Drifter
Responsibility
Research, Strategy
Role
UX Researcher, UX Strategist
Team
Drifter
Period
2018.10 - 2019.5
OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW
Drifter is an investment guidance App for novice investors. Our research indicates several design strategies. Including how to make users believe in themselves, making themselves feel dominant in their lives, providing information that constantly fit the context, providing the sense of belonging, and providing multiple channels featuring instantly variable rewards. We ran a design sprint workshop, and step into another iteration. In our research, we found that user love the gamified theme, which motivates them more willing to learn and share this app to their fiends. While users liked the idea of virtual investment, the process, the quality of content, and the wording heavily affect their trust to the system and its effects.
INTRODUCTION
In 2016, the Taiwan Stock Exchange Cooperation announced that the “Analysis of Investors' Trading Stocks” report showed that the proportion of investors in the stock market between the ages of 20 and 30 was only 4.5%. While the market is gradually aging, young investors account for only 4.5%. Such a low proportion, can not help but make us wonder, is there a lack of financial needs behind the novice investors or is the demand hidden?
In this project, I am responsible for the planning and execution of UX strategies and user research. So I have to make sure that the insights of user research are actually translated and executed to improve the design based on feedback, while the results of the implementation must be innovative and interactive. In business design, I need to find a niche point that is different from the services provided by current financial institutions, and find a model of revenue and user growth.
In order to further understand the user-related financial experience planning and motivation, we adopt qualitative and quantitative methods to identify the pain points of those who have financial planning needs through the feedback of secondary data collection, user interviews and questionnaires.
Finally, we designed a gamified learning assisting app to guide users to find the right stock investment method. We help users become masters of their lives and freely control the quality of life.
CHALLENGE
We care about our financial life in all aspects, so one of the main challenges was how to define the most critical issue for young people?
Second, we wonder how can we differ from those products that only provide reference instead of the promise of making money, considering the responsibility?
RESEARCH
Research Planning
Step1. Hypothesis: People want to make financial planning but don't know how to proceed
Step2. Exploration: Desk research, explorative interviews with 10 interviewees
Step3. Revised Hypothesis: Young generation want to learn how to invest in stock but don’t know where and how to start
Step4. Data Collection: Interviews with 8 interviewees, questionnaire
Step5. Data Analysis: Laddering, comprehensive analysis
Step6. Insight Generation: Persona, scenario planning
Step7. Findings Validation: Guerrilla user testing(5E evaluation)
Step8. Design Validation: SUS, Usability testing, kano model analysis, NPS
We propose the problem of the initial hypothesis as the direction of problem verification, and at the same time explore whether there are other problems. The initial hypothesis question: Do people have the problem of "want to make financial planning but don't know how to proceed?"
Starting with second-hand information, we explore whether people have special trends and discoveries in statistics such as income, savings, and investment.
Then I planned the study of qualitative and quantitative. The first stage is exploratory interviews, which provides an open understanding of the attitudes and lifestyles of respondents to financial planning. Based on the interview results, the implementation of defined users and in-depth interviews is developed, and the second phase of in-depth interviews is developed for important issues. .
The second phase is an in-depth interview. We narrow down the target respondents to get deeper interviewees' personal values and their relationship with action.
The third stage is a validated questionnaire to study the size of the user community and whether other variables are related to each other.
Research Findings
We found 83.4%(169 effective questionnaire) of our target audiences have searched for the financial investment information. However, there is only 50.5% of them really take action in the end.
Through our interview(8 interviewees), we found that instead of the information from public media and professionals, people tend to get and trust the words from their family and friends who have investing experience.
Also, we found that 88% of our TA manage the financial information on their cellphone. This is also validated through the web analysis tool, SimilarWeb. Stats give us the ratio of the traffic from different kinds of devices, which shows that mobile phone is the dominant device when it comes to searching financial information.
I conducted the affinity analysis and laddering analysis to extract 5 key user values that drive behaviors in this topic, and since we were solving the problem of being afraid of taking the real act, I thought the most important value we need to address is “the trust of themselves,” and “continuous accompany and listening.”
88% of our TA manage the financial information on cellphone
The ratio of the traffic from mobile phone and desktop
We divide the investment journey into 4 stages, and the goal of our product is to help the user in the second stage move to next stage. That is, help them start invest.
DESIGN STRATEGY &
DESIGN TRANSFORMATION
Competitive Analysis
First, we decide to focus on helping people from “Want to but don’t” move to “Want and Invest,” and create great metrics of user activation, retention, and referral.
I examine the user journey and list functions that support the activities from our competitors. Among these function, there still are some needs that can’t be fulfilled:
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There is experience breakpoint from knowledge transmission to practicing
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Information is only delivered in one way
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Highly cost
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Lack of the flexibility and content of personalization
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Obscure or only single explanation of suggestions
Thus I develop our design strategies as:
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Enhance the ability of taking action
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Facilitate user investment, making our product become the personalized knowledge repository
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Eliminate the uncomfortable when facing the complicated and untraceable information
User Flow
Based on the design strategies, we come up with the function list below, and order them in the sequence of user’s investment journey.
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Gamified Theme
We use gamification to make the overall learning atmosphere easier and more fun.Each island represents a different classification of knowledge, including stocks, bonds, funds, and so on. -
Virtual Investment
In order to allow users to practice investment and accumulate experience at zero cost, everyone can use the token to make virtual investment in the game. The name of our investment target is also represented by the nick name, but the value is linked with the real market. When the user finally has a certain degree of confidence and confidence, he can understand the real target name behind the virtual investment after choosing to enter the real investment. In order to make the process of the virtual and real conversion smoother, we also provide a series of guidance, and finally let the securities firm carry out the next stage of service. -
Reward System
We designed the virtual game currency, as long as the user reads the learning unit and passes the quiz, or takes notes in the article, they can get the game currency and use the game currency for virtual investment. -
Trustworthy Article
The form of knowledge transfer is mainly based on articles. In order to improve the credibility and validity of the article, we also provide mass verification, hope to make the article screening mechanism transparent, and make the quality more in line with user expectations. Users can take notes here, accumulate knowledge assets, and get fuel to the next island to open the door to knowledge.
The articles selected by experts are more professional long articles. In addition to the mechanism based on expert selection, we also provide mass verification, hoping to keep the article screening mechanism transparent and make the quality more in line with user expectations. -
Daily Personalized Digest
Daily digest is designed to absorb simple essays for fragmented learning behaviors. According to individual learning conditions, different content is pushed every day; in order to encourage them to continue learning, accumulate knowledge assets, when they read articles or take notes in articles At that time, they will get fuel to let them sail to the next island and open more knowledge. -
Community Ranking List
In addition to providing information through the platform, communication between users can spread tacit knowledge, and information obtained from friends can also allow users to win the trust.
Design Validation & User Testing
Research Planning
I chose four common design assessment methods to evaluate whether our design meets the needs of the target community, and I hope to get some inspiration for future designs.
In addition, quantitative research methods will also be accompanied by qualitative interviews to further interpret the data. Through cross-validation of the above methods, the insights produced during the process can cover breadth and depth.
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Research Goal:
1. Identify the usability issues of the interface
2. Learn more about whether the user’s needs are met
3. Use the above information to assess development priorities. -
Research Method:
1. System Usability Scale (SUS)
2. Usability Test
3. Kano Model Analysis
4. Net Promoter Score Analysis (NPS) -
Recruitment:
According to our understanding, the online community and friends and relatives are the channels through which our target groups most often receive investment-related information. Therefore, in the recruitment channel selection, we first search for the top 3 FB clubs in Taiwan and put the questionnaire into the community. In addition, we also asked friends to forward the questionnaire and use the method of snowballing to spread the questionnaire.
We want to find people who have little experience in investment, and be unconfident in their investing decisions. Also, we want to find people that rely on the information from their friends, family, or communities. At last, we recruit 3 respondents out of 54 as our testers.
System Usability Scale (SUS)
The System Usability Scale (SUS) provides a “quick and dirty”, reliable tool for measuring the usability. It is very suitable for measuring the overall system usability and is reliable with small sample size.
The scores from each testers were 40, 85, and 65. The average score 63.3 showed that the acceptability of our system's usability was highly marginal.
From the interview, we learned that the users' expectation to our interface's style was being more gamified, including more elements that match the patterns from mobile games.
To gather more qualitative information and insights, we designed 7 tasks to let the testers accomplish. Including:
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Since you are a newcomer to investment, you are more likely to read some basic concepts of investment. Please try to find these articles and read them.
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After learning a little basic knowledge, you start to understand the investment methods and knowledge of stocks, and these expertise are hidden in their respective knowledge islands. Please find a way to learn professional stock knowledge.
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Since rebuilding your home requires a lot of money, you decide to make your goal faster by investing in stock money. However, you don't know any way to buy or sell stocks, so please find a way to learn stock trading operations.
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Now that you have gradually learned about stocks, you can also collect a lot of gold coins by reading the articles. Then you can try the drill investment! Please check the stock, carry out stock selection and place an order.
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After a certain period of time, you have already bought several stocks to form a portfolio. You want to track how much the return on your stock portfolio has been created. Please find this information.
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As the stock market rises, you think that "blue sky" should be sold on high point. Please try to make the "blue sky" to make money.
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Since you have learned enough investment knowledge and experienced some exercises, you are beginning to try to invest in the real world market. Please find a suitable securities firm and learn to use them.
Kano Model Analysis
Through the analysis of the Kano model analysis, we know that the information from the circle of friends is a indifferent quality to the target group; the interface style, the quiz, and the personalized knowledge are between the "must-be" and "one-dimensional;" the virtual investment is the one-dimensional quality; basic knowledge article , discount coupons and advisory services are all attractive qualities.
Net Promoter Score Analysis (NPS)
Among 31 samples, we had 9 promoters and 9 detractors, which made our NPS 0.
After these post-test questionnaire, we conducted interviews to interpret what did the number stand for. We concluded our findings as followed:
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Subjects said that gamification and a cute and concise interface allowed them to increase their willingness to access stock knowledge, and at the same time they were willing to recommend to other friends and relatives who are similar in their own situation.
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The storyline allowed the testees to identify the product as a game-type product, so expect more interactions similar to the game.
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For the use of the name to represent the stock name, the testees indicated that in the case of virtual practice, this kind of presentation makes people more willing to be close to and operate. However, when starting to consider investing in the real market, they will want to know the code name and see what stock does it represent?
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Teaching content and information design will greatly affect the testee's trust in teaching quality and practice effectiveness.
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How much effort to get the game currency affects their value and meaning, which in turn affects virtual practice
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It is difficult to speculate on how to interact with the consultant, so there is doubt about the service, but both of the students testees like to exchange coupons because it is a direct feedback on daily life.
CONCLUSION
The 2nd Iteration of Our Design
We listened our users and the took the advices from judges, redesigning our customer journey and pivoted our focus of services.
Awards
This design was granted the awards of "跨界新秀獎" in the competition of Transaction Awards 2018, which is the biggest UX competition in Taiwan.