Goal
An exercise in design research, User experience design, User interface design and prototyping.
To understand and design interventions for the primary pain points of international students with a focus on their needs for financial wellbeing .
My Role
UX Research,
UX / UI
Interaction Design , Illustration , Style Guide
User Journey, Personas, Empathy map
Information Archtecture, User Flow
Tools
Figma
Miro
Figjam
Project Team
Solo
The Challenge
Covid worsened the financial situation of all university going situations.
In Germany the situation was like so :
25% of 7, 199
student participants of a study said they were affected financially with detrimental consequences to their mental wellbeing
While there was monitory assistance provided by the German govt. many students did not meet the eligibility criteria .The loaned money needed to be paid back with an interest of 4%, low but still an added expense for many students.
90% of 30,000
International students who participated on a survey said they were affected financially by the pandemic
Methodology
3 Case studies
10 Articles
How Might We
Wellbeing Framework
Journey Mapping
Personas
15 Opportunities
Generative interviews
8 particpants
Affinity Mapping
4 key insights
Sketching
Sketch Storming
Brain Dumping
Product Architecture
User Flows
Wire Framing
Low -Fi - prototyping
Mid -Fi
High Fi
Remote testing
Concept testing
Tree testing
Task Analysis
Post pandemic , there hasn't been any studies done on whether a change has occured in the financial wellbeing of international students.
This case study is an attempt to fill the gap and find possible solutions to resolve issues if any that still plague the international student community.
Primary Research
After secondary / exploratory research I conducted qualitative generative interviews to understand what is the financial wellbeing of students like in a
post-covid german university setting. Recruitment was done via convenient sampling due to my inability to speak any other language besides english and my inability to reach many universities . I was able to only recruit student participants from 2 universities in the region .
Hence a total of 8 participants , 4 men and 4 women , all international students, within the age bracket of 25 -30 years were interviewed remotely using webex and zoom.
Insights
It was evident from the generative interviews that managing finances continues to be a problem for students that do have an impact on their over all wellbeing.
The four key insights were:
Overwhelming Financial Stress
Most students are stressed and anxious about their finances and feel that they lack control over it .
In response to this , they either care less or care excessively about it
"It is unstable because I can't see it .. I have no idea where I will be.. after 6 months I have no idea how I will manage it. "
-User Quote, on managing finances , 25
"I am not a person who has a calculated perspective about money... I look at my bank account and if it is less I restrict..... I do not have a reserve thing going on ... with finances my whole life I has not been concrete and defined... I would rather focus on earning than managing it .. it just takes too much of your time... why not focus on making more money... because if I keep in managing it is an unnecessary anxiety you don’t need........"
-User Quote, on managing finances , 27
"..I think it is stressful when I don’t do it regularly.. I have to go through my bank account and check what all I have paid where I have paid ..... so entering all that is stressful and also physical cash.. if I use it I have no track of that .. so I might enter the wrong things in the app... this is when I do it in a week or so...
-User Quote, on managing finances , 23
Struggles with self control
Most students want to have self control but fail at it and end up spending .
While some rationalise their spendings as it being a part of their student life, others feel guilt as this could mean that they would exceed their monthly budgets which could lead to addional worries for them.
"I accidently bought a bottle of whiskey which cost me 56 euros for the first six months I saved it and then I tasted it I mean I don’t know if I will be alive next month or not. So I just tasted it. Hahaha ""
-User Quote, on impulsive buying , 28
"I buy , regret and then I accept it.".
-User Quote, on impulsive buying , 23
"Its hard to admit that I am the problem with managing the finances....so it’s a hard fact coming to terms with it.”
-User Quote, on impulsive buying , 30
"I have done impulsive purchases pair of shoes which I got.. I really liked it.. actually this time I wanted blutooth speaker it srrted really cheap I went from 30 .. I didn’t like it o got another 45 euros.... And then I ultimately got one for 90 euros I think I am happy now.. I know bluetooth speakers are kind of investments.. if you use them well they last for 5 to 6 years..
-User Quote, on impulsive buying , 25
Tensions between saving and socialising
While some students feel that they cannot save just yet and would rather think about it later in their future life , others resort minimising their grocery spendings / eating lesser to compensate for participation in social activities .
Conflicted about these spendings, they go through a constant inner dialogue with one self about whether or not they should make that expenditure .
" ..I don’t want to to not have the beautiful moments with friends.. I love that because it makes me happy and enjoying that time so I don’t mind spending 3 to 4 times a month .. atleast you need to enjoy otherwise it would keep you isolated that is not good at all "
-User Quote, 28
"..i will have no savings until may but it an investment on me... "
-User Quote, 29
"..Usually I spend more money when I meet my friends because they are all doing jobs and they want to go to places and restaurants but I can’t afford however I don’t want to say.. “well I don’t have money ... so do it without me..” its such a bummer I try to ..."
-User Quote, 30
Lack of Financial Literacy
All students feel that they have less/ limited knowledge about financial management and hence do not venture out to other avenues/ methods of managing/ growing money
" ..I feel like we don’t talk about it a lot.. it is an interesting topic.. I wish more people talk about it.. for me its important because you can also learn from other people.
-User Quote, on investments and financial management , 30
"..i don't know much about investments and credit , so i don't really do any of that ..maybe when i learn more about it .. "
-User Quote, 26
"..Using credit cards is good but you have to learn how to use it better , im not sure everyone knows .. i'll have to learn it maybe from my mom.. haha ..."
-User Quote , 23
Synthesis
I used affinity mapping for the synthesis of the data collected I used a Miro Board for this. After arriving on preliminary themes , i refined them into a final four themes/ insights.
These 4 themes helped me understand the current condition of students wellbeing both financially and mentally.
How might we enable students to have more control over their finances without any strain on their wellbeing
Framework
Financial wellbeing as I understand even from the generative primary research can impact the over all wellbeing of an individual. To inform myself further on the topic of wellbeing and designing experiences for wellbeing I resorted to looking at the works for Prof. Marc Hassenzahl who has worked extensively on the topic of designing for wellbeing over the years.
I took his framework that he introduced to the HCI community to help me figure a better understanding while ideating on possible design ideas for this project.
Below is the excerpt of this "Set of Needs" that ..." offer a valuable way to characterise and categorise positive experiences .."(Klapperich et. al 2019) .
I used this set to inform me what are possible needs that are directly connected to the insights from my participants , in doing so I got a more informed thought directions.
These directions were further filtered via the Persona building and Journey Mapping exercise to come up with the final set of opportunities for ideation.
The extract on the right is from the paper
Mind the gap: A social practice approach, that details out the Set of Needs and elucidated by Marc Hassenzahl et.al in the 2010 paper Designing Moments of Meaning and Pleasure. Experience Design and Happiness .
The illustration points out 7 different needs which are :
Autonomy , Competence, Stimulation, Security, Popularity ,
Relatedness and Physicalness
Persona 2: Constant Worrier
Persona 1: Key Opportunity Areas
-- Opportunities for Simplying Budgeting
-- Opportunities to look back and think over financial decisions
-- Opportunities to enable/ encourage saving
-- Opportunities to borrow from friends when in need
-- Opportunities to encourage learning on topics related to weak points in financial management
-- Oppurtunities to enable Planning for Trips and Occasions.
-- Opportunties to provide gentle reminders on finacial obligations, decisions etc
I relooked at the insights and tried to map on which Wellbeing "need pillar" would each of the insights fall these pillars would later inform thought directions . These
Competence
From the insights all participants felt that they all lacked financial education , added to that they felt that they were not able to have any control over their finances.
Thus, it was clear that a need pillar that was relevant here was that of Competence.
Users needed to feel that they were capable of managing their finance with minimal stress and burden .
Autonomy
From the insights all it was understood that participants suffered from the inability to control their spending habits .There were others who believed that their finances depended on external factors like better jobs etc and hence it was not really in their control .
Hence, one of the need pillars that participants lacked was that of Autonomy. Students had to regain agency over their money.
Stimulation
From the insights it was observed that participants did undergo mental stress on deciding about whether they choose between saving on socialising
Based on the need pillar it was important that students are able to have their fill of enjoyment and pleasure for their wellbeing without guilt of any kind .
Mapping
From the eight participants that I conducted one-on- one semi structured interviews with 2 near distinct types of people could be identified.
These were categorised by the nature of their attitudes towards their finances. I thus created personas for each of them
In order to understand what possible opportunity areas existed to enable product discovery , I created a Journey map that documents major events in a students life when they have to or do interact with their finances every month.
These would inform key opportunity areas for intervention.
Persona 1: The Risk Taker
Persona 2: User Journey Mapping
Persona 2: Key Opportunity Areas
-- Opportunities for Detailed Expenditure Tracking
-- Opportunities to look into the nitty-gritties of financial decisions made
-- Opportunities to enable better decision making on an expenditure via visualising possible outcomes/ impact on finances
-- Opportunities to prepare for a crisis or emergency.
-- Opportunities to encourage better trip planning monetarily.
-- Opportunities to enable better planning for the coming month based on saving goals etc.
-- Opportunities to reflect back on decisions and gain insights.
--Opportunities to provide help or support or community to discuss finance based topics or issues
Ideation
I began with sketchs but soon moved to low fii screens , I wanted to make a mobile first platform simply because the platform had to be accessible and be used on the go hence it made more sense to have it there.
fig: some rough sketches, ideas
fig: low fii cards / ideas
Comparative Market Analysis
Based on the ideas , i looked at a few market offerings that are popularly used by students and a comparative analysis
UX Flows/ Ideas for User Testing
While it is not the norm to build high fidelity flows for user testing , since i wanted to test both the concepts and get feedback from the users on the overall user experience and i also had some time , i built high fidelity concepts that i tested with 5 potential users.
I conducted moderated user concept testing , task based testing and usability testing . At the end of each test I conducted a short semi structured interview so get the users first impressions and view points on each idea.
A figma prototype link was sent to the participant during the user testing session and the tests were conducted via webex and microsoft teams( depending on the participant's convenience ) . Participants were asked to share their screen with the prototype open for ease of observation of the particiapnt's interaction with it. The video call was recorded taking permission from the participants.
Iterative Design
Based on the feed back i went back to paper and pen and relook into the designs. While a rough architecture for the app had been made before , i also had to relook into reworking on this via the Tree testing methodology. I relooked also into the user flows and updated them accordingly
Idea 1: Budgeting
Need Pillar: Competence
For easier and quicker financial planning for the month, budgets are automatically generated by Foresight initially based on the area the student is currently studying in and later based on the user's money management habits.
User feedback:
Participants thought that budgeting with this was very simple and quick , with not too many confusing details and hence hassel free.
There were concerns about whether or not they would be comfortable with adding funds on a new random platform. They were also not happy that the system was not clear with information about adding funds .
The messaging that indicated the transfer of funds made the participants feel like they had done something wrong .
Solution / Product Goals
Based on the insights, the framework and the Opportunity areas that emerged from the Personas and Journey Mapping , I defined the product goals :
Competence
1. Allow users to navigate through their finances in easy palatable ways and with a less overwhelming experience
2. Allow users simple and easy guidance and education for their desired financial inquiries and information
3.Allow users ways to help make better/ informed expenditure decisions when ever the urge to spend
4.Reward users when good financial decisions are made , provide helpful tips when the opposite happens
5. Allow users mechanisms to overcome financial emergencies
Simulation
1.Encourage users to have budgets for leisure activities too for well planned fun time etc.
Autonomy
1.Allow users the ability to reflect upon their financial habits to encourage increased self awareness and better decision making
2. Allow users various mechanisms to save so that you always have a buffer that they can rely on.
3. Allow for users to have the flexibility in how they manage their finances (quick small glances or detailed views and interactions)
Iterative design :
In the changed design the budget creation process elaborates what values and benefits adding funds can be so that an informed decision can be made. It provides clarity about what the data will be used for exactly for more transparency and trust.
Users are also given a choice to add or not add funds.
Idea 3: Budgets for Life events
Need Pillar: Stimulation
The app allows users to create other kinds of budgets as well, like for travelling , or going out for an event etc. Quite like in the primary budget creating the system generates with budget automatically based on the activity and the categories within the activity that the user inputs .
Users could also make this budget a group budget where the final budget could be shared with everyone going for the trip.
User feedback:
Participants liked that they would be able to create budget for additional things like travel and also the detailed results that the app provided that would be helpful in managing these trips better.
However they were skeptical about the idea of sharing your finances and financial planning publicly with groups. Personal finances are personal.
Iterative design :
In the changed design the editing option is made more comprehensive . Additional text has been added to the expanded sections on the pie to provide clarity to the user what each section is. Further more a methodology of editing the budget by preventing the user from adding values beyond the larger category limit has been resolved. Interaction with various sections of the category budget is covered in the tracking expenditure section ( idea 4)
Idea 4: Simple Adding and Tracking Expenditure
Need Pillar: Autonomy , Competence
Foresight allows for alternative ways to track expenses and update expenditure records for bills that were not paid digitally.
This is done via a simple scanning of a receipt , the data of which is updated on the expenditure list of the app.
User feedback:
Participants thought that this way of adding and tracking expenses is quick and easy. They appreciated that the app asked for edits incase there was a mistake etc before making the entries permanent. However they were not able to understand the final Expenditure Overview page and there was too much information which did not seem relevant to the scanned expenditure.
Idea 5: Simulating possible outcomes of expenses/ loans
Need Pillar: Competence
The Simulator allows users to be able to have a quick insight on what the impact on their finances would be if they made an extra expenditure on something or took an additional loan from their friends to meet their financial needs . This allows them to have an understanding of the outcome before acting on the expenditure and in turn help them make an informed decision.
User feedback:
Participants said that the feature is definitely useful and saw themselves using it. They did mention however that in the Simulator Output the app should provide suggestions and not dictate how and what the changes that the user has to since it felt like the app was trying to control the user and not the other way around. The language and the way the App responds to the user had to be rethought . Some also pointed out that the chart should indicate which category of the budget the simulation is from .
Iterative design : Expenditure Adding
In the changed design the entry point for the add expenditure has been moved to the bottom bar as managing expenditures is an importnat function for all students. The expenditure overview page now is more simplified so that users are not confused about the output of the scanned receipt. Futhermore , the total spending is highlighted in the expenditure overview for (persona) Risk Takers who would prefer to not go through every expenditure and just glance the final amount .
Iterative design : Expenditure Tracking
In the changed design users can now interact with the expenditure via filters based on time , category etc . Users can adjust parameters to get a more detailed information about their spendings . In the image below , user has change the filter to category and is now able to adjust the parameter of time to view spendings within each category. Users can also quicly tap a category to view the items spent within it.
Iterative design : Expenditure Tracking
Another methodology of detailed expenditure tracking and budget editing is via the pie chart itself. Users interact by simply taping on sections to delve deeper into each of them . This interaction methodology reduces cognitive load and adds delight making manual budgeting and expenditure tracking much more simpler.
Idea 6: Adding limits to prevent over spending
Inorder to prevent overspending on specific items like say coffee or any or indulgents the app would provide a way to limit that expenditure via a limit function . This limit would indicate when the user has to make a "hard stop" ( an expression used by a participant during the first generative interviews when talking about expenditures and what her problems are ) to spending more on that item.
User feedback:
Participants found the feature confusing. They did not understand how this feature was going to limit overspending. They did not see the feature working well in varied situations. In short while the idea of limiting
sounded interesting, the app's actual function based on the idea was a failure.
Iterative design :
In the changed design , additional text has been added to give more information to users bout the values and the diagram in the simulation output. Also an additional ability to be able to change categories was added to enable users to pick the category they want to create a simulation of. Care has been taken to reframe the AI recommendations to keep users at the centre of their financial management and provide assurance that they are in control of their decisions and not the app.
Persona 1: User Journey Mapping
This idea of a separate limit setting feature is removed from the final design and is not considered as part of the app. Limit setting is now done in the manual budget editing feature. Editing the value of one category / subcategory etc in the budget would inherently mean setting up a limit for that category/ subcategory.
Participants rightly pointed out that the app cannot really control the spending of money on a category .
The alternative way to limit users from spending more on the category/ subcategory would be to send them nudges or notifications every time the user's spending exceeds the limit ( or rather the budget) set for that category/ subcategory.
Idea 7: Ability to borrow money from a circle of friends / family
Need Pillar: Competence
In dire situations when a user is in need of money instead of taking a loan from the bank , the app allows for borrowing interest free money from trusted friends or family members either individually or by creating a circle where many people pool in money to lend the user a larger amount. In the feature transparency is maintained for all parties who are able to track updates on the money lent/ borrowed.
User feedback:
While borrowing is something all participants did formalising it via an app feature made it more effective. They however did have concerns about how all the financial exchange was too public.
They all expressed how if they borrowed money they would not be comfortable letting everyone know what was the money borrowed and from whom.
Iterative design :
In the changed design the new borrowing circles flow is created keeping the public vs private information in mind. Users can now create a borrowing circle with either just one person or more and the system would auto generate a repayment plan( which is editable) for the user based on their spending habits, budget information so that the user is able to repay back the money.
The process of borrowing money is first initiated by the user via their personal means of communication with potential lenders-( phone call, chat, physical meeting ).
After this exchange , the user would use the app to formalise the process while also get an idea of how soon can the money be paid back.
This segregation of repayment money is automatically done in future budget creations by the system depending on the starting month and year of the repayment. Only the repayment plan that is most relevant to the lenders is sent to them. There is no other information exchange about who lent what etc.
Idea 8: Opportunities to reflect on decisions made
Need Pillar: Autonnomy
Foresight allows users to look back on the month gone or the day gone and reflect on what users did well and did not do well with their money . Users can also generate insights on their actions to get a perpective on their decisions.
User feedback:
Participants found the feature helpful. They talked about some of the financial issues they face mentioning how something like this is valuable . While every participant found this idea helpful and useful one participant did remark that the concern was the fear of data privacy.
Iterative design :
The only change in the design is the change in the information architecture. Reflections can be categorised as qualitative analysis of a users financial month while reviews can be categorise as the quantitative analysis . Hence both of them have been stacked in the same category of Analyse
Idea 9: Ability to seek for help via Forums and Learning Journeys.
Need Pillar: Competence
Forums and Learning Journeys are a way for improving Financial literacy for users. While Forums allowed for conversations on financial related topics with others , Learning Journeys were customised based on the weakness that the user had ( this information is asked during the onboarding ) and provide bite size tutorials
User feedback:
Participants found the feature useful. They expressed how it was important to gage and understand other students perspectives on various aspects of finance which they don't do in their daily conversations.
One person did question if Learning Journeys would be very long as they perfered to use an app like this for not more than ten minutes a day
The Onboarding Experience
The Onboarding experience consisted of three parts :
1. Information about what the features of the app were
2.Questions for a customised experience
3. General registration details for the app.
User feedback:
Participants found the onboarding longer than expected.
Most participants wanted to skip the information about the app features
For participants it was not clear why some of the questions were being asked to them in the flow
Iterative design :
The following are the changes in the design :
1. Information about the app and its features has been required 3 pages that can be skipped. Instead more information appears within the app via quick tips and information cards to educate the user about the features while using the app
2. Signing up has more options via google or apple for hassel free registration
3. The questions for a customised experience has also been reduced and has an additional progress bar to help users know how soon can they reach the landing page.
4. Additionally for the questions a small note has been added to provide users more information about what the purpose for asking the questions are.
5. In the landing page , the coloured cards act as indicators as to how the user could go about starting to manage their finances that is promarily via creating a budget, creating saving goals and tracking expenditure .
Initially these coloured cards were shaped like folders and upon observing how users tried to interact with them I realised that it gave the users the wrong affordance. While i intended to make the users interact with these cards quite similar to how users would interact with cue cards or flash cards ( as users could just quickly shuffle through information this way) , users instead expect the cards to slide up to reveal itself like how folders in a drawer are picked up .
I thus change this design as well, and provided a much simple clearer guide on how to interact with them.
Next Steps
Dev handoff
The designs could be made ready for dev handoff.
Beta Testing and Future
Testing with real users based on metrics.
Overtime , I would want to measure what value the app brings to the users, to do this the metrics that I would use are :
A) Is the app / concept of value to users ?
1. User engagement metrics ( Feature adoption rate, Churn Rate , Activation rate , Stickiness ratio)
2. User satisfaction metrics ( NPS, Ratings, Reviews)
B) Are users able to achieve their financial goals with the app ?
1. Financial outcome metrics . ( Goal Achievement Rate, Savings Growth , etc)
.
Further iterations
Anayzing data from beta testing and make iterations / changes accordingly.
Reflections
1. On designing for AI :
Often when designing for AI it is easy to get carried away with the endless possibilities but care must to taken to understand whether it is really resolving user problems and whether or not there could be alternatives.
2. On trust :
When designing AI features of an app users are more often than not skeptical as there is always the issue of trust. Making things transparent , and providing clarity and assurance to users at every relevant step helps build trust
3. On Private vs Public:
When creating features it is important to figure which aspects would users really want to make public. Privacy is a key point of conversation for all digital tech and this should not be overlooked or taken lightly as this could have an negative impact on users.
4. On MVP :
Despite there being a lot of more research and exploration that need to be done , this app could serve as an MVP to understand financial wellbeing for students through early testing. After all , the perfect is the enemy of good and barrier to done.
5. On further research:
The end ( not exactly not kind of ) of the project , seems to be the beginning of new ones as several questions now run through my mind:
a) . Could there be alternative more effective ways of fulfilling the need pillars ?
b) . How could we help students minimise spendings when the economy thrives and pushes people to spend and buy more ?
c) . How could we encourage/ enable Survival and Life skills( like financial management etc) be more a part of school curriculum for all students in their
formative years?
Idea 2: Easy Editing of Budget
Need Pillar: Competence, Autonomy
Users could also edit and interact with their budget by a simple tap on sections of the pie chart. They could then edit and add categories and numbers to create their ideal budget.
User feedback:
Participants were in general excited to know what more ways of interacting with the budget would be like.
All of them found it very useful and less overwhelming compared to the lists of numbers they are usually terrified by in many financial apps.
