Project Role
Lead UX Researcher
Company
FINNOMENA, Thailand
Duration
Jan 2022 - May 2022
(4 months)
Project Summary
FINNOMENA homepage in website serves as a comprehensive content platform where users can engage with various fund investment features, including reading investment contents, viewing market information, updating their portfolios, and opening investment accounts. The goal of this project is to redesign the FINNOMENA homepage to improve the conversion rate from the homepage to the mutual fund investment service. To achieve this, we conducted a thorough research project using a range of UX research methodologies, including usability testing, card sorting, and data analysis. These activities provided valuable user insights and helped us identify key areas for improvement.
Problems found
How can Finnomena enhance the homepage experience to increase conversion rates by transforming visitors into mutual fund investors?
Homepage serves as a one of Finnomena content platform for users to engage in various fund investment activities. This high-level business strategy of Finnomena leverages Homepage to attract new users and increase retention, with the ultimate goal of converting these users into mutual fund investors who invest in Finnomena Investment Service.
Despite the crucial role of the homepage, the conversion rate remains significantly low at 5%. Improving the conversion rate will not only enhance user interaction with the homepage content but also encourage more users to invest in mutual funds through Finnomena. By identifying the reasons behind the low conversion rate and implementing solutions, I developed the Finnomena Homepage redesign project to create a more effective and user-friendly homepage, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates and greater user engagement.
Work Process
01 Analyze Quantitative Data from Existing Version
During this project, the product manager and I explored how Finnomena could leverage quantitative data. We collaborated closely with the Data Science team to analyze user behavior across different target segments. Here are the reasons identified for redesigning our homepage:
Low Conversion Rate: The homepage previously achieved only a 5% conversion rate, despite being the second-highest channel for accessing investment content.
High User Engagement with Market Information feature: Over 55% of users from both target segments (Subscribers and Investors) visited the homepage primarily to interact with market information. This feature significantly contributed to user retention. However, in the previous version, this section was positioned in a low-visibility location towards the end of the page.
Navigation Challenges: Data analytics revealed that users frequently navigated back and forth within the homepage's navigation area. This behavior suggested potential difficulty in finding desired information.
Example of quantitative data used to determine which features have high user engagement.
02 Create Research Plan
After identifying several issues on the Finnomena homepage through quantitative data analysis, necessitating a targeted approach to improve user experience and conversion rates. We selected specific UX research methodologies to address each problem effectively:
Usability Testing:
This will focus on understanding how users interact with and navigate our homepage. We will also gather feedback on their preferences regarding the content order on the homepage. This testing will help us ensure that the homepage layout and content organization align with user expectations and usability standards.
Card Sorting:
This method will be used to restructure the navigation bar, aiming to improve accessibility to investment services. By involving users in categorizing and prioritizing navigation options, we can create a more intuitive and user-friendly navigation structure tailored to the needs of users
We have developed a comprehensive research plan to guide our activities. This plan outlines specific tasks, assigns responsibilities to team members, and establishes a timeline for each phase of the testing process. This structured approach ensures that we gather meaningful insights efficiently and can implement necessary improvements effectively. Here are our target segments:
Subscriber: Individuals who follow Finnomena's content but have not yet invested. They are interested in financial education and information but have not taken the step to invest in Finnomena's services.
Investor: Current users of Finnomena who have invested in the platform's offerings. They are familiar with the investment services provided and actively manage their investments through Finnomena.
03 Prepare Test Materials
Questionnaire in Usability Testing
During our sessions, we administered questionnaires to both target groups to explore their experiences with investment platforms, aiming to uncover their behaviors and interactions with each feature. Additionally, following the test, we conducted a post-questionnaire to gather feedback on their experiences with our prototype, highlighting their preferences and areas for improvement in each feature.
Can you tell me a little about yourself and your experience with investment platforms?
How often do you visit the Finnomena homepage?
What are your main goals when visiting the Finnomena homepage?
What do you typically do first when you visit the Finnomena homepage?
Can you describe any challenges you face when using the Finnomena homepage?
What features do you find most useful on the current homepage?
How important is market information to you compared to other content like articles?
Are there any new features or improvements you would like to see on the Finnomena homepage?
Tasks for Usability Testing
Tasks provided a clear set of objectives or goals for the user to accomplish. This allowed the team to objectively assess whether the product or design was enabling users to achieve those goals or if there were obstacles preventing them from doing so.
Wireframes and Prototypes
I designed medium-fidelity wireframes for each research task based on hypotheses derived from usability insights, customer feedback, and quantitative data from our target segments. Utilizing Figma as our primary tool for prototyping.
04 Recruit Participants for Usability Testing
To find participants, we have set screening criteria for each target segment to ensure they align with our personas. Our recruitment process is designed to be thorough and efficient, leveraging UX best practices to gather valuable insights from the right users. Here is our recruitment process:
Define Screening Criteria: We begin by defining the screening criteria, identifying the key attributes of each target group based on our personas. These attributes are then translated into precise screening questions to ensure we recruit the right participants.
Subscribers: We seek subscribers who have never used the Finnomena website before or who possess some investment knowledge and regularly follow investment content.
Investors: We aim to recruit participants who invest with us and regularly use the Finnomena website at least once a week.
Develop the Screening Survey: We used Google Forms to create a survey with questions that reflect the defined criteria.
Distribute the Survey: The survey is then distributed through multiple channels, including email campaigns, in-app notifications, and the Finnomena website
Screen and Select Participants: By reviewing the survey responses systematically, we select participants who best meet our criteria, ensuring fairness and accuracy in the selection process.
Confirm Participation: Contact selected participants to confirm their availability and willingness to participate. Provide detailed information about the study to set expectations and ensure their commitment.
05 Conduct Usability Testing
06 Synthesize Research Insights and
After conducting usability tests and card sorting, we summarized the research insights using the rainbow sheet technique, which helped us easily identify repetitive patterns in each usability issue. Here are the key insights from both target segments, which exhibit the most repetitive patterns and align with the quantitative data:
Subscriber Target Group (5 participants)
Call to Action Accessibility:
All participants could find the call to action for accessing Finnomena's investment service. In comparison, in the existing version, 3/5 of participants couldn't find it, while 2/5 participants found it, but it took them a long time.
Content Visibility:
3/5 participants said they visit Finnomena because of the high-quality content and expect to see it in a more visible place in the hompage than market information.
Investor Target Group (5 participants)
Market Information Visibility: All participants emphasized that market information is more important than articles. They visit the homepage daily to check prices and believe this time-sensitive feature should be placed in a more prominent position.
Portfolio Summary Privacy: Four out of five participants expressed a desire to control when they can view their portfolio summary, particularly because they often access it in public places, such as workplaces, and do not want others to see their financial information.
Followed Funds in Portfolio Summary: Three out of five participants wanted their followed funds to be displayed in their portfolio summary. Since they check these funds daily, having them readily available would be more convenient.
Quantitative Metrics Analysis
We analyzed quantitative metrics such as success rate and time on task, as both significantly affect how effectively users can access our investment service. Our objective is to increase the conversion rate of subscribers to investors. Here are our results compared to the existing version:
Average Time on Task: The new prototype shows a significant improvement, with the average time on task decreasing from 1.8 minutes to 24 seconds to find the access point.
Success Rate: The success rate has dramatically increased from 20% to 90%.
We believe that our new design will be a crucial factor in raising our conversion rate.
After gathering insights from the test, our team translated these insights into design recommendations by creating medium-fidelity wireframes to communicate effectively with our UI Designer.
Here are the key insights from the usability tests conducted with both target segments:
07 Apply to UI Design
Result
Next Step
We planned to continuously improve the FINNOMENA homepage as new features were introduced, which could influence customer preferences. By incorporating both quantitative and qualitative feedback from users, we aimed to ensure the homepage remained user-centric and effective. This project marked our initial effort to leverage quantitative data to analyze user behavior and measure product performance. Moving forward, we intended to apply this data-driven approach to larger-scale projects, enhancing overall user experience and achieving better business outcomes.