UX RESEARCH CASE STUDY
BUSINESS OBJECTIVE
The client was a financial services business and the objective was to increase customer trust and loyalty by helping customers to avoid bank charges caused by accidental overspend.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
1.
To understand current attitudes and behaviours of customers who have previously incurred bank charges
2.
To evaluate which elements of proposed scope fit with current behaviour and will be effective at helping users avoid charges
USER GROUPS
15 x 60 minute in-depth interviews in a lab environment with two groups of participants :
LOW ABILITY
Have not been successful in making a sustained change in their financial behaviour in the past
Not confident in financial matters and quickly overwhelmed by too much detail
Less aware of and engaged in their financial situation
Use rudimentary tools to track their spending, do not create detailed forecast budgets
HIGH ABILITY
Have been successful in making a sustained change in their financial behaviour in the past
More confident in financial matters and more engaged in detail
More aware of and engaged in their own financial situation
Use more sophisticated tools to track spending, create detailed forecast budgets
CURRENT BEHAVIOURS
1.
Being habitually unaware of their spending and balance
2.
Failing to spot that expected income hadn't arrived
3.
Failing to forecast larger than expected payments
4.
Failing to include a regular payment in their forecast
5.
Failing to accurately forecast the dates of payments
6.
Losing track of spending while on holiday
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The client had brainstormed multiple potential solutions, which they wanted to test with representative users. I created a series of paper stimuli sketches to research with the participants.
FINDINGS : MONEY MANAGEMENT METHODS
Low ability participants tended to use more rudimentary methods to manage their finances :
1.
Focus on tracking current balance using tools like internet banking and mobile banking app
2.
These tools helped increased awareness of their current financial situation but were not effective in helping them avoid charges
3.
Did not use tools to create budgets or forecast future spending
4.
Did not use tools to create budgets or forecast future spending
5.
No correlation between frequency of logging in to Internet Banking and ability to avoid charges
High ability participants tended to use more sophisticated tools that helped them track and forecast spending :
1.
Used Internet Banking and Mobile Banking App to monitor balance on the move
2.
Kept lists of all typical income and outgoings, including regular cash expenses (e.g. weekly cleaner)
3.
Created spreadsheets to forecast their budget of spending for the coming month
4.
Created diary entries of all direct debits
5.
Kept a small buffer in account to cushion against overspend
6.
These tools were not always effective in helping them avoid charges
FINDINGS : REASONS FOR BEING CHARGED
Being habitually unaware of their spending and balance (Low Ability)
“My salary changed and I didn’t adjust my spending. I wasn’t really checking my outgoings”
“For the first 2 years I got charged every month. I wasn’t checking my account properly and I thought the displayed balance was mine to spend”
Being aware but failing to spot that expected income hadn’t arrived in account
“When I moved, it took a while for my landlord to return my deposit and I didn’t realise. I was spending, counting on that money and it wasn’t there”
“My salary wasn’t paid on time, there was a problem with my employer. I didn’t know until after I’d bought some groceries and been charged”
DELIVERABLES
A comprehensive list of findings and recommendations on which concepts to take forward and how best to deliver them, based on the research findings.