Midas
Prototype, UI/UX
Role
Team Leader
Duration
3 Months
Category
Mobile UI
Executive Summary
During this semester long project, my team and I have created a mobile user interface that aims to ease the burden of investing. With innovative features like smart-investing and customizable user profile, we aimed at creating a more intuitive way to invest.
Our end goal was to make something simple yet personalized. This prototype is an example of our hard work over the three month long period.
Challenges
Establishing main goals and objectives of the application
Creating an easy to use user interface that allows for customization
Defining out parameters through user interviews
Tools Used
Figma
Miro
Adobe Suite
Microsoft Office Suite
Canva
Duration
This project utilized the methodologies of Goal-Directed Design by Alan Cooper. Our team conducted both virtual and in-person meetings throughout this semester long project.
Introduction
For the completion of this project, we utilized Goal-Directed Design (GDD). GDD is a UI/UX methodology, created by Alan Cooper, which focuses on the users' needs and behaviors in order to design a product. GDD includes four phases: research, modeling, requirements, and frameworks.
The research phase is the start of GDD and its purpose is to gather information about the project and allow for team members to begin discussing potential user goals. Our project is an Investment Application. So, during the research phase, we would research other investment applications, our competition, involving their user interface, what they provide to their users, and interviewing potential users of the application.
The modeling phase synthesizes the research done in the previous phase in order to define goals for the users. During this phase, personas are developed. Personas act as a fictional narrative driven, ideal users of the application. Depending on the research conducted, there may be more than one persona. In a case of multiple personas, there will be a primary persona which will act as the most ideal user.
The requirements phase of GDD sets up requirements for our ideal potential users. The personas are used to base the requirements off of. The primary persona is put into a context scenario for what is to be included within the application.
Then, there is the frameworks phase. During this phase, the requirements are used to develop wireframes that will be used for user testing. It is an iterative refinement process that is dependent on the information gathered from our user interviews. Low-fidelity prototypes are then made and tested. Finally, the high-fidelity prototype is developed.
Lastly, the refinements phase is a process much like the previous phase. This phase includes iterations and improvements to the design to hone the design specifications towards the goal of the personas.
Research Phase
For the completion of this project, we utilized Goal-Directed Design (GDD). GDD is a UI/UX methodology, created by Alan Cooper, which focuses on the users' needs and behaviors in order to design a product. GDD includes four phases: research, modeling, requirements, and frameworks.
The research phase is the start of GDD and its purpose is to gather information about the project and allow for team members to begin discussing potential user goals. Our project is an Investment Application. So, during the research phase, we would research other investment applications, our competition, involving their user interface, what they provide to their users, and interviewing potential users of the application.
The modeling phase synthesizes the research done in the previous phase in order to define goals for the users. During this phase, personas are developed. Personas act as a fictional narrative driven, ideal users of the application. Depending on the research conducted, there may be more than one persona. In a case of multiple personas, there will be a primary persona which will act as the most ideal user.
The requirements phase of GDD sets up requirements for our ideal potential users. The personas are used to base the requirements off of. The primary persona is put into a context scenario for what is to be included within the application.
Then, there is the frameworks phase. During this phase, the requirements are used to develop wireframes that will be used for user testing. It is an iterative refinement process that is dependent on the information gathered from our user interviews. Low-fidelity prototypes are then made and tested. Finally, the high-fidelity prototype is developed.
The refinements phase is a process much like the previous phase. It focuses on different iterations and improvements to the design towards the goal of the personas.
Persona Hypothesis
Persona Hypothesis is used to establish a better understanding of our users and personas. By asking various questions related to behavior, we are able to define who our main users will be. We were able to identify two main types, Beginner and Expert. This in return allows us to aim our research towards these two specified users.
Literature Review
Our application is categorized in the market of investment applications and products. While this market is saturated, due to the popularity of progressive investment opportunities (Caporal, 2021), we believe that our app distinguishes itself by welcoming all types of users -- beginner, intermediate, and expert. We are able to distinguish our application and welcome all users by utilizing investment opportunities at each user level that the user has the option of choosing and changing at any time. Rather than a stagnant investment application, our application ensures growth in the beginner and intermediate users and portfolio tools to enhance investment opportunities at the expert level. The purpose of our application is to bridge the gap between users and the time utilized while investing. We want to create an application that “does it all” and does it well in order to successfully create a strong and growing portfolio for the user.
Competitive Audit
According to The Motley Fool, a survey of 1,400 American adult stock investors done through Pollfish was established on April 19, 2021, with the respondents being 49% female and 51% male. This survey showed Gen Z and Millennial investors’, 18 to 40 years of age, trends on the popularity of investment applications. The percentages of users, of whom we believe to be our main competitors, are 37% for Robinhood, next being Fidelity at 26%, Acorns at 23%, Webull at 16%, and Betterment at 10%. Robinhood has the highest popularity on the list.
Gen Z and Millennials are investing in an era where investment information and tools are readily available. For this reason, we see a large gap of investors now compared to the previous generations. According to a study done by The Motley Fool, 91% of Gen Z and 75% of Millennial investors receive their information through social media. Of these social medias, the highest source for both Gen Z and Millennials is YouTube. Following YouTube is Reddit.
It is important to understand that the current state of investing has many faceted tools for current society. Tools and applications that were never available in previous generations. Although there are high inclinations to utilizing social media as an investment advisor, there are high skepticisms towards such content creators; however, many Gen Z and Millennials understand the risks and have found methods of choosing reputable sources within social media. We hope that our application is able to be one of the reputable sources to proliferate as a method and tool for investors.
User Interviews
From the research above, our team began to brainstorm who the potential users could be, the interests, behaviors, and end goals. While developing our Persona Hypothesis of potential personas, our team narrowed down two potential users. The two potential users were beginner level, and also more expert level. However, when it came to the participants, we chose to interview participants who already invest to discover the most information to help our application have the best turn around.
Interview #1
Our first participant our team interviewed was a 50 year old man, named Perry. Perry graduated at University of Georgia as an Accountant, and is the owner of a construction company. At age 25, Perry started investing and opened a Roth IRA and 401K account. In his early years of investing, Perry tried get rich quick options but found he was not successful in buying high but selling low. Perry said, "he would have appreciated it, if someone had forced him to invest at an earlier age". From his experiences, he prefers long term investments and likes assistance with his broker. Perry's goal is to live off dividends later on in life.
While Perry normally uses a desktop to handle investing, he thinks that the idea of the application is great, and could target younger people in the market. Some advice Perry gave was to keep the interface simple and easy, have an educational feature, a round up feature for transactions, and was interested AI investments with risks, portfolio, and stocks. Perry's advice is "America is a place for financial freedom, start early the better. It's harder later".
Interview #2
Our second participant our team interviewed was a man in his twenties named Caden. Caden thinks investing in stocks is important and does it frequently. Caden has spent time in both short and long term investments, he prefers long term investing is the best for him. In the past, Caden has tried other Investing apps, such as Acorns. While he likes the round up feature used in Acorns application, he has a dislike on other similar applications due to not enough usability giving him a negative experience.
Caden likes the idea of our application and is interested in features with personalized stocks. He would also like to be able to have full access to his portfolio, while having certain categories to keep organization. Caden would like notifications if it was necessary to help eliminate extra research on investing.
Interview #3
Our third participant our team interviewed was another man in his twenties named Cooper. Although Cooper has been investing for 5 years, he considers himself a beginner and intermediate as he has spent a lot of time researching on investments. Cooper prefers long term investing, and likes stocks in technology, and clothing departments. While he has heard of similar investing apps, Cooper invests through Ed Jones and has a positive experience with having a financial advisor to help make a decision. However, dislikes certain qualities in customer service. Cooper would be open to using this application as a mobile app if the interface was simple without complications and has features that show potential investments, predications, visuals and tools.
Interview #4
Our fourth participant our team interviewed was a man in his forties named Peyton. Peyton started learning and investing at age 22, and his present career is as a wealth manager and investment adviser. Peyton's said," cash is useless and advice is to buy low cost index funds, slow and steady investments, and gradually have 500 index funds". Peyton also thinks investing in an Roth IRA account is very important.
Peyton doesn't use investing application in general, but think the mobile phone application is a great idea. He thinks many investing applications are too complicated and would love to see our app make investing easier to use, and a simple interface. Peyton thinks a "round up feature is nice and simple to use, and automatic investments are critical to keep users from doing something stupid". Peyton also said, "it is hard for people to start investing. Offer a few options at a time for beginners, and give boundaries for educational purposes for user".
Modeling Phase
After each interview, each team member who was present during the interview, regrouped and discussed the results. Our team used a technique called Affinity Mapping which is individually we went and added key factors that were brought up in the interview from the participants. Afterwards, the team combined all the points, into different subjects from the results. Once the team found different categories, we set a lists of features to rate what participants felt about each subject.
Personas
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Primary Persona
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Secondary Persona
Wireframes
Reasoning
This wireframe was designed for our initial round of interviews and testing purposes. All of the design layouts were temporary and subject to change after the user interviews.
Main Objectives
Simple navigation
Customizable profile
Various utilities
Easy access to the stock market as well as the portfolio
Components
Final Composition
Key Takeaways
This project was a bit different from anything else I have done before. A lot of the features and ideas came from personal frustrations with the current depictions of investment applications. Having a chance to design an interface that truly works with the user makes me feel accomplished in the end. I am extremely proud of the work my team and I have done throughout this semester long project.