Enhancing Financial Freedom through User-Centered Design
Douugh
UX / UI Designer
Our comprehensive UX strategy encompassed several phases:
Discovery: Leveraging qualitative and quantitative research, including user interviews, usability tests, and surveys, to garner insights into user behaviours and pain points.
Definition: Utilizing affinity mapping to delineate spending habits and develop empathetic user personas.
Development: Iterative design enhancements focused on simplifying the accounts screen, improving the KYC sign-up process, and refining the overall user flow for clarity and accessibility.
Delivery: Implementing a phased rollout of design improvements, followed by rigorous user testing to validate the impact on user experience.
Objective
To enhance the Douugh app's user experience and ensure it effectively facilitates users in achieving financial autonomy, our strategy will include addressing navigational challenges and boosting user engagement. Additionally, we will focus on understanding and mitigating the concerns related to user adoption, aiming to lower the barriers for new users. This includes evaluating the cost of acquisition for new users to join, implementing strategies to make the onboarding process more accessible and affordable, and ensuring that the benefits of using Douugh are communicated clearly to potential users. Our goal is to not only improve the app's usability and engagement but also to make it more attractive and easier for new users to adopt, fostering a larger and more active user community.
Approach
My Role
Methodologies
Key focus areas
Conducted
10 in-depth interviews to gather qualitative insights into user experiences and expectations.
Performed
10 usability tests to identify friction points within the app, focusing on account management and navigation.
Distributed
50 user surveys to quantify user satisfaction, preferences, and feature requests.
Facilitated
3 Information Architecture (IA) workshops to streamline app navigation and improve content organization.
Competitor Analysis: Douugh vs. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA):
CBA: Known for its intuitive and straightforward design, allowing users to easily navigate through various financial services and account management options.
Douugh: Users report challenges in navigation and finding specific features, indicating a need for a more intuitive design that matches or exceeds the ease of use found in CBA's app.
Accounts Screen Analysis:
Criticality Rating: High. Users struggled to locate and differentiate between their net position and the collective balance with linked accounts. The design resembled a traditional bank app, causing confusion.
Recommendations: Introduce clearer iconography and distinct visual cues for different account types. Enlarge font for better readability.
User Interviews & Affinity Map:
Criticality Rating: High. 90% of users were unable to easily locate the accounts screen due to unclear iconography and navigation.
Recommendations: Redesign the navigation to include a more intuitive layout and visual elements that guide users to important features effortlessly.
Linking Accounts:
Criticality Rating: High. Users found it challenging to understand the benefits of linking accounts due to a lack of clear differentiation and value proposition.
Recommendations: Simplify the process of linking accounts with grouped banners and logos, and provide explicit instructions and benefits of linked accounts.
Account Transactions:
Criticality Rating: Medium. Users expected to see a comprehensive view of their transactions but were confused by the navigation and call-to-action (CTA) buttons.
Recommendations: Enhance the transactions screen to display current, past, and recurring transactions more clearly with enlarged fonts and intuitive navigation.
Implementation Plan
Short Term:
Redesign accounts screen with improved iconography and navigation.
Adjust font sizes for better readability across the app.
Medium Term:
Develop and test a responsive KYC web sign-up page for both iOS and Android users.
Implement a clearer, more intuitive method for linking and managing accounts.
Long Term:
Conduct ongoing user research to refine and adapt the app's design based on evolving user needs and feedback.
Explore and integrate additional features based on competitor analysis and user demand.
Competitor Analysis Douugh vs. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)
The analysis helped me identify where Douugh stands in comparison to a major player in the industry and pinpoint areas for enhancement.
Competitor Analysis: Douugh vs. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)
Overview of CBA's Mobile App: CBA's mobile banking app is renowned for its robust functionality, user-friendly design, and comprehensive range of features. It offers users seamless navigation, intuitive account management, and advanced financial tools. The app caters to a broad demographic, enabling everything from simple transactions to complex financial planning.
User Interface and Experience (UI/UX):
CBA: Known for its intuitive and straightforward design, allowing users to easily navigate through various financial services and account management options.
Douugh: Users report challenges in navigation and finding specific features, indicating a need for a more intuitive design that matches or exceeds the ease of use found in CBA's app.
Features and Functionality:
CBA: Offers a wide array of features including real-time transactions, budgeting tools, personalized financial insights, and comprehensive account management options.
Douugh: While innovative in its approach to financial management, may lack some of the breadth of features that CBA provides, particularly in areas most valued by users.
Customer Engagement and Support:
CBA: Provides extensive customer support options, including in-app chat, phone support, and a detailed FAQ section.
Douugh: Enhancements in customer support can be made to match the accessibility and responsiveness of CBA's offerings.
Interview Key Findings
Recommendations
Home Screen
90% of interview participants did not know where to locate the accounts screen, it was not clear enough.
The users were scrolling and scrolling for where to locate the accounts tab.
The iconography was not evident.
Users have tapped on the top nav and asked “can you have multiple accounts linked from the health screen, if so it's not obvious to find, how do I link my accounts”
Introduce an updated design for the dollar sign.
Implement segmented lines for clearer navigation.
Increase the scale of icons for enhanced visibility.
Interview Key Findings
Recommendations
Users experienced challenges in distinguishing between their net position and the aggregated balance across their linked accounts.
Furthermore, the perceived value of Douugh was undermined by its resemblance to a conventional banking application, albeit with a significantly more complex interface.
This complexity contributed to a general uncertainty regarding the types of accounts that could be linked, complicating users' efforts to achieve a comprehensive overview of their financial situation.
1. Introduce a new design for the dollar symbol.
Incorporate a dividing line within all transaction records.
Enhance the scale of iconography for improved clarity.
Display the Net Wealth total prominently.
Specify the name of each account distinctly.
Accounts Screen
Account Transactions
Interview Key Findings
Recommendations
Users navigated vertically through the interface, searching for transaction details on the current screen.
They anticipated an aggregated view of all transactions, encompassing current, past, and ongoing recurring activities. The discovery that the information they sought was accessible through the call-to-action (CTA) button led to confusion among the users.
1. Increase font size for improved legibility.
Present current transactions on the active screen.
Linking Accounts
Interview Key Findings
Recommendations
Conclusion
Users encountered challenges in discerning their net financial position from the collective balance of their linked accounts.
The utility of Douugh was obscured by its close resemblance to traditional banking applications, albeit with an added layer of complexity. This complexity led to widespread uncertainty regarding the variety of accounts eligible for linkage, hindering users' ability to obtain a comprehensive perspective on their financial health
The Douugh case study vividly showcases how rigorous UX research and human-centered design (HCD) methodologies are crucial for securing stakeholder buy-in and demonstrating the intrinsic value of user-focused design. Through methodical approaches—interviews, usability testing, surveys, and workshops—we not only enhanced user engagement and satisfaction but also provided tangible evidence of HCD's impact on business outcomes. This evidence-based approach reinforces the strategic importance of UX research in guiding product development, ensuring that solutions align closely with user needs and business goals, thereby facilitating stakeholder support and investment in UX initiatives.
Consolidate all accounts under a unified banner.
Utilize logo exclusively.
Increase font size for enhanced readability.