Dunk A Dollar
UX Case Study
Dunk A Dollar is an app that makes budgeting easy and helps reach financial goals without hassle.
Project Overview
Problem Statement:
Managing finances is always a challenge. Struggle starts with a lack of tools and over-complicate fund organization. The lack of user-friendly options makes it difficult for people to efficiently achieve their financial goals.
Possible Solution:
To develop an app that effortlessly organizes finances and presents users with clear visual representations of their financial goals. Mobile app, that seeks to streamline the process, enabling users to easily monitor and attain their specific financial targets, fostering better comprehension and motivation.
Target audience: 16 to 60 years old
Duration: 4 weeks
My role:
Tools:
Design Process
Empathize
User Research:
In the preliminary phase of my user research, I created a comprehensive survey entitled "Financial Habits Survey." This set of questions was carefully prepared with nine inquiries strategically categorized into three segments:
individuals actively saving money to meet their financial goals
those aspiring to save but currently lacking the means
users who neither have savings nor show a willingness to change their financial habits.
Using Google Forms for data collection and administration, I gathered valuable insights from a diverse pool of 36 respondents ranging in age from 16 to 60 years old. The following sections showcase examples of survey questions along with the insightful answers provided. It offers a better understanding of the varied financial behaviors within the target group.
The insights gathered at this point are essential for guiding future design decisions based on the collected information.
After first set of questions, participants were presented with an additional five follow-up questions. These inquiries were design to explore their motivations, challenges, and expectations, providing a more thorough understanding of their perspectives.
All of those questions are listed below:
How often do you review your finances?
What motivates you to save money?
What challenges do you currently face in managing your finances?
On a scale 1 to 10, how comfortable are you with using technology for financial management?
What kind of feature in a mobile app would inspire you to reach your financial goals?
Insights:
Key insights reveal that a significant portion of the surveyed group, particularly those ready to improve their financial saving habits, emphasize the importance of visual aids such as progress charts. The feedback highlighted a shared preference for tools that allow them to track multiple goals simultaneously. Instant notifications did not emerge as a favored feature among respondents, indicating a potential divergence in user preferences regarding real-time alerts.
These insights underscore the significance of user-centric design, suggesting that incorporating customizable visualizations and goal-tracking capabilities could enhance the user experience and boost engagement in financial planning.
Define
User Persona:
Based on the survey data, I developed personas representing the users for the application. These personas played a crucial role in formulating improved solutions by providing a detailed understanding of user goals, frustrations, and overall personality. The characteristics and key insights incorporated at this stage are directly derived from the survey results, ensuring an accurate representation of the diverse needs expressed by the user base.
Empathy Map:
I created empathy map to refine the definition of the target audience, offering a more vivid depiction of their needs and actions. This process allowed me to better understand users thoughts and feelings. The data within the empathy map is directly drawn from insights gathered during the empathize phase.
User Journey Map:
I created visual representations of the user's journey throughout all application touchpoints to identify areas where we can improve user experience.
Ideate
User Flow:
I designed a flowchart to showcase the user's navigation journey within the application.
Card Sorting
Next, I designed a flowchart to showcase the user's navigation journey within the application. It is a foundation for developing a detailed information architecture chart and helps to understand structure of the application.
Information Architecture:
The outcomes of card sorting were fine-tuned to align with the application's objectives. Certain features were rearranged for improved accessibility and user-friendly navigation.
Prototype
Hand Sketches
After gathering essential data and establishing the framework, I drew multiple sketches for each screen, ensuring intuitive and effective layouts. The following example demonstrates the process of adding a new financial goal to the budget plan, condensed within a streamlined sequence of five screens.
Low Fidelity Prototype
Building on the hand sketches, I developed a Low-Fidelity Prototype using Figma. While transitioning wireframes to computer software, several decisions were made to refine layouts and enhance the overall user experience. The prototype made in this phase will be utilized for the initial user testing.
Testing
Low Fidelity Testing
After developing the Low-Fidelity prototype, I initiated the testing phase. A group of five testers was asked to complete five prompts, including setting up a new financial goal and updating the email address in account settings. The collected data was analyzed to derive insights and influencing design improvements.
The example below highlights key comments that played a crucial role in the redesign of the homepage.
High Fidelity Testing
In the next phase of testing, I transitioned to the High-Fidelity Prototype, prompting testers with more detailed inquiries and moderating questions on the perceived difficulty or ease of tasks. I also asked for feedback on potential improvements.
Following the collection and analysis of comments transformed into insights, various updates were implemented to improve the overall user experience and finalize the design.
Final Product
After completing high-fidelity testing, I successfully incorporated all the necessary changes. The provided example illustrates the seamless process of adding and editing of a new goal. This example showcases the overall flow of the app and user-friendly character.
Challenges:
Reflecting on this experience, a few notable challenges emerged. One of them was addressing the diverse preferences and expectations of the user base. Striking a balance between simplicity and customization and emphasizing the importance of flexibility in design. Collecting feedback played a vital role in understanding user expectations and helped with a decision making.
What I learnt:
In the course of this project, I gained invaluable insights into the dynamics of user behavior. The process of testing and refining the design over and over helped me understand the small details needed to make the app easy and enjoyable to use.