Dreams is an app that teaches about savings and economics for young adults that are intimidated by economics.
It removes the pain of economics by removing the fear factor, simplifying the information, and giving helpful suggestions.
My role was to manage the project (client contact, present, time manage, report write, budget), interview, prototype, and design gamification and visuals.
I collaborated with four other students.
"The amount of work this group has managed to pull off in three weeks is impressive, they poured so much energy and passion into this assignment!
We value the insights they gained, as well as their creative solution to our challenge. It is clear that they used a solid process for both insights generation and concept validation, which shines through in the quality of the proposed solution.
Well done!"
- Kathleen Asjes
, Head of Research & Insights at Dreams
1. DEFINING THE PROBLEM
We started by interviewing the client Dreams, to identify their target audience
as well as creating a Business Model Canvas. During the project I held 2 creative pitches for the client, which made sure we aligned with their needs.
The Brief
How can Dreams include a validated solution for education that increases financial wellbeing in their app?
Target Group
Young adults who need a push to start saving & learning, because they have no interest in economics.
To help you save, invest and pay off debt
We created an MVP Canvas to understand the problem
Green dots means that the assumptions are validated by interviews
One question in our survey about economics
Our empathy map created with insights from intervies
I created a competitor research table
Then I created the competitor analysis for relevant areas
2. RESEARCH
We divided and conquered the research in order to gain as much knowledge as possible. We mixed both quantitative and qualitative research, as well as using the clients existing feedback, and relevant books.
Survey
Quantitative research, where we asked roughly 50 people about their feelings and habits towards private finances & learning about economics. We based our interview questions on the insights & assumptions we gained from the survey.
Interviews & Empathizing
Qualitative research, where we interviewed 4 people in the target audience. From this, we validated or discarded assumptions.
Client-Provided Feedback
Existing feedback, that Dreams had collected regarding their current Dreams Academy.
Note: No insights from Dreams are presented in this case study, only our research & insights.
Behavioral Science
Behavioral economics, to further gain insights into our client Dreams' needs and values.
Gamification
We aimed to create a learning loop, with feedback that drives learning and skill-building.
We wanted to create internal triggers and intrinsic motivation to complete the courses and tasks. Our concepts are designed to relieve the pain associated with economics since it is a core motivation in human nature to avoid pain points.
Competitor Analysis
We identified the top two threats, and aimed to create a solution that would compete with those existing companies.
3. DESIGN SPRINT
To read the details of a Design Sprint I've facilitated, read the case study for WatchItGolf!
Lightning Demos & 4-Part-Sketching
Quick concept ideation & voting.
We performed lightning demos where we focused on the most interesting parts of the competitors products.
After that, we created quick concept sketches in several steps, which ended with a concept gallery that we heatmap dot voted on.
Our concepts
Gamification: fun while learning, showing progress, interactive parts.
Visualization: small chunks of text, metaphors, graphs, illustrations, mascot, pop-ups.
Customization: setting difficulty level & interest, dynamic information, possibility to sign up for weekly tips.
Storyboard & Lo-Fi Prototype
Blueprint for the prototype. The storyboard, together with the top-voted concept sketches, was the base of the prototype, which I was in charge of.
Our top voted concepts, and a wildcard: the tree/money visualisation
We created the user journey inside the app
And then based the lo-fi on the sketches of the frames
Our test user demographic for both test sessions
Positive, negative, and neutral trends from test sessions
"It was an eye-opener to gain insights on my expenses through the game!"
"Nice! Now I know what funds are! I'm even interested in learning more about it."
"The tree was a helpful and positive visualization!"
"[Reads a quote] 'Don't put all your eggs in the same basket', haha I love it!"
"Easy to understand and well explained"
Feedback from test users
4. LO-FI USER TESTING
We tested on 5 target audience users, who were potential new customers.
Tested Concepts
Onboarding with customization & suggestions
Learning with storytelling & pictures
Game with personal info
Visualization of funds
Dynamic budget tool
Remote testing
Since we couldn't be in the same room as the users, we had to make the prototype clickable & understandable through online meetings. This forced us to incorporate mid-fi or even hi-fi elements, which removed some of the profits gained from lo-fi prototypes.
Results
What worked:
The game was an engaging and positive experience
The flow of the app was good
The way we presented information was easy to understand and relate to
What did not work:
The growing tree-visualization was confusing
Most users did not want to sign up to weekly tips
The mascot was not noticeable
It was a bother to use the budget tool
5. ITERATION SPRINT
During the iteration sprint we incorporated and adapted solutions from the testing, and further validated or discarded our concepts.
Hi-Fi Prototype & User Testing
I continued to work on the prototype, with insights we gained from the user testing in mind. I was very excited to use Figma's beta for interactive components & variants!
We tested on 3 target audience test users, potential new customers.
Result
What worked:
The way we presented information in chunks
The visual aid such as interactive graphs and illustration
The storytelling aid such as metaphors and proverbs
Showing the users how much time was left in the task was important
The progress bar was motivating
The game was engaging and useful to the users
What did not work:
We discarded the idea of presenting a growing tree together with the interactive graph - they worked much better when separated
We didn't get enough feedback on the mascot or the customization, due to technical limitations, to be able to validate the concepts
Presentation & Report
I created the structure of the report, proofread and edited it, finalized the budget, and then I presented to the client.
Concept: info in chunks, visual navigation, illustrations, metaphors & proverbs, clear headlines, suggestions on how to continue
Concept: informative, non-judging, no-losers game with insights into the users private finances
"Fun to play a game to learn"
"The tone of language was great"
"I didn't feel threatened by the app"
"Clearly presented information"
Feedback from test users
"It [the report] is highly informative in terms of the depth of information and professionally edited. A joy to receive!"
"It is highly noticeable that your group enjoyed working together and had a strong project lead."
"A wonderful concept, really strong process, great work!"
"You did a really good job in connecting Dreams & learnings and to use illustrations to bring home the message."
"The idea of the memory game connected to the budget was a really neat idea, that’s something I'd like to try as well."
Feedback from client
6. CLIENT FEEDBACK
The presentation was a success and we got very positive comments from the client, who said that they were very impressed with the concepts and overall work.
We had planned to show the prototype and concepts in a live walkthrough, so we were happy to hear the request to see more of the concepts! That also started a conversation about our recommendations and it was great to be able to discuss with them.
7. KEY TAKEAWAYS
Iterate on the interviews
Remote testing of lo-fi concepts is hard
Add a second iteration
Define the research objectives more
More time on the concepts during presentations
We realized that we wanted to have a second round of interviews so that we could iterate on the questions and gain even more information and insights.
It would also be great with a second iteration sprint to validate the concepts even further. It's something we will bring with us to the next project!
