Kakeibo
Year
2020Client
ChrisRole
UX Research, Competitive Analysis, IA, Wireframing, Usability Testing
About project
With Kakeibo, you have a financial overview of your income and expenses within seconds. This smart free app also helps you save hundreds of dollars per year. It contains features that can prevent late payments, assist users to pay up their debts, and meet their financial goals.
1. Discovery Phase
The Problem
People tend to have problems saving their finances, and as a result, they overspend even probably more than what they earn. How might we design a platform where people can easily save money by keeping a record of all their finances in one app.
Competitive Analysis
What I did:
First, I decided to focus on direct and indirect competitors, apps that have same or almost the same features as related to finance management, apps like Mint, Ynab and Goodbudget.
Key Findings:
- Ynab and Goodbudget along with most other apps available out there are paid and as such, they are not accessible to everyone
- Goodbudget is the closest to kakeibo as it involves saving to meet needs and clearing of outstanding debts
Interviews
What I did:
I interviewed ten people, five from Nigerians, three from Indians and two from the US in one week. All of which have been involved in using one or more applications for budgeting and keeping track of their finance. They use apps like Vbank, Mint, Google Pay, Goodbudget, Budgetbakers and bank App.
Some Questions I Asked
- 1. How they've been managing their finances
- 2. Can they describe their pain points based on the specific platforms they're currently using for the inflow and outflow of their cash
- 3. What have they heard about apps that help make budgeting easier
- 4. What they think should be done to increase the usage of budgeting and how it can help improve lives
- 5. How they would feel to have the apps connected to their bank accounts for easy trackings and accessibility
2. Define Phase
Personas
What I did:
After the discovery phase was complete, I decided to create three personas based on the various ways a user would want to interact with the potential application.
I decided to focus on the core problems of the user and what their goals, thoughts, and needs were. I wanted to create a story for each individual, from how they first heard about the app to the final phase of their user journey.
Empathy Map
Key Findings:
- Constantly filling spreadsheets
- Remembering Formula
- Not sure which expense is recurring
- Difficulty categorizing the expenses
- Sometimes forget to keep entries of their expenses or income
User Journey
What I did:
The user Journey was mapped out to understand the experience from the users' eyes; it creates an understanding of their interaction with the product as well as improvements required in the future.
I crafted the user journey based on the customers goals, touchpoints, feelings, thinking, and pain points.
User Flow
What I learned:
The user flow affected the hierarchical taxonomy of the app.
It involves the number of steps taken for the user to reach his goals.
3. Develop Phase
Low Fidelity Wireframes
What I did:
I designed some quick sketches of the flow process screens based on information gathered from the discovery and the design phase for my lo-fi wireframes
Visual Components
To keep the visual elements appealing and delightful, it was crucial to create a set of rules and guidelines that is clear and intuitive for end users. These includes customizable UI components, identifiable brand colors, clear CTAs, etc. Typography should reflect simplicity, readability and how easily it is for users to find content within the product.
UI Designs
Next, I brought the prototype up to high fidelity in Figma and did usability testing asking the user that was part of my target audience to complete an MVP tasks like onboarding, adding an expense, and checking their financial reports
The Onboarding Process
The Onboarding Process Prototype
Adding an Expense
Some Usability Testing I Conducted
- Before launching the product, I've made testing round to reveal possible usability problems.
- I did remote user testing and documented as the users were completing tasks.
- I asked them to sign up and create a profile, add a budget, and watch all the tutorials based on their mutual interests.
Usability Testing Observations
Major Observations:
People were not sure what info was needed and why.
People were in a hurry to start placing a budget.
People were confused about how to input their expenses.
Everyone was able to do the onboarding process successfully on the app.
Some users were hitting the wrong buttons and were questioning why certain information was needed.
4. Delivery Phase
Final Design Conclusion
What I did:
Once I tested out all usability mistakes have been taken care of, I started working on the final prototype for the developers. To help the engineers know how the product should be designed.