FinEase
A goal-setting and motivational budgeting tool, built on behavioral economic principles namely nudging, anchoring and social norms.
DURATION
2 weeks
AREA OF WORK
Behavioural Economics
Design Systems
YEAR
2023
TEAM
Jessica Ingle
Rohan Ramani
Haoming Guo
Han Yang
Preview
Problem Statement
How might we help young people living from paycheck to paycheck budget their lives, given that they are limited in financial resources but hope to achieve financial success in the long run?
WHY?
If we look at the problem a little bit more, we can see that the living cost is rising very quickly, much quicker than wages, but unfortunately this is out of our control.
If we look at the problem a little bit more, we can see that the living cost is rising very quickly, much quicker than wages, but unfortunately, this is out of our control.
Target Audience
Our target is young millennials because they as a population group have unique challenges and opportunities at the same time.
On the challenge side, there are rising costs; young people also have very limited financial resources and immature spending habits. On the opportunity side, these people are young, they have time, so if they can be financially mature sooner, there’s a huge advantage down the road. But most importantly, we believe they are still malleable – we can shape their long-term habits.
Validating the Problem
To validate our hypothesis further, we conducted several interviews. We found a few pain points common among our different users. A lot of our users found it difficult to set goals and motivations to save money, found themselves unable to control frequent spending urges, unable to find a good tool to help visualize and see their spending and underestimate the cost of goods that they frequently buy.
QUOTES
“I have a budget goal for dining each month, but still frequently overspend… I like seeing trends over months…”
“Banks have in-built tools, but they are difficult to use…”
“I really don’t know how much things cost, especially for bigger life items, such as a wedding…”
PROCESS
Competitive Analysis
There was the Bank of America financial tool where users were able to see financial trends but the visualizations available weren’t very customizable, nor was it able to sync with other banks and institutions.
The first of which being iGrad which is a Financial Planning Application available to Berkeley students and Alumni. The issue here was that it was marketed very poorly, was very dense with information especially text and the design didn’t seem practical for daily use.
Mint, was very functional but at one point, it felt that maybe the amount of functionality might be inundating the user.
Lo-Fedility
Design Systems
Next, I focused on building a design system for better collaboration and consistency. In the realm of fintech, where the primary focus is on financial transactions, security, and user trust, a well-thought-out design system becomes even more critical.
Since fintech applications often deal with complex financial processes and data. Prioritize clarity and usability by creating intuitive interfaces, providing clear instructions and labels, and simplifying complex workflows. Use consistent and standardized elements, such as form fields, buttons, and notifications, to ensure familiarity and ease of use.
Mid-fidelity Prototypes
I conducted a small usability test with 10 individuals using mid-fidelity prototypes. I was looking to test the clarity, completion and comprehension of the different features I made. Additionally, I also conducted A/B tests to get feedback and critique from the users regarding design decisions.
One of the A/B tests' findings
BEHAVIOURAL ECONOMICS PRINCIPLES
1. Social Norms
By saving with peers, users can rely on others to hold them accountable.
Provide nudges if user is not within top savers in their friend group
2. Anchoring to help users save more
Anchoring is the principle that people will consider a particular value for an unknown quantity before estimating that quantity.
3. Nudge
Influence behavior in a positive way, without taking away people's freedom of choice. Take advantage of the cognitive biases and heuristics that people use in decision-making.
Reflecting on the project and it's learnings
Looking at UX decisions from a behavioral economics perspective was deemed fruitful. It was good to learn new theories and principles that could be applied to designs for better responses.
Dealing with conflicting feedback and opinions
It is common to receive conflicting feedback from different stakeholders during the design process. Learning to handle such feedback diplomatically, facilitate discussions, and find common ground is crucial for maintaining project momentum and achieving consensus.
Adapting to evolving technologies and trends
The field of UX design is dynamic, with new technologies and design trends constantly emerging. Staying updated and learning to adapt designs to accommodate new technologies and evolving user expectations is an ongoing learning process.