity maps to Classify all insights and gathered Prioritized customer pain points, wants and needs.
personas
intermediate investor
time-poor investor
beginer investor
user journey map and Key Insights
need more education and information during the journey
need to understand what they’re investing in
speed up the process of registration and investing
understanding portfolio and allocation
Users don’t know where their money is being invested into
users unclear which step they are up to in the investment process
Design Challenge
Business Challenges
Define target audience
Review existing signup and investing user flow
Review user understanding of product and language
needed more education and information during the journey
speed up the process of registration and investing
understanding portfolio and allocation
users unclear which step they are up to in the investment process
User Challenges
Redefine the problem
UX opportunity
requirment and HMW
How might we drive up conversions during the live account and demo sign-up process?
How might we encourage users to make their first investment?
How might we highlight what makes Unhedged unique?
How might we instil trust in the product?
How might we reduce user overwhelm when trying to find the right product?
ideate
The SCAMPER Technique is a team brainstorming technique used to develop or improve products or services by Modifying, Eliminating, combining and Substituting ideas.
Solution prioritization
Design consideration
Following my initial research, I set project goals to guide the design process for unhedged's interfaces and interactions.
user
make account managment easier and more appoachable.
visual design
create an appealing interface that informs,not overwhelmed.
product
simplify common tasks and infuse learning moments.
bussiness
attract a new generation of investors to unhedged.
Leveraging sprints to promote rapid learning
After identifying the highest-impact moments, I structured the remainder of my project timeline into a series of two-week sprints.
branding(ongoing)
creating account
investing
onboarding /sign up
design time line
0
2
6
4
This structure allowed me to quickly concept and refine specific flows and features, test them with users, and iterate on the designs while integrating those learnings across my designs.
week 1
week2
visual design
I decided to reimagine the Unhedged mobile branding to better reflect the focus on approachability and education. I adjusted the colors and typography to tone down the overpowering blue by checking the Contrast of primary colors and the impersonal feel some users noted as off-putting. I also used iconography to achieve a more friendly and slightly younger-leaning sense.
#EEE5FF
#D6BFFF
Primary Dark Blue
#121C3D
Withdrawal
#DA8484
Industrial Activity
#B76FFF
Solid Background Blue
#1D2957
Gradient Button
Primary Text
#BBCCFF
Secondary Light Blue
#283D7A
Investment
#1BDDAE
Secort Rotation
#FFBF74
Secondary Text
#849ADA
Primary Button
#5A78DF
Momentum
#81ACFF
Demo
#42FF00
Regans Algo
#8186FF
Accent
#34FCFC
Highlight
#D0B7FF
Error
#FF0000
Background
Pages
Algorithms
Text
Button
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Basic information
9:41
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Your Personal Details
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First Name*
Day
Month
Year
Middle Name(s)
Last Name*
Your details as written on your ID
Date of Birth
Phone number
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We only accept Australian phone numbers at the moment.
Your Personal Details
Phone Number
+61 401 555 222
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9:41
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Your Personal Details
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Your balance
A$1,500
+A$6,302 (+12.60%)
Invest
Withdraw
Performance
$ 45.898,16
24,55%
Dashboard
Library
Support
Invest
Profile
Transaction history
Invest
Aug 12, 2021
+$10.50
Invest
Aug 12, 2021
+$230
Withdraw
Aug 12, 2021
-$2.50
Invest
Aug 12, 2021
+$100
Withdraw
Aug 12, 2021
-$70
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create account(SPRINT #1)
Users liked seeing their progress through the sign up process, improved UI, encourage them to complete tasks, provide More payment options, labelling field helps more accessible and usable
Tracking user progress through the app.
Accessible CTA or fasting process.
Engaging visuals describing the use of process.
gamification to get the user engage with each step
Personalizing accounts for investors and data visualization.
Replace the slide button with the press button.
High contrasting colors between text and background.
Remove color-blind users with poor eyesight.
Increase the font size button overall for accessibility purposes.
Removing text walls and having visuals supported by minimal description.
Third-party security providers like MyGov ID to do the KYC.
Referral program and incentives for friends and family.
ONBOARDING
Simplified onboarding experience with adopting product need to Start account with confidence.
Users would like more visuals and improved UI , Confused by slider and long onboarding process.
investing
My goal was to maximize motivation and understanding to provide new investors with a positive first experience with the product by confirming details and offering editing options and comparison allocation on one page.
Testing Prototype
To test the matured prototype, I contacted the group of 10 users. I meet before during guerrilla testing of the original design. To benchmark my design I gave them the same tasks, like before. Because the functionality of the application was extended, I also designed a few new tasks.
Task on time
90
task
investing
sign up
create acount
personalize
RETROSPECTIVE
I identified impactful approaches that could apply across the app by defining key interactions first, then scaling based on findings, By testing key interactions. I learned the importance of seeing a design through the user's eyes. It is difficult but rewarding to translate complex topics into products that people can understand intuitively.
KYC integration - maybe costly and a lot of work for development but it could improve the user flow (prevents users exiting the app to get a code and possibly not coming back).
UX Flow - changing the UX flow (opening a live account immediately) could be high risk but has a potential for improve user interest in the product.
Offering users benefits and features before taking bank details could also allows users to understand Unhedged as a product before committing. It offers buy in and builds trust with users
Improving the UI is an aspect that should be taken away as there are a number of inconsistencies
Consider decreasing the inital investment amount as this came up in my user testing that the amount was too high.
if i had more time.......
further explore onboarding to educate and build the first impression first to see
Testing more for accessibility
Testing with different focus groups
see other ways to introduce a demo and dashboard to personalize it.
Poppins
