What's for Dinner?
iOS and Android App
What's for Dinner?
iOS and Android App
BOA Lite Mobile App
A Banking App Designed for the Younger Population
BOA Lite aims to help guide younger users during the start of their individual banking journeys. The app offers a straightforward design that allows the user to find essential functions such as budget planning, review statistics, and domestic or international transfer. Allowing the user to increase their confidence and interest in learning financial literacy.
Role
Duration
Tools Used
Product, UI Designer, UX Researcher
3 Months
Figma, Miro
Context
Inspiration
The Background
As one of the leading financial institutions in the U.S, BOA has provided service to over 39 millions clients across the U.S. Of those 39 million customers, more than 70% of those individuals choose to utilize the mobile application in order to tend to their daily financial needs.
Being one of the leading financial institutions in the U.S, Bank of America has been popularized among the international student community due to its nature of being easily accessible without the need of documents that only U.S citizens have. With more than a million international students coming to the U.S to study every year, this steadily growing population has signified the need of a banking app tailored for this population.
The Problem
Analysis
Within the current Bank of America app, one can quickly come to realize that once the app is opened, the user is faced with an abundance of options and functions that they could choose to utilize for every financial service that BOA provides. To a large portions of it’s users, specifically those who live and work in the U.S, this could prove to be helpful as they would utilize most of these services that are available.
For international, young students who are just beginning their studies in the U.S, the abundance of services, including those which international students would never use (such as paying bills, applying for loans, investments and insurance, financial products etc.), often increases the difficulty to navigate through the app efficiently.
Hypothesis
The abundance of international students that choose Bank of America raises the need for a redesign of the BOA app that is tailored to provide only necessary services to the international student community in order to maximize efficiency.
Research
Usability Tests
The Nitty Gritty Research
I invited six of my college friends who own BOA bank accounts for over more than one year to join a short session micro-usability test. The goal here was to understand what the strengths and weaknesses of the current BOA app have. Here's a brief overview my process:
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Introduce the project, goal, and context
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Describe different situations, set up context, have users provide real-time insights whilst using the app aloud
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As the navigation happens, questions are asked to gain a deeper understanding about their overall experience, usability, and features that are notable or in need of improvement
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Ask about an "Ideal version of the app" without any limitation
Using the Affinity Diagram feature in FigJam, patterns, themes, and connections between data points can be easily identified.
My Findings
Finding 1: Irrelevant information & functions
When I first approached my peers about their daily usage of the BOA app, the feedback I received all shared a couple similarities: "I basically only use the app to check my balance and transfer money", "I only open it when I'm worried about my spending and balance".
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Currently, in the latest BOA app, the user is bombarded with affordances as soon as they are on the landing page after signing in. When faced with so many buttons to click on, the usability of the app is hindered, giving the user a harder time when using the app.
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For my test users, the most utilized function were checking balance, transferring to other accounts, and reviewing their transaction history.
My Findings
Finding 2: Low Task Completion Rate due to Hidden Buttons and Confusing Content Design
During the observation, users exhibited hesitation and uncertainty when it came to locating buttons and understanding the content design. As a result, the task completion rate (within a reasonable timeframe) was only 40%. Users frequently paused or took time to figure out their location within the app or to comprehend the presented information.
My test users reactions ranged from audible sighs to visible signs of irritation when their expectations were not met. The existing information overloaded their cognitive processing capacity, leading to difficulties in navigating and comprehending the app's interface. Here are a few instances that illustrate these observations.
Where is my transaction history? Why is it not immediately available?
Transaction history shows incredibly limited amount of information that informs user
"Overwhelming display of irrelevant functions"
My Findings
Answer to the central question?: I want a banking app that can easily communicate my finance situation to me, whilst providing useful financial insights
One of the most frequent suggestion that I received was to use charts and budgets to help the user understand how much more they can spend, how much they have spent, and where they have spent that money.
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Some feedback also reflected that investment opportunities in the app should be eradicated as they were too distracting, however, a small amount of users seem to still want to educate themselves on investments through this process.
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At this point, I decided that by gathering data, I can validate these observations I have made in my users.
Quantitative Research - Surveys
Data in the form of questionnaires: User data could help prioritize the need of new features
I've compiled insights from 56 college-enrolled participants, aged 18-40, who are avid users of a digital banking app. Through validation from the surveys, it's evident that there's a pressing need for the introduction of the following novel features:
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Budgeting feature
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Easily understandable charts
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Personalized investments
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Easy access to transfers
Secondary Research
What are the BOA's competitors doing? How does BOA currently compare with other banking apps?
By evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of various banking applications, it becomes evident that the app developed by Bank of America falls behind in terms of delivering a user-friendly interface that offers clarity and simplicity. Users find it challenging to navigate the app with ease due to its lack of a clear and concise design.
User Persona
Introductory User
After all the research, I summarized my target user persona:
Owen is a 18-year-old college student who just began his banking journey in order to manage his finances.
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Owen doesn't have a lot of money and is scared of using a financial app since he does not have much experience with managing his own finance
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He wants an app that will allow him to budget, plan, and learn a little bit about investment and financing without being overwhelmed
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Finally, he needs a platform to manage subscriptions that will allow him to be accountable for his finance
Owen
18 year old student
Wants a easy to use platform suitable for learning to finance
Hypothesis Adjustment
Refined Problem: How can we enhance the confidence and enthusiasm of young college students for financial management?
Building upon prior research, I have refined my design objectives to:
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Minimize cognitive burden while ensuring the achievement of the business objective
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Present simplified visualizations of expenditure summaries through accessible data charts
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Enhance the clarity of the design system's information hierarchy
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Assist users in making well-informed choices by facilitating budgeting and the tracking of regular payments
Early Stage Design
Information Architecture
Streamline the information architecture by focusing on essential functions: Balancing, Transferring, and Gaining Insights.
A significant number of users faced difficulties while navigating the existing app. The recently revamped information architecture enhances the prominence of the app's essential attributes and elevates the overall arrangement and ease of navigation across the application.
Ideation
Early Sketches of Main Pages
Guided by my design objectives, I hand-sketched wireframes for the following pages: Log-In, Landing page, Balance, Transfer, and Insights.
Designs
Low-fidelity Wireframe
Final Design
Protoypes
Experience 1: Balance Overview
This homepage offers users the ability to observe their diverse cards and account balances. Moreover, the initial page offers a swift preview of their monthly spending threshold. Users are also provided with the choice to examine recent transactions and are granted access to their complete transaction history. This transaction history can be sorted based on all transactions, expenditures, or earnings. Additionally, a search feature can be accessed through the the three doted icon. Notably, every transaction is complemented by a profile picture, aiding users in visually monitoring their expenditures.
Experience 2: Transfer
The transfer functionality comprises of three distinct tabs: International, Domestic, and Internal. The International tab facilitates money transfers to accounts abroad, the Domestic tab handles transfers within the United States, and the Internal tab supports transferring funds to the user's own accounts within the same bank. Within these tabs, users can assess the balances across various accounts, swiftly initiate transfers, and review recent transfer history. Subsequently, users have the option to select either a friend's or a business account as the recipient, followed by inputting the required information. A final review is available before confirming and executing the transfer process.
Experience 3: Statistics, Recurring Payments, & Planning
On the statistics screen, users have the flexibility to observe their data chart across varying durations: a week, a month, or half a year. Additionally, they can tailor the start and end dates to match their desired time frame. In the recurring payment section, users are presented with information on the closest impending charge, its associated cost, auto-renewal date, and cumulative spending thus far. By clicking on a charge, they gain access to further details, inclusive of their most recent subscription payment.
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To manage their finances effectively, users can switch to the manage tab. This allows them to define a monthly cap and establish financial goals that users might have. These goals can be assigned to distinct categories and colors, enabling separate and clear tracking. Positioned beneath the goals section, investment alternatives are featured, showcasing a noticeable ROI figure. These options are aptly titled "Option for beginners" and "Low Risk," rendering them more approachable for college students.
Reflections
Significance of User Research and Future Steps
Starting with a vague assumption, I managed to course-correct by conducting comprehensive user research. This process provided invaluable insights into user requirements, challenges, and inclinations. The significance of user research became evident as it steered the design process towards creating enhanced user experiences.
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Given additional time, I plan to conduct usability tests and gather user feedback. This will involve monitoring user behavior closely and utilizing iterative design to continually refine the user experience.
