Revolutionising Personal Finance Management
Amazon
Market research uncovered these themes pertaining to finding success in the PFM market.
To provide a value-add product, we must incorporate these 7 key product tenets:
Once everything is connected, we're brought to the Today View. We lead with their Safe to Spend amount, where users can plan accurately by knowing how much they can spend without surprises. It will be the cash they have readily available after routine bills and subscriptions have been taken out.
Next is the Weekly Snapshot, for the user to know when their paychecks, bills, subscriptions, and other routine financial events will hit. All of their income events that week, all of the scheduled bills and subscriptions that week, spending thus far, and available funds thus far. No more surprise charges as it makes customers aware of their spending patterns.
In the bottom right is a button for quick access to view all of their connected accounts in one place.
Midway into our testing, I removed the step-by-step tutorial explaining what each component did to see how users would respond to figuring it out on their own, and it turned out that they didn't need their hand held around it, which was interesting. The layout of the weekly snapshot helped contextualise what safe to spend meant as long as we kept the language consistent, so I made some revisions to ensure that was the case. And again, this was where sceptical users changed their minds about the utility of this tool.
As far as UI is concerned, I made two significant additions. On one end, I added an Export to Spreadsheet option, a highly communicated desire from the beginning of research that customers responded very positively about in testing. I also created a dedicated, categorised insights screen for users to view all their insights in one place.
Integrated into the Amazon retail experience, I have established the budget assistance tool letting customers know what they can afford, their wish list encouragement that provides rewards for saving toward their goals, personalised nudges to try Whole Foods based on what we know about them, such as if they have been purchasing vegan and haven't engaged with Whole Foods' wide vegan selection. Before testing, I also added a new Buy Now Pay Later component to the budget assistance, letting the customer know, "Hey, you can buy this now and pay later over time. This product is just outside your budget, but based on your spending and available funds, you are pre-approved to make 4 monthly interest-free payments."
Alexa integration has been a pivotal piece of the experience ever since the initial workshop I ran, where we wanted to make sure that the experience of staying up to date and minimising any surprises around a customer's financial events follows them into their everyday life.
Regrettably, for seasoned product designers who have weathered the storms of corporate decision-making, such setbacks are an all-too-familiar aspect of the professional landscape. These experiences, while frustrating, serve as crucial learning opportunities and tests of resilience. They underscore the importance of not only creating innovative products but also developing the skills to effectively communicate their value to decision-makers who may not share the same visionary perspective.
Our mission as product designers extends far beyond the conception and development of novel ideas. We are tasked with nurturing and championing these innovations through various stages of scrutiny and evaluation. This process often involves:
Ultimately, our role is to serve as the bridge between cutting-edge innovation and pragmatic business strategy. By persistently advocating for forward-thinking solutions, we aim to influence and shape the decision-making process at the highest levels of the organisation. This advocacy is not just a role but a responsibility that often requires a delicate balance of patience, persistence, and adaptability.
While the immediate outcome may be disappointing, it's crucial to maintain perspective. Each seeming setback is a stepping stone towards future successes as we refine our approach and gradually shift the organisational culture towards greater receptivity to innovation. In doing so, we play a vital role in ensuring the long-term viability and competitiveness of our organisations in an ever-evolving marketplace.
This video which I created serves as a powerful visual aid, designed to encapsulate the essence of our product within a brief 60-second timeframe. By leveraging dynamic visuals and succinct messaging, the video aims to quickly convey the product's key features, benefits, and potential impact to our executive audience. This approach allows us to maximise the effectiveness of our presentation while respecting the time constraints of our senior leaders.
Crafting Experiences, Shaping Futures, Designing Products for Tomorrow