01. project description
I joined XCEL in 2021 as a contract Product designer to redesign the mobile application and improve the overall user experience for increased daily active users.
02. project info
Role
Product Designer
Timeline
June 2020 - June 2021
Team
1 Product Designer(Myself)
1 Android Developer, 2 iOS Developers
03. the problem
The first XCEL mobile application was launched in the UK in December 2019 as a digital wallet for financial payments services. However, 6months after launch, the application was not driving as much traffic as anticipated. Further to exploring the reason for the low traction, it was discovered, among other reasons, that customers did not find the application interface and UX up to par in comparison to their existing mobile payment applications.
Consequently, the number of daily active users on the average was about 4.
04. the result
Complete redesign of the iOS and Android mobile application with additional value-based features for user retention as discovered during user research.
After 6months of initial design rollout, I was offered full-time position to continue improvements to the application experience and interface.
05. impact
81%
increase in daily active users
63%
decrease in drop-off at onboarding.
06. the redesign
07. problem discovery
Analyzing the current UX on XCEL
Before starting a redesign, I needed to understand more in-depth why the current app design needed to change based on the user experience. To do this, I worked closely with the CEO to understand the business requirements of the app. After this, I looked at the Google Analytics dashboard to observe trends in user activities over a couple of days. These helped me get a better sense of what was happening from app discovery up to drop-off points.
Results showed that:
72%
of users who downloaded the app drop-off at onboarding
4
number of daily active users on the average
43%
bounce rate and mostly for funds transfer
08. digging deeper
Speaking to users
To better make sense of the Google analytics metrics, I spoke to 3 users at the time who were available to understand their current experience with the mobile app and assess where the major drop off happens. Some of the guiding questions for this conversation included:
01
How would you describe XCEL to a friend?
02
What do you typically use the app for, the most?
03
Tell me about a time you gor frustrated using the app
04
How easy is it to make a transfer?
05
What’s your most used Fintech app? Why?
06
What does a digital wallet mean to you?
09. insights & opportunities
After speaking to some of the users, I synthesized the information gathered using Affinity map - this helped me identify patterns in users’ responses
...Users were 3x more likely to continue using the app if there was some type of investment that makes the app more beneficial to them in their everyday life
Users wanted to understand and manage their expectations right from onboarding
The most important tasks and features should be easily discoverable by users and not turn to a maze game.
For users to keep using the app, there needs to be some form of attraction back to the app even after the main task is finished
HMW improve the onboarding process, increase user retention rate, and provide value to users beyond just funds transfer
10. ideation
Following my conversion with the users and identified opportunities, next thing I did was to conduct an audit of the existing application. The main goal of the audit was to help narrow down the screens to start designing for improvement based on the user identified drop-off points.
User onboarding does not help users understand the expectations required at sign up
User onboarding under-educates users on the value of the application and what can be done
Homepage makes use of all of the estate area, making the interface look overly packed with
Use progress bar to help re-assure users and set expectations. That way, users know how much information has been collected and how much more is likely needed. They can also know where they are, in the onboarding journey.
Use clear images and copy that adequately represent the app offerings and tasks users can perform
Use more whitespace while maximizing space enough to show relevant CTAs.
11. design + improvements
Based on findings and insights uncovered from research and speaking to users, I made 4 major improvements to the app design and introduced a new feature I thought would add more value to the use of the app for users.
Since there was a 72% drop-off at onboarding, I wanted to drive value as soon as possible and help users understand what the app is
Users felt the app’s homepage was overly crowded because of the use of heavy cards and no clear distinctions between sections. Users wanted clear distinctions between major tasks
iterations made to #2
Putting main tasks at the fore-front
These are the following iterations I tried for the homepage. In the end, we chose the option shown above because it was the easiest on the eyes with less friction.
Users said it lookedfamiliar but still new
. That way, we weren’t derailing too much from the existing interface users were used to.
Users did not know what else they could do with the XCel app. So I improved the UI of the more page to accommodate and help users discover new features.
newly added features
Pots - a savings feature that helps users and invited parties save towards a goal either individually or as a group
Users abandoned the app after a transfer is made till the next time they need to make to make another transfer. In comparison to other fintech applications, I realised we could be providing more value to users to draw them back to the app. Hence, I came up with the Pots
feature
10. results
The new designs and features were rolled out in phases. After the entire release, there was a significant increase in user retention rate. The newly introduced savings feature “Pots” attracted the most customers, driving more daily traffic to the application.
80%
of users who downloaded the app and started the onboarding journey, made it to the app’s homepage
60%
increase in the number of daily active users on the average
13%
bounce rate and mostly for funds transfer and pots
next steps
Follow-up Product
A bulk payment and pos payment solution for enterprise businesses
Following the release of the XCel app, I worked on the business version of the app. This was called XCel Business. The product aims to ease the process of paying contractors and staff salaries at a go by providing the option of bulk payment.
12. did i win something?
This project was my first solo project from research to delivery. It gave me an opportunity to work closely with the CEO and improve on my collaboration and communication skills.
While quantitative data are good in metrics evaluation, qualitative data give a more comprehensive report of what is actually going on with the product and the users interacting with it. To make sense of the metrics identified, gathering qualitative data is always a good idea as this will uncover deeper insights into possible areas of product improvement
Engaging developers early on in the project helps them also be aware of what the final designs might look like. They are also able to follow closely as the product design evolves and anticipate constraints that could possibly change the course of direction of the product design.
app store screenshots
I also designed new screenshots for the apple Appstore to match the new app design.
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