Bullseye | Product validation through user research & testing
- Laura Smith
- Dec 12, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Successful delivery of new product design concepts supported with user research and usability testing reports.
Project Money Management Application
My Role
UX/UI Designer, Freelance
Expertise
Research, Prototyping, Usability Testing, UI Design, Visual Design
Overview In what seems to be a saturated market, there remained an apparent opportunity to my client, with the vision to produce a B2C product that would make finance management & budgeting simple, intuitive and help users achieve their financial goals.
I was hired to complete user research, produce product concepts and complete initial concept testing of the proposed native mobile application.
Low fidelity wireframes together with an interactive prototype were produced for the purpose of initial concept testing, specifically usability testing.
Project Deliverables
User research report
Research artefacts including user personas, user journey maps, user flows & experience maps
Low fidelity UI designs, high fidelity product screen concepts & interactive prototype
Brand/product styling concepts and applications
Usability test report
My Impact Successful delivery of new Product Concepts supported with user research and usability testing reports.
The Product Whether a seasoned budgeter or new to the process, this mobile application guides the user through a quick & easy setup process to create and manage their budget, including savings & investment goals. Additionally, it provides access to tools & resources to learn more about efficient money management.
Security and data privacy is also a top priority with users able to manage their preferences, use available facial recognition technology to access the app and more. Key Findings Key findings from user research identified two primary user segments, each distinguished by their approach to budgeting & saving money.
Users in segment one were found to be ‘reactive’ in their approach to budgeting & saving money
Users in segment two were quite ‘proactive’ in their approach, with a detailed budget which they reviewed regularly.
Other Key Findings
Managing costs associated with food represented a significant challenge and one of the main expenses for all respondents, having a significant impact on the amount of money available to save.
Risks related to security were top of mind concerns for the majority of respondents, representing a significant deterrent to new product adoption.
Project Objectives
Complete in-depth user research to determine primary and secondary user persona segments and MVP requirements
Produce low to mid-fidelity product concepts and interactive prototype to undergo up to two rounds of usability testing
Produce high fidelity product concepts including proposed brand styling and application
Process & Outcomes
User Research
Qualitative & quantitative user research was conducted with a mix of respondents ranging in demographics. These respondents were interviewed on their approach to budgeting, in order to determine how different people manage their money, their attitudes and behaviours surrounding this concept and very importantly, the challenges & pain points they experience.
Once interviews and surveys were completed, the research was synthesized using the method of affinity mapping and research artefacts were produced based on key findings, including User Personas & User Journey Maps.
User Personas These research artefacts were produced for two of the primary segments, identified as
Segment one, distinctively found to be ‘reactive’ in their approach to budgeting & saving money
Segment two were found as distinctively ‘proactive’ in their approach, with a detailed budget which they reviewed regularly.
These artefacts detail the user goals & challenges which created the foundation for a product to take form with initial documentation of the Information Architecture & Entity Attribute Breakdown then being produced.
Shown above are User Persona artefacts and User Journey Maps produced for the two primary user segments determined through User Research & Discovery. Wireframes & Prototype Low fidelity wireframes together with an interactive prototype were produced for the purpose of initial concept testing, specifically usability testing. Usability Testing - Moderated Usability testing was completed for the mobile application prototype, with key findings, errors and observations documented.
A total of five (5) users were recruited, including two returning participants that took part in the user research phase of this project. Each of these users were chosen for testing as they aligned to one of the user persona segments outlined in the research phase (non-budgeters & experienced budgeters).
Challenges & Learnings
The very time-consuming task of conducting user interviews and in-person usability testing was challenging when operating as a sole designer. Leveraging all available tools to streamline documentation processes meant that I was not only able to save time but also ensure my notes and interview sessions were properly recorded.
I quickly learnt that some usability test participants completed tasks very quickly and efficiently and therefore being prepared with additional tasks on hand for testing allowed me to attain significantly more output from these sessions.
For any questions regarding this project or any of my other work, please do not hesitate to get in contact.
