User Research, UX Design Background During the lockdown period, I purchased several online subscriptions and soon lost track of them. After spending two hours going through my credit card statement, I realized that I was paying for subscriptions that I am not using. Also, a lot of free trials have converted to recurring payments without my notice. When I searched online for a solution, I found a lot of the third parties apps available to track subscriptions. Unfortunately, these apps have their own share of privacy and trust issues. which led me to the design of a subscription tracking feature in the Bank of America app. Role This is an independent self-initiated project and hence I was responsible for concept, brainstorming, user research, competitive analysis, UX Design and conducting user tests. Time Duration 3 weeks ( February 3rd - February 28th) Disclaimer: This project is an exploration of an idea, not created for an actual deployment on the Bank of America app as I have no affiliations with Bank of America. I acknowledge that the views expressed in this case study are strictly my own.
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM Why is this problem important? Nowadays companies are going in for a subscription-based model that allows people to use a service and bill monthly. Too many subscriptions gobble our monthly budget and at some point, it becomes difficult to keep track of them. According to a report by Credit Suisse, approximately $420 billion is spent on subscriptions in the US. Target Audience Who: Bank of America app/website users Behavior: People who use mobile and web banking services regularly Market Segmentation: Users who have at least 3 subscriptions linked to their credit card. Current Solution Analysis I kick-started my process by analyzing the existing subscription tracking apps to understand the current market and identify gaps and opportunities that I could tap into. I chose some of the industry-known apps like true bill, bobby for this purpose. Analysis I understood that although there are a variety of well-designed solutions already available in the market, PROPOSED SOLUTION Why Bank of America? I chose Bank of America for this project since I am familiar with the interface and I will have access to all the screens and options. It Is also one of the largest credit card issuers in the market and so the feature designed would benefit a lot of users. user needs assessment Why interviews?
Here are some of the quotes by the participants: " It's a daunting task to cancel a transaction by calling the customer care." " I am not comfortable in sharing my bank details with a third party app." " I am not sure how much percentage of the budget goes towards subscriptions. I think it will be 5-10%." " It is very difficult to go through bank statement every month to track subscriptions." "A text reminder of a recurring payment, before it hits my account will be beneficial." What I learned from these interviews? 1. Prioritize features: 2. Gain an understanding of other pain points: 3. Know the Current methods people are using to track subscriptions: Micro Goals 1. Help people track recurring subscriptions: 2. Ability to edit/cancel subscriptions: 3. Allow users to set a reminder alert of the upcoming subscription 4. Monitor the amount spent on recurring payments for a month 5. Ability to manually add a new subscription All of the above micro-goals have to be achieved by minimally changing the existing interface of the app. Thinking through user flows I took a closer look at the existing apps ( true bill, intuit, bobby, etc) to study their interface and structure. This helped me to understand how a
typical user would interact with the app to carry out the above 5 goals. Meet Kathy ( Ideal User) Writing a scenario and creating an ideal user profile helped me to understand the audiences' needs and situation better. Challenge -
1 Why is this important? Solution Wireframes Challenge 2: 1. Highlighting the cost: The most important things that the user would want to see are the name of the subscription and cost. In the current UI pattern, the cost is placed below the category and not immediately visible and hence in my suggested redesign, the cost of the subscription is more prominent. The user must be able to clearly see and distinguish all the necessary details on the screen or page. The color scheme and font combinations should support easy and intuitive navigation and make the most important layout elements stand out effectively. 2. Difficulty in finding spending and budgeting option: In the dashboard screen, the spending and budgeting option is not immediately visible at first glance. So in the redesigned version, an overview of this month’s budget with a clear CTA to track spending is given. 3. Poor color contrast The current UI pattern uses colors with less contrast for the spending and budgeting chart which is a potential problem for users with
SOLUTION While I tried to stay within the brand guidelines as much as possible, I also incorporated some of the ideas that will improve the overall user experience. To confirm this I did A/B testing with 3 people and understood that the redesigned version helps them achieve their goals easily. FINAL
DESIGN User Flow 1 - Tracking Subscriptions After logging in, Kathy clicks the subscription tab under the bill pay category. She sees the list of subscriptions as well as an option to edit each one of them. In order to view the upcoming bills she opens up the calendar and to check when her audible subscription is due. User Flow 2 - Cancel a subscription Kathy wishes to cancel her Spotify subscription and hence she goes to the edit menu. She sees the cancel subscription option and clicks it. An error prevention message is displayed to prevent Kathy from accidentally cancelling the subscription. User Flow 3 - Set Reminder Alert Kathy wanted to set text alert for a trial subscription so that she can cancel it before her card is charged. She turns on the set alert switch in the edit subscription screen and chooses her alert mode as email. User Flow 4 - Manually Add a Subscription Kathy wants to add her new Instacart subscription to the list so she clicks the add subscription button at the
top of the page. She enters the details and hits the save button. The new subscription appears User Flow 5 - Tracking Spending Challenge 3: After analyzing the pros and cons of each option I
decided to settle down on the contextual pop-up option as it is less invasive as well as explains the capabilities of the new feature. There is also a CTA that motivates the users to try out the feature. User Testing I conducted remote moderated user testing with three participants . Five tasks based on the different user flows were given and the participants were asked to share their screens while performing the tasks. Task 1: Use the Bank of America app to track your subscriptions. Check when your next audible subscription is due. Task 2: Change the name and category How will you cancel a subscription? Task 3: Show me how you will cancel a subscription service. Task 4: Set up text alert for Spotify service. Task 5: Manually add the Instacart subscription service Task 6: Check how much percentage of your budget is spent on subscriptions. All the users felt the concept was great and the feature will definitely help to track their subscriptions. However, there were a few usability issues identified: 2. Tracking quarterly( 3 months) and half-yearly
( 6 months) subscriptions Outcome Retrospective 1. Timebox: 2. Spending time with the BOFA app: 3. Using Adobe XD: What didn't work well? ( Lessons learned) 1. Too much time spent on research: 2. Designing for scale: 3. Judging
the depth of the project by the idea: How do I feel after finishing the project? NEXT STEPS 1. User testing with more participants: 2. Research on how this feature will strategically benefit Bank of
America: 3. Extend this feature to the website: Other ProjectsHow do I stop recurring payments from my bank account?How to stop automatic debits from your account. Call and write the company. Tell the company that you are taking away your permission for the company to take automatic payments out of your bank account. ... . Call and write your bank or credit union. ... . Monitor your accounts.. How do I check my recurring payments bank of America?To get started, log into online banking and follow these steps:. Select Customer Service, then Self Service.. Choose View Recurring Charges or Merchants from the Credit Cards, Charge Cards, and Personal Lines section. A list of your automatic charges will appear.. How do I manage automatic payments bank of America?Log in, select Bill Pay and locate the credit card account you'd like to set automatic payments up on. Select Add AutoPay in the AutoPay section then select Based on eBill's amount and due date. Select your Pay From account, Amount, and Deliver by date on which you'd like the payment sent then select Save.
How do I cancel a payment on bank of America?To request a stop payment via Online Banking, please select the account and click Stop payment on a check under Services.. Visit a local financial center to speak with a personal banker.. Call us at 800-732-9194.. Submit your request in writing to: Bank of America. P.O. Box 982234. El Paso, TX 79998-2234.. |