Index:
Context and Problem Statement
Research Role and Strategy
Research Methodology
Recruitment Criteria and Process
Analysis and Synthesis Process
Key Findings and Insights
Recommendations and Solutions
Impact of Implemented Changes
Next Steps and Future Recommendations
Conclusion
Context
Despite an initial surge of 500,000 downloads in the first month and positive press coverage, user retention quickly became a critical issue. By June 2024, analytics revealed a disturbing trend: 60% of new users were abandoning the app within the first week of use, far exceeding the industry average churn rate for fintech apps.
My Role
The Lead UX Researcher was brought in specifically to address this retention crisis. Their responsibilities included:
Developing and executing a comprehensive research strategy
Collaborating with cross-functional teams (Product, Design, Engineering, Marketing)
Translating research findings into actionable product recommendations
Presenting insights to C-level executives and the board of directors
The Lead UX Researcher reported directly to the Chief Product Officer and had a team of two junior researchers for assistance.
Problem Statement
Financial Impact: Where it was worrying for the financial situation of this application is that user acquisition cost of 1200 per user was not compensated by user lifetime value.
Brand Reputation: Hear is how early negative feedback pointing towards the app complexity was impacting its download and financial institution tie-ups.
Product-Market Fit: The unfortunate thing was the turnover between the first launch of the app and the subsequent active use pointed to a profound mismatch between the available features, and the utility necessary for a user to maintain engagement.
Investor Confidence: Given that the next funding round was underway, the user retention indicators were important for retaining investor attention. First assumptions made by the product team were that information overload may play an important role, however, they required real data to support this hypothesis.
Initial hypotheses from the product team suggested that information overload might be a key factor, but concrete evidence was needed to guide product decisions.
Research Statement and Goals
Primary Research Question:
How does the presentation and volume of stock market data in the app affect the engagement and retention of casual investors?
What changes could optimize the user experience to improve retention rates?
Detailed Research Goals:
Identify Overwhelming Elements: Specify elements of the design, data or controls that lead to information overload Learn at what stage of the user journey there is usually informational abundance.
User Segmentation and Preferences: Develop realistic pictures of the casual investor including their, level of financial literacy, investment objectives, and use of the app. - Learn about how information is requested and needed differently by different client groups.
Information Processing Capabilities: Evaluate the comprehensibility of common audiences in terms of processing multiple forms of financial information (charts, ratios, news). Define any relationship between the amount of financial literacy and the level of app use.
Competitive Landscape Analysis: Analyze how different competing applications manage to provide depth of information and at the same time be user interfaces. Find out what works in factories and discover if there are strategies in implementing lean manufacturing that can be distinguished as better than others.
Optimization Strategies: It was suggested that using the data, one could create recommendations for the application of better information architecture. Establish guidelines for improving the onboarding concept and the elements of user education.
Research Methodology
A comprehensive, mixed-method approach was employed to gather both broad trends and deep insights:
1. Quantitative Analysis (2 weeks):
- Deep dive into app analytics using Mixpanel and Google Analytics.
- Analysis of user flows, time spent on various features, and dropout points
- A/B testing of different information presentation formats on a subset of users
2. Qualitative Interviews (3 weeks):
- 30 semi-structured interviews (15 active users, 15 churned users)
- Focus on understanding motivations, pain points, and information processing strategies
3. Usability Testing (2 weeks):
- 20 moderated usability sessions with think-aloud protocol
- Tasks designed to simulate real-world scenarios casual investors might encounter
4. Competitive Analysis (1 week):
- In-depth review of 5 competing apps
- Evaluation of their information presentation strategies and user onboarding processes
5. Contextual Inquiry (2 weeks):
- 10 sessions observing users in their natural environment as they engage with the app
- Focus on understanding how the app fits into users' broader financial decision-making processes
6. Survey (1 week):
- Large-scale survey of 5,000 app users to validate findings from qualitative research
- Questions focused on satisfaction with various app features and perceived information complexity
Recruitment Criteria and Process
Target Participants:
- Adults aged 25-55 (to capture both millennials and Gen X casual investors)
- Interest in stock market investing but limited practical experience (<2 years of active trading)
- Mix of educational and professional backgrounds to ensure diverse perspectives
- Even split between current users and those who abandoned the app within the first month
Recruitment Channels:
- In-app survey prompts for current users
- Email campaigns to churned users
- Partnerships with online financial communities.
Screening Process:
1. Initial online questionnaire to assess fit with target criteria
2. Brief phone screening to confirm interest and availability
3. Scheduling of selected participants for interviews or usability tests
Final Sample:
- 30 in-depth interview participants
- 20 usability testing participants
- 10 contextual inquiry participants
- 5,000 survey respondents
Sample Questions Asked /Usability Tasks
In-Depth Interview Questions:
1. "Walk me through your typical process of learning about a new stock. What information do you look for, and in what order?"
2. "Can you describe a moment when you felt overwhelmed while using the app? What led to that feeling?"
3. "How do you currently make decisions about which stocks to invest in? How does the app support or hinder this process?"
4. "If you could redesign any part of the app to make it easier to understand, what would you change and why?"
5. "How does your experience with this app compare to other financial apps or resources you've used?"
Usability Tasks:
1. "Please find and interpret the price-to-earnings ratio for Tesla. Explain what this ratio means for a potential investor."
2. "Create a diversified mock portfolio of $10,000 spread across at least three different sectors. Narrate your thought process as you make selections."
3. "Use the app to research and decide whether you would invest in Company X based on its recent performance and analyst recommendations."
4. "Set up a price alert for a stock of your choice and explain how you would use this feature in your investment strategy."
5. "Find and explain the significance of the top three market-moving news stories of the day."
Contextual Inquiry Prompts:
1. "Show me how you typically use the app during your daily routine."
2. "Can you demonstrate how you might research a stock you heard about from a friend?"
3. "Walk me through how you would decide to buy or sell a stock using the information provided in the app."
Analysis and Synthesis Process
The process of analyzing and synthesizing the materials gained in the process of the search and studying literature.
Data Collation and Preparation (1 week): Recording of all the interviews and the usability sessions - The process of putting analytical and survey data in a neat format for further analysis
Qualitative Coding (2 weeks): Establishment of framework coding based on the research objectives This is done to enhance inter-observer or interceder reliability of two researchers coding the transcripts. - Coding and identification of themes through the help of NVivo software.
Quantitative Analysis (1 week): Survey data collected from 102 participants as well as tracking data from the smartphone app were analyzed. Development of data graphics to support major trends obscured and connections.
Synthesis Workshops (1 week): Biweekly cross functional team workshops to analyze data and obtain insights Organizing tools for groupings of similar ideas in order to learn what else could be considered a major concern. Creating of user archetypes from the behavioral and attitude perspective
Journey Mapping (3 days): Joint meetings to construct rather broad and specific user journey diagrams Identification of activities that may be painful or create feelings of confusion and overwhelm.
Insight Validation (2 days): Validity of the research findings by cross confirmation of result between different methods of research. - Post-Interviews with some of the participants in a view to confirm and expand on some of the primary findings.
Recommendations Development (3 days): Group meetings with the product and design departments, where creative concept proposals are discussed The ranking of the recommendations according to the degree of their importance and availability on the territorial scale.
Outputs/Deliverables
1. Comprehensive Research Report:
- 50-page document detailing methodology, findings, and recommendations
- Executive summary for C-level stakeholders
2. User Personas:
- 4 detailed personas representing different segments of casual investors
- Includes goals, pain points, financial literacy levels, and app usage patterns
3. Journey Maps:
- Visual representations of the user journey for each persona
- Highlights critical pain points and opportunities for intervention
4. Information Architecture Recommendations:
- Detailed suggestions for restructuring app content and features
- Wireframes and low-fidelity prototypes illustrating proposed changes
5. Presentation Deck:
- 30-slide presentation summarizing key insights and recommendations
- Tailored versions for different stakeholders (e.g., executive team, product team, investors)
6. Video Highlights Reel:
- 10-minute compilation of key moments from user interviews and usability tests
- Powerful tool for building empathy among stakeholders
7. Quantitative Data Dashboard:
- Interactive Tableau dashboard allowing stakeholders to explore key metrics and trends
8. Recommendations Roadmap:
- Prioritized list of suggested improvements with estimated impact and effort required
- Timeline for implementation and evaluation of changes
Impact
The research findings had far-reaching implications for the app and the company:
Product Overhaul: - Set up a two-tier information providing system that enables users to slowly get to the more detailed information Responded with a “Financial Literacy Score” that will present articles based on the user’s understanding of the topics. Described as an AI assistant termed “Insight Assistant”, introduced to reduce the time taken to easily understand as many as four reports for stakeholders.
On-boarding Revolution: Ontology Based SEO-Friendly Description Developed an engaging on-boarding tutorial attachment in the framework of a game that focuses on the tutorial of the key features. Adopted what can be referred to as “new user orientation,” wherein new users are accompanied by artificial intelligence-based avatars.
Personalization Enhancements: Introducing possibility to create a unique interface by adding and removing widgets by using drag and drop technology Constitute individual learning plans arising from the goals and aims of the intended users and their proficiency.
Business Metrics (6 months post-implementation): User engagement rose significantly to 70% higher than the industry average of user retention. - Daily active users increased by 150% Pleased With The Kind Of Feedback That Users Have Gave And Our Satisfaction Score Rises By 85%. Such unveil as C-sat rating improved from 3.2 to 4.7 stars.
Financial Impact: Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) rose to customer by 200%. Built customer acquisition significantly, thus cutting customer acquisition cost by 40 percent through enhanced word-of-mouth recommendations. This makes us to be expecting an annual enhanced retention of 30 million and therefore a projected annual revenue increase of 10 million.
Organizational Shift: Added 7 more people to the UX Research team increasing the number from 3 to 10 manpower. The Human-Centered Design Phase of Just-In-Time commitment Introduce a company-wide ‘User-First’ design principle In this result, it is imperative that cumulative user research sprints for all our product teams should be implemented quarterly.
Next Steps and Recommendations
Longitudinal Study: It is recommended for the company to conduct a 12-month observation with? to determine user long-term engagement trends. By applying the findings to personalisation algorithms and content tactics, people can improve the effectiveness of personalisation implemented in practice.
Advanced Personalisation: Create an intelligent application design solution that shifts the look and feel of the application depending on peoples’ actions and likes. - Provide some discussion on how augmented reality can improve the daily experiences in interaction with data.
Educational Ecosystem: To Build A Rich Archive Of The DEOLIT Interactive Educational Modules Organise cooperation with financial specialists and organizations to offer the certified programs within the framework of the application.
Community Building: Establish audio/video moderated newss/groups and live F&Q with financial authors Create a system that puts a budding investor in a position in which they report to an experienced user
Expanded User Research: Undertake cross cultural analysis to support the strategies of International Business Ventures Commission publish analysis of particular segments of user base, for example, ecological investors, day traders.
Continuous Feedback Loop: Incorporate a function for receiving feedback from users of the application where suggestions are classified and ranked by machine learning. – Build “The User’s Voice” that will give a constant contribution to all the products’ decisions.
Ethical Considerations: Carry out a thorough analysis of behavior change in the investment aspect of users of the app. - Create basic rules on feature creation that will protect users from unfair conditions that cause a poor financial situation.
Cross-Platform Expansion: Conduct a qualitative study into tablet and smartwatch app user requirements Discuss possibility to have voice commands to perform the options for using the device without hands.
Reflections
This case study underscored several critical insights for UX research in fintech:
Balancing Complexity and Accessibility: The issue of presenting opaque data in a simpler format with out such information become watered down remains an issue, to date. It still remains to be seen how the tiered organizational structure iteratively can be refined in the long run.
Personalization is Key: That a major increase of the users’ activity is observed after the rollout of the personalized features proves that experience customization meets users’ needs and accounts for their level of awareness.
Education as Engagement: It was clear that folding learning into the utility of the core-app not only increased capability but retention as well. This implies some kind of user satisfaction in is not only in functional app usage, but in growth as well.
Quantitative-Qualitative Synergy: Optimization of big data analysis together with qualitative analysis was the key. Neither method on their own would have given the complete detailed picture that is required to make such profound changes.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: There was thus very good synergy between the UX, product, engineering and business teams on this project. Silo mentalities had to be removed in order to come up with solutions that really worked.
Ethical Considerations in Fintech: Since the app deals with people’s finance, there should be review of ethical consequences of the designs made to the app. Achieving business objectives while taking into consideration the welfare of users is always a big task.
Adaptability in Research: The fast-growing fintech industry means that research approaches and methods should be agile. The project required flexibility and the readiness to switch from one or the other methods almost at every turn.
Long-Term Vision: While, solving immediate problems of usability was relevant, the changes that could prove to be most effective were introduced in regards to the app’s positioning in the long-term user’s financial life.
Overall, this case can be rightfully seen as a perfect illustration of how and why user-centric approach is vital for fintech. Taking into consideration the key requirements and sources of users’ needs, the project not only met a business need but also may have had a positive impact on finances of the thousands of users. In future developments, it will be important to continue fostering this user-oriented perspective as the app continues to gain success and usefulness in the fast growing and highly saturated space of financial technology.
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