Kids Banking App (2016 - 2017)
The Context:
When I joined a banking client (through Freethinking), this was one of my two initial projects. I was the Design Lead for a new app specifically for kids aged 10 - 16.
This project had been on the cards for 2 years already. There was very little product strategy, no real management, and a set of wireframes that didn't speak to the goal.
The goal of this app was to introduce tweens to banking concepts early so that financial education wasn't an unknown life skill later on.
The other big insight was that customers were more likely to stay with the bank than join it later. So building a future base was important. The app was to support the bank account.
The Process:
The stakeholders thought this project was half done, but in our (the design team's) opinion, it needed a re-look.
So we started by getting to the bottom of the requirements. We plotted feature maps and identified quick ways to get an MVP out.
After that, we worked on researching the work with children/tweens as well as parents, putting journeys together and iterating our designs throughout development.
The Results:
The client ran out of budget for us (external consultants) midway through the project, so I, unfortunately, didn't see it through go-live and onwards.
My understanding is that there were some rocky patches (to be expected) but that the uptake is rising, and deployment is now at a more mature stage.
My contribution
I led the design of the project and did all the user research. It was my first time designing for children and testing with them.
I defined the flows, the IA and the feature roadmap.
What I learned:
That product strategy is exceptionally important to the successful development of software, and lack of strategy can really hamper efforts on all fronts.
To better identify gaps in what users say v. what they do.
How to test with children.
What I enjoyed:
Working in a very lean way.
Owning the design for a full product, rather than a part of one.
Challenging the product strategy & having an impact on the roadmap and features.
Where I struggled:
Lack of vision and strategy for the product. The attitude of "just getting it out" rather than "doing it right".
Lack of well thought out priorities from Product Management.
No existing brand to work with (Lots of fun to start something new, but not in a rushed timeframe.)
Deliverables based design - "stuff to keep the team busy" rather than features that added value.
Tools I used:
Sketch, Invision, Zeplin
Flows, Wireframes
Creative direction
UX strategy