Making managing of personal finances accessible | A UX Design Strategy
Project brief
Conducting a brand-blind study to decode decision-making processes, habits, pain points and influences around management of personal and household finances amongst two large consumer groups across India: those with access to credit and those without credit.
Approach
Users in India have an age-old habit of tracking their financial footsteps across generations, and have mastered the art of book-keeping for their businesses and households. These techniques range from manually writing down entries to using digital solutions (for example, long Excel sheets and app-based solutions). Millennials, a consumption-driven generation, have also shown a rise in seeking short-term loans, actively using credit-cards and subscribing to unregulated micro-lending groups that are embedded in different cultures across India. As a result, Indian millennials have become a debt-driven generation.
In order to understand the lifestyle and financial habits of ‘financially stressed’ users, we executed a multi-tiered plan for research activities - each activity or phase yielding a plan of action for the next. The client, a global technology giant, understood the sensitivity of the topic and worked in tandem with Turian Labs.
We were able to carefully maneuver around the topic’s sensitivity by gathering qualitative information via a home-built APK (Android Application Package). This enabled us to further analyze data from select users, and conduct in-depth interviews to contextualize current workings and personal finance ecosystems. We were able to define and organize a user’s expense-review habits and mindsets towards money into four categorical behaviors.
These insights were put towards formulating the hierarchy of information, in the form of multiple low-fidelity prototypes. Marking the start of concept validation interviews, our goal was to evaluate the usefulness of these concepts, gain feedback on features and validate resonance with user habits and needs while managing finances.
From the overall perception of a user's financial health, generated from multiple levers like household economics, information needs and preferences for digital tools, we saw a willingness to consume financial information digitally. With the application yet to be released, Turian Labs generated an in-depth analytical report outlining faultlines, pointing out areas of future concern, and restructuring information that would address the unmet needs of an Indian user.