My Role: UX Research & Design
Timeframe:12 weeks
Tools Used: Figma, Miro, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
UX Methods: Literature Analysis, Interviews, Online Surveys, Optimal Workshop, Persona Generation, Journey Maps, Usability Testing
We're diving headfirst to create the ultimate financial bill-splitting app that lets you break down expenses at the line item level. No more headaches or arguments about who owes what. We're all about transparency, accuracy, and making it easy for you and your crew to handle your finances.
We're living in a world where splitting bills with friends, family, or roommates can turn into a total mess. Unequal expenses, delayed payments, and heated disputes are stressing us out. It's affecting our financial game and even our friendships. Studies back this up, showing that these issues are pretty common. And to make things worse, we're spending a ton of time just trying to sort this stuff out. So, we've got a problem, and it's a big one.
What we need is a practical, user-friendly solution that tackles these financial and social challenges head-on. Enter a bill-splitting app that lets you break things down to the nitty-gritty, right down to each item. We're talking about transparency, precision, and making it effortless for you to collaborate on finances with your crew. The goal? To boost your satisfaction and put an end to these issues once and for all.
I dug deep into researching how to handle group finances in this white paper,. Turns out, keeping money straight among a bunch of folks needs trust and some serious organization, especially now during our hightened climate of inflation. More people are money conscience as ever. Additionally the 'awkward money talk' is a serious issue, like, 'Hey dude, where's my cash at?' It's a real pain in the neck.
My research highlighted a preference for apps that facilitate organization and the splitting of payments, aiming to bridge the communication gap between sharing partners. To delve deeper into this gap, I engaged my target audience. Initially, I collected survey data from 20 participants to shape the focus of my subsequent qualitative interviews.
Based on the trends in my affinity map, I noticed that people sought organization and communication when they needed to accomplish a goal (i.e., to pay down expenses).
Unequal spending among participants posed a challenge, and may find it embarrassing to speak out about it.
Keeping track of individual expenses, calculating accurately, and managing uneven splits were common challenges.
Open discussions and negotiations among participants were the primary methods to address discrepancies.
I distilled my user research into two primary personas. Because many of my interview participants reported their struggles with splitting bills, I decided to prioritize my user flows to target the needs of user persona,
Diving into the design process of Splitify, I really dug deep to get what our folks need and understanding their real money worries. I used a framework to figure out what tasks were most important for our users.
1. Our persona needed to get a grip on their shared finances
this entails functional needs, like organizing shared bills and crafting a viable plan, while ensuring a sense of purpose and averting disarray in the expense management process.
First flow built = a snapshot of expenses and groups she shares them with and a guide presona through the expense building process
2. Splitting Bills with Friends and Colleagues
After establishing the expense situation and goals, the persona is prepared to execute a plan for splitting those payments. It's crucial for the persona to feel assured that expenses are accurately distributed.The second flow focuses on creating expenses and ensuring their accuracy in the split.
Second flow built = creating expenses and ensuring their accuracy in the split.
3. Communication and Notifications
Following the bill split with colleagues, the next priority is to circumvent awkward conversations. This flow focuses on messaging, providing the ability to view, set notifications, and engage in conversations. The aim is to emotionally ease the user, ensuring smoother communication and reminders, thereby fostering a more comfortable experience.
Third flow built = communication with peers and groups to
Once I had a working prototype, I performed two rounds of usability testing with 6 participants in each round.
Early versions of the Splitify app lacked a clear visual hierarchy in the copy and UI elements. To fix this, I standardized the type family, face, and size – adding more contrast between headings and body.
I focused on removing extraneous details and simplifying the language for UI elements and content.
Many participants faced challenges with the 'Split item' tab. I restructured the hierarchy to prioritize essential information at the top. Additionally, I made the split process more user-friendly by ensuring users focus solely on editing one item at a time. These adjustments were validated through a second round of usability testing.
The copy was one of the last things to receive attention because whole pages were at risk of deletion early in the process. Through peer feedback, I was able to make optimizations to the UX writing once I completed the screens.
I removed clutter words and consolidated list items to a drop down. I removed menu buttons so users can focus on completing tasks. This reduced the cognitive load of each page and increased usability.
Once I finished my usability revisions to my prototype and began implementing UI, I reviewed the accessibility standards set by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
Peer Reviews
Conducting peer reviews proved invaluable. During these sessions, participants explained that I was likely not in compliance with WCAG.
Color Contrast
AdjustmentsIt was challenging to keep the UI’s original tone as I focused on meeting an AA rating.
Other Revisions Not Shown
Additionally, I constructed error states for text fields and planned for error correction. I adapted text fields to display their labels as the user completed them.
This project was huge, and at first, it felt like this big, overwhelming thing. But I realized I had to break it down into chunks. I split it into smaller tasks, made it doable. I organized my time for each phase, day by day, and that's how I nailed my big goal.
I realized I needed this project log to keep my head straight. It kept me on track and having a well documented working doc to jot down all my design moves was a lifesaver. When I got lost in the big picture, that log was my guide. Plus, tracking those project milestones didn't just help me, it made sharing my work with others a breeze.
No brilliant idea ever popped up in a vacuum—feedback helped take our vision to the next level and helped shed new light on blind spots and oversights that were missed. Not only that, it helped us fine-tune the stuff that desperately needed it, and gave a nod to what was working. It's like having a compass on this crazy app design journey, steering us in the right direction.
