Project Role
Lead UX Researcher
Company
FINNOMENA, Thailand
Duration
Jan 2022 - May 2022
(4 months)
Project Summary
Finnomena is a digital wealth management platform that provides comprehensive solutions for mutual fund investors. This project focused on redesigning the "Fund Information and Comparison" features within the Finnomena application. The key objective of this project was to restructure the extensive fund information and introduce several new features that cater to the needs of diverse user types. Our team employed Information Architecture methodology to effectively reorganize the content, conducted Usability Tests to gather the feedbacks to develop wireframes incorporating the new features.
Problems found and Challenges
"How can Finnomena simplify complex fund information to make it accessible and relevant
for investors of all experience levels?"
Work Process
01 Test the Existing Product
As Fund Information is a feature we have not previously tested, several issues have been identified through user feedbacks and UX analysis, including information grouping, usability issues, and the lack of essential features to facilitate users' investment journeys. Our team has prioritized the redevelopment of this feature due to its critical role in enhancing user engagement and increasing investment with our platform.
Based on the identified issues and context, I has chosen to employ three specific research methodologies with defined test objectives for this project:
In-depth Interviews:
To understand user journey and mental models while using fund information. This helped us identify the main use cases and how users prioritize them. The results of this research were instrumental in developing personas and customer journeys for investors with different levels of investment expertise.
Usability Testing:
We uncovered usability issues by observing how users interacted with existing features such as Fund Recommendation, Fund Comparison, and Fund List. Our goal was to understand their behavior and the reasons behind it, enabling us to identify areas for improvement.
Concept Testing:
To test new features such as filtering & sorting and performance visualization. The goal was to gather user feedback on these features, understand how they would use them to achieve their goals, and see how effectively these features addressed their pain points based on our assumptions.
Wireframes of existing and new features for Testing
Persona for testing
We created proto-personas for this test based on quantitative data and previous UX research results. These proto-personas helped us focus on testing the product with "Investors" and "Subscribers" of different investment expertise. The primary proto-personas included:
Investor - Beginner:
To understand how beginners start investing and how they comprehend the provided information. We aimed to identify pain points in their journey and ensure the information architecture supports their learning curve and decision-making process.
Investor - Expert:
To understand how experts make their investment decisions and identify which features can facilitate those decisions. Our focus was on advanced features such as in-depth fund comparisons, performance visualizations, and custom filtering options, ensuring these tools meet the needs of sophisticated users.
Subscriber - Expert:
Since this group has the highest conversion rate to customers, we aimed to understand how we can attract them to invest with us. We explored their motivations, preferences, and the key factors influencing their investment choices, with the goal of optimizing features to convert subscribers into active investors.
By using these proto-personas, we were able to validate user behavior when viewing Fund Information and interacting with the platform.
Proto-persona for Investor-Expert target segment
Proto-persona for Subsciber-Expert target segment
Conduct Usability and Concept Testing
We recruited participants through various Finnomena's channels such as in-app notifications, website surveys, and email campaigns. We conducted in-person usability test with 5 participants per group. [Read how we conducted usability tests from my another project here.]
02 Summarize Research Insight and Create Customer Journey
After conducting the tests, we summarized all insights and identified patterns across each target segment. These insights will be used for ideation and developing design solutions. Here are the main insights for each feature:
Fund Comparison:
13 out of 15 participants found the horizontal view of fund comparison challenging to use, as they typically compare more than five funds at a time.
8 out of 15 participants indicated that there is too much information on one page. They prefer grouped information to allow for easier navigation.
7 out of 15 participants suggested that highlighting the best-performing fund would improve visibility and ease of summarizing information.
For expert users, fund comparison is crucial when deciding to invest, and they usually compare funds within the same industry.
Filter & Sorting:
14 out of 15 participants expressed a desire to use filters, with the primary filter being fund category. Other filters varied, including company, fund type, and Finnomena's recommendations.
6 out of 15 participants specifically wanted to filter by company and Finnomena's recommendations.
All participants appreciated this feature, as it helped them find the desired funds much faster.
Fund Recommendation:
9 out of 15 participants felt that accessing the recommended funds required too many interactions, making the process complex and unintuitive.
10 out of 15 participants mentioned that they couldn't see all funds within each category without viewing sub-categories, which they tend to overlook.
All beginner investors were interested in using fund recommendations as they are new to investing and unsure about where to start.
8 out of 15 participants noticed that some categories still don't have any funds, which they found to be a waste of time.
Customer journey
As I was also working on the customer journey project, I integrated user insights and behaviors gathered from from this project on investment habits into the investment section's customer journey.
Our research revealed a consistent behavior across all target segments: users consistently preferred comparing funds within the same industry before making investment decisions. Recognizing this user behavior pattern, we aligned our fund information to match their preferences and mental models."
03 Ideate the Design Solutions
In order to explore potential design solutions, I organized an ideation workshop with internal stakeholders, including executives, product managers, UI designers, and software engineers. During this workshop, we brainstormed which features to develop and which usability issues to prioritize based on user personas.
04 Restructure Information Architecture
The next step involved addressing the complexity of information, which emerged as a significant pain point during testing. Our team conducted a thorough audit of the existing information architecture, identifying numerous data points related to funds and their details that needed effective management. Leveraging insights from our persona discovery research, we restructured the information to align better with user mental models. This restructuring involved categorizing funds by industry group, ensuring users could easily locate the funds they were interested in.
This revised information architecture enabled us to create a more intuitive and user-friendly interface, which we then applied to our UI design. Key adjustments included:
Expanding the scope of fund recommendations to include additional attributes such as tax-saving funds, and long-term and short-term investments, beyond just fund categories.
Eliminating the sub-category page and replacing it with an in-page filter system, reducing the steps required to access fund recommendations within each category.
Adding clear information about filtering and sorting options to enhance usability and help users find the relevant funds more efficiently.
05 Develop Wireframe and UI Design
After gathering these insights, the UI designer and I developed wireframes by synthesizing the feedback and data collected. I began by translating the key findings into actionable design concepts, focusing on addressing user pain points and enhancing the overall experience. Using Figma, I created medium-fidelity wireframes and flow charts for each use case, emphasizing layout and functionality to ensure the structure was intuitive and aligned with user expectations. The UI designer then adjusted the design elements and visuals accordingly.
Example of flow chart for each feature in Fund feature
Recommendation 1: Fund Comparison
A crucial use case identified through our research is the comparison of funds, which is vital for users with varying levels of expertise, whether they are investors or subscribers with Finnomena. Most users compare funds before making investment decisions. From our user testing, we gathered valuable insights indicating that users want to compare not only fund details but also technical graphs, returns, performance, fees, and asset allocation. Additionally, users expressed a need for recommendations on what to compare. Based on these findings, we made several enhancements to the wireframe:
Vertical Comparison View:
Users often compare more than five funds simultaneously, making a horizontal view impractical from the previous version. To accommodate this, we implemented a vertical view, which is more functional for this use case.
Segmented Controls:
We introduced segmented controls to categorize comparison topics. These controls are ordered based on user-prioritized importance, ensuring a seamless comparison experience.
Fund Recommendations:
We integrated fund recommendations into the comparison feature, assisting users in selecting relevant funds for comparison.
Enhanced Access to Comparison Feature:
Feedback indicated that users access the comparison feature not only from fund quotes but also from the fund list. We added additional access points to improve usability.
Visualizations for Beginners:
To support beginners in understanding fund performance, we created clear and informative visualizations, enhancing the overall user experience.
Recommendation 2: Filter and Sorting
Based on our research, we identified that users have various ways to find funds that align with their investment needs and interests. Implementing filter and sorting options is essential to support users in achieving their goals. Therefore, we introduced a new "Filter & Sorting" feature to the screen containing numerous fund lists. This enhancement helps users identify and tailor the criteria to discover funds based on their needs.
Key findings from our research indicated that all types of target users prioritize selecting the "Fund Type" that aligns with their investment style, risk level, and resources. Additionally, users require other filters to accommodate their investment decisions, so this wireframe implements the following filters:
Filter for Fund types
Filter for Tax-saving Funds
Filter by investment Companies
Filter for Finnomena-Recommended Funds
Filter for dividend Funds
Recommendation 3: Fund Recommendation
The previous design of the fund list in the recommendation feature involved too many steps to see fund recommendations in each category, making it ineffective for users. To address this, we utilized a new information architecture to categorize groups, making it more accessible based on the type of recommendation users need and creating consistency in the system. Here are the changes we have implemented:
Reduced steps to see Fund Recommendations by grouping and simplifying the process to view fund recommendations within each list.
Added new recommendation types, such as fund category, tax-saving funds, and the top 10 funds by Finnomena for serving different need of users
filter and sorting options on the fund list page within each category.
Removed fund sub-categories as research findings indicated they were not as commonly used as fund categories, and implement it as a filter instead to reduce its priority in visual design.
07 Measure Product Success
This project has significantly improved usability and introduced features that effectively address the needs of users with varying levels of investment expertise. Here are the results from this deliverable:
Next Step
At Finnomena, our goal is to provide a holistic view of investment information that goes beyond mutual funds. To achieve this, we are focused on designing our existing UI to support scalability and future growth by:
Broader Investment Assets: The UX research team is expanding its scope to include other types of investment assets and target segments. As the information architecture will be more complex and the need of users will be more diverse. This will ensure that our platform meets the diverse needs of our users.
Enhanced Data Collection: Currently, our capability to collect quantitative data is limited. To overcome this, we will partner with the data team to improve our tracking of user behavior and measure use cases more effectively.
By integrating quantitative data with our qualitative research findings, we can develop more effective designs that cater to user needs and drive business performance. These initiatives are crucial for providing users with comprehensive investment information and enhancing their overall experience on our platform.