App's snap shots
Project Scope: 7 months (MVP)
Project Type: Sears Holdings- Subscription Services and Finance
Team: Project Manager, Tech Lead, Product Designer(myself), iOS developer, Android developer, Backend engineer, and QA Specialist, and Research team
Role: Research, UX, UI Design, Usability Testing
Tools: Sketch, Whimsical, Illustrator, Invision, Invision Studio, and Zeplin
Brief
As a part of my work at Sears Holdings, I worked as a Senior UX Specialist at Sears R&D team, where I am handling multiple products, here I have explained one product(Bundlz case study)
The brief was to design an app that enables Manage and Buy Subscriptions by merging their very own Sears discount points (SHOP YOUR WAY POINTS).
Challenge
Build a mobile app that manages and curates current, credible, trustworthy, reliable content related to subscriptions for users and encourage to burn and earn Shop Your way Rewards(SYW) points.
Process
PROBLEM VALIDATION
Strategy Session
It involves discussion and brainstorming with product owners for better understanding and ideation.
THE Warm-up exercise
Elevators Pitch
This exercise is to know deeper about the concept we will work on
1. For
2. Who Have
Time Crunch, Lots of Subscriptions, Smart phone, Accounts/Credit cards, Money, Payment Problems, Poor Financial Planning, Difficulty in buying/managing subscriptions, Subscription goals.
3. Bundlz is a
Managing financial platform, Managing subscriptions, Buying subscription, Analytics, Bill payments
4. That
Helps to manage subscription finance and find best deals for you.
5. Ulike
6. Bundlz is unique in the following ways
a) It will analyze your subscription plans spending patterns and suggest the best subscription to buy.
b) It connects your Account(credit or debit card) safely and gets all the subscriptions details or you can add or create subscriptions manually for unorganized/ organized subscription into the account.
c) It helps to tracks: Finance, Monitor spendings, receive alerts for overdue billings and upcoming bills. All this happens in real-time.
THE RESEARCH
WHO ARE THE USERS OF THE APP
Based on the research, I found some trends/patterns that most of the users are young professionals, who have too many subscriptions to manage.
Note: As Sears has a huge database of users, using GA it was pretty clear about potential users. And also our 80% are iPhone users, therefore, the primary focus is on iOS app.
Primary audience: High subscriptions holders
Secondary audience: Buy subscription with best prices
User Persona
Now, I know who are our potential users. Next step I need to understand the real sentiments or emotions of the real users. Taking existing kinds of apps like "Outflow" and "Mint' and recorded their sessions and their app journey with contextual interviews about every stage in the app. to capture the feeling.
Here the challenge was to recruit the right users, I have decided to have some sessions with the users using an online platform (www.usabilitytest.com). However, the results or inputs were not satisfactory.
a. Users were having very generic problems like security, notifications, and trust in buying subscriptions.
b. Perhaps users are a novice or not able to connect.
Going forward, I planned to consult with our Chicago-based research team about the problem. We worked together to plot the user experience journey. The research team recruited two users who are users of Truebill and Mint. Finally, we were able to capture all of the real-life experiences.
A journey map is the outcome of our observations.
Solution validation
Potential Solution & Functionality
1. Integrate all the subscriptions in one app. And that will be only for subscriptions in detail. Also, users can buy in-app.
2. Accessibility, UX, IA
3. Use our existing database of Sears and its subsidiaries (Kmart, Sears Auto, Service Live, SYW, Pantry Save, etc.) so that these users can directly log in without signup.
4. Linking is basically fetched the subscription details so that will helps to create a personalized dashboard.
5. The app will read only the subscriptions and repeat purchase-related info. by proving security certification.
6. It will not only tells about spending patterns but category-wise info. at glance with a detailed view of it.
7. The information about bills(upcoming, overdue, payment history, etc.)
8. Personalized Content.. like offers, save more on other subscriptions, where you spending more.
9. Subscription will be listed category-wise or offer wisely.
10. On every purchase user will earn more SYW points.
Brainstorming on the latest trends
After all brainstorming and conceptualization, I started by connecting dots like personas with real USPs, business needs, technology, and future possibilities.
This manage subscription app has to be easy, intuitive for the user, and provide the perfect customer experience. I was sure it can be done if cutting-edge technological innovations and user experience engineering are used together.
So, if we are talking about digital disruption in the near future, how will it work? I believe, challenger services, as delightful customer experience providers, will be based on 10 emerging digital trends that you may already know:
The most important things I need to do at the UX Design stage are identifying primary user scenarios, analyzing and determining key functionality, creating information architecture, and exploring trending technologies to provide the most simple and clear solution for the user’s journey.
MVP Planning
The goal of our process was to fail and learn fast so we used lean thinking.
1. Initial thoughts on the Categories and Content
PM, SYW Content team, Tech Lead, and Designer involved in finalizing the content and feature.
2. Defining navigation and grouping information (using Card sorting)
I have used card sorting for segregating information, it has been done remotely with the selected users (10 users from the US ), That gives us sensible data to define our information architecture. I have used an online platform to get these results (https://www.optimalworkshop.com/).
3. Suggested Grouping by users
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE DESIGN
The Big Picture Idea
It is the final direction on which show ecosystem around the app
Information Architecture
THE CONCEPTS
Ideation
It started with the Dashboard, as it is the potential screen where most meaningful information and interaction takes place.
Every wireframe went with a thorough debate to finalize the design direction. Once we agreed upon conceptual direction. I have developed a conceptual model with stakeholders.
Wireframes Iterations
THE FINAL EXPERIENCE
Interaction & Visual Design
Created a Design System based on Sears's brand and its style guide. We all agreed to follow the hybrid process(Kanban and Agile) for delivery. That means I have to design and test(if required) the feature before handover for development.
On-boarding Experience
Home and Updates
Managing Subscription
Discover new subscription
Profile
Deployed App Experience
Landing Experience
1. Clicking on a landing page for Bundlz, you instantly get directed to choosing between two types of accounts based on your needs.
2. You don’t get the wine-and-dine value proposition of why Bundlz is the best. Instead, you dive directly into account creation.
3. Bundlz uses a simple design where all you have to do is keep pressing continue and making simple selections.
To provide extra incentive to continue, they assure users that “It’s a secure, easy way to pay and get paid.”
First time Sign up
First time Sign up
First time Sign up
Instant and Imperceptible Authorization
Users would like to have access to functionality as quickly as possible; for ideal customer experience every second counts. It could be needed for urgent bill payments, rapid balance checks or new subscriptions in need. And, today, biometrics is well developed to provide instant access to the banking dashboard with an acceptable level of security. It means that traditional authentication via passwords becomes a throwback.
To maximize security, we recommend the use of multi-factor security solutions. At the start, we provide a quick entry through biometrics (TouchID or FaceID/VoiceID), but, for high-sensitivity functions (security settings, changing limits, etc.) and for the transfer of large sums, additional authorization would be required
Helpful Introduction to Key Data
Understanding actual Spending status is the highest priority of any user experience scenario, and that is exactly what our interface will provide after running the application. The main dashboard is easy to understand. It includes not only your overall balance, but also shows movement of your finances and recent financial notifications. We tried to spotlight key data and preserve minimal visual density of design.
But, what if the user has multiple accounts and manages the family Subscriptions? The task then becomes more complicated. The user wants to see the status of each account and the overall balance of his/her family. In our banking user interface (UI), we do offer a convenient and intuitive switching between accounts via swipe. At the same time, the balance chart will make it easy to evaluate money movement in each account.
“One Stop” for all your Accounts
In addition to the deposit accounts, users can also have credit accounts, investment accounts and others. We believe that the ideal challenger bank of the future must perform ideal banking user experience (UX) for all types of accounts, enabling users to easily monitor, manage and add them. All types of financial accounts could be connected to our mobile banking app so users can get overall insights about their actual financial wealth in a single bank interface.
Financial Activity Feed Instead of Outdated History
Users will see contextual recommendations from banking AI using predictive analytics based on big data according to the nudge theory.
Recommendations may include how to reduce spending in certain categories, information about critical financial status, recommendations about savings for the plans, reminders to pay bills, contextual deal alerts in other words, everything that helps to keep and enhance user financial experience and health.
You Will Never Forget to Pay the Bills
Why should users have to be forced to open the payments section to pay routine bills? We propose to use the financial AI settings to automatically prepare or even pay bills. Soon bank of the future will put regular bill payments into the user's activity feed and send push notifications so the user can pay them with one tap.
Marketplace for Hundreds of Services
Today banks are offering customers dozens of services. But, unfortunately, users can’t easily figure out how to use them in order to reap the maximum value. The ideal challenger bank UX should be focused on providing ultimate benefits for customers, not only by offering more simple services, but also by increasing their number hundreds of times, if needed. Thus, full banking user experience personalization will be achieved for different types of customers.
Add Fun to your transactions
Technology makes life more interesting, more interactive, even if we do not leave our home. So, why do financial services UX have to be boring and outdated? Let's bring fun into finance.
The most interesting thing that we include in the settings panel are your rewards points and financial status that are used for gamification of banking customer experience. Examples are rewards for trying new services, sharing your financial experience, participating in the subscription community.
A higher status shows experience and credibility level. For users, it will ensure service discounts or exclusive offers with limited access. Points can be turned into gifts, free goods or services. Customer achievements could be shared with user social connections to gain respect for financial expertise.
Additional information about the rewards program and next-level opportunities and terms can be expanded by tapping on the points sum or status.
The Validation
User Testing
It was followed by Alpha testing and Beta testing.
Our test goals were:
1. To evaluate the quality of the product to evaluate customer satisfaction.
2. To ensure Release readiness (for Production launch).
3. Focus on finding bugs.
4. Focus on collecting suggestions/feedback and evaluate them effectively.
5. How many users are connecting their cards after signup?
6. In the Home screen, Summary Vs Billing (graph) which matters the most?
7. Does the product work? Do customers like the product?
Participants
- Technical Experts, Specialized Testers with good domain knowledge (new or who were already part of the System Testing phase), Subject Matter Expertise, and the end-users to whom the product is designed.
Apart from beta testing emailers, focused group testing and gorilla testing we have also introduced flyer and distributed in our having town hall meeting in Hoffman Estate.
Feedback
1. In the first view users wanted to see subscription spendings(category wise) rather than bill details.
2. Before buying subscription users wanted to see reviews and ratings.
3. User wanted to see Bundles of services that is more personalized.
KPI to measure the project success
1. Utilising earned SYW points.
2. Connect their bank accounts for smarter recommendations.
3. Spending time exploring and buying subscriptions.
4. Retention Rate, Churn Rate, Daily Active Users (DAU), Monthly Active Users (MAU), and Daily Sessions per DAU.
5. Customer reviews after 3 months of deployment.
Testimonials
