Banking App Redesign
This was a complete redesign of Connect's accounts and account history screens. We introduced new features and remedied some long standing usability issues.
User Interview
User Research
UI/UX Design
Workflow
Gorilla Tactics
Storytime
Connect's mobile apps are about as old as their respective app stores. The iOS app was written in 2009, and the Android app was written around the same time. The iOS codebase has everything in it from Objective-C (with manual reference counting!), UIKit, Swift, and even some SwiftUI. Not to mention outdated Cocoapods libraries, and tons of integrations to 3rd parties.
Connect has deep integrations with some of the best banking products and security practices around. Connect also does a significant amount of custom development for its clients—something that sets them apart from their competition.
Of course, all of this has not come without its challenges. The app in it's current state has been through the ringer, and it's time to start thinking about the future.
For a number of years now, the idea of redesigning and refactoring the flagship product has been tossed around, but competing business priorities, funding, acquisitions, and maybe a little fear has always kept this dream just ever so slightly out of reach.
But the tides are changing. The impact of an aging product was visible and the desire for something new and fresh was growing.
What is this costing the business?
Sales was losing new clients because the "look and feel" was not on par with competitors
The marketing website showed vapor-ware designs because the existing UI was so poor
Tech debt was costing hundreds of hours of unnecessary development per year and slowing down new feature development
Usability was keeping app store ratings low and causing frustration among members
Listening to our users and clients
Feedback from users revealed seeing balances at a glance is very important, followed closely by checking for refunds, fraud, and staying on budget
App Store reviews revealed specific frustrations users were having with the accounts screen
Clients indicate the most important actions are performing transfers, check deposits, and checking for rewards
New Design & Planning for the Future
I embarked on a journey to redesign two of the most important and most trafficked screens in the app. In addition to redesigning these screens, Connect wanted to plan for the integration of new features. Connect had acquired an AI marketing and budgeting product that they wanted to integrated into transaction history, and they recently finished development of a new feature called Move Money, which combines the capabilities of features like transfers, bill pay, and person payments.
This redesign needed to lay the ground work for those features so they could be integrated with ease.
Surveying users & refining existing functionality
After surveying users and reading through app store reviews, we had a short list of things we needed to make sure we addressed in the redesign. There were design elements that were causing frustration to users, and usability issues that were preventing users from engaging with features in a positive way.
“I’ll give five stars if you’ll remove the box at the top that shows my name without having to click the x. It’s stupid. Same with the credit score, if I want to know I’ll look it up.”
—App Store Review
“Whose idea was it to make my credit score show at the top of the page above all my accounts? With no way to remove it? I don’t use this app to look at my credit score, I want to see the status of my bank accounts.”
—App Store Review
Adding more value for our clients & users
Users and clients, were also requesting new features—most of which were small improvements to functionality. We decided we needed to enhance searching and filtering for transactions and provide better configuration around what data displays for specific account types. We also had a long list of new features to include: transaction cleansing & categorization, and budgeting.
Iterating on functionality, workflows, and navigation
These screens have a lot of disparate features, a lot of integrations to 3rd party systems, and a ton of configuration for how data is displayed . I wanted to begin thinking about these different features holistically, the journeys users might take to each feature, and what would benefit the user most.
Does the user realistically need to see their credit score all the time? Are there technical or business requirements that prompted us to show it as it is today?
How can we increase engagement with new features and promote under-engaged features?
How do we help the member see their spending power and financial position at a glance? How can we increase their confidence in their ability to spend or save wisely?
Coffee Shop Usability Testing
Connect didn't have the budget for tools like usertesting.com, Pendo, or Full Story so I had to get scrappy. I purchased some gift cards to a local coffee shop and do some gorilla style usability testing with patrons at the coffee shop.
It was fun meeting with actual users of banking apps and getting their input on some preliminary designs.
Execution—A New Era for Connect's Flagship Product
What I've presented here are summaries of several projects that Connect is working towards. Some of what you see is done and live, some is a prototype used to generate interest, and some is still in development. This project allowed me to journey through our product with the user, analyze areas of pain, and cast vision for the future of our flagship product.
