About
Pennywise, an innovative money-saving app, makes people's lives easier by enabling them to effortlessly track and manage their expenses while saving towards their future goals.
Project Overview
Time Line
4 Weeks
My Role
UX /UI Designer
Screens
+ 40
Problem
Many individuals face difficulties in efficiently managing their expenses and saving towards their future goals. This struggle to track spending often leads to financial stress and hinders the achievement of desired financial milestones.
Solution
Pennywise is a money-saving app equipped with advanced tracking and management features to address financial challenges. Users can monitor expenses in real-time, categorize them, and access personalized insights and reports.
Design Process
1 Empathize
User Research
Survey
A survey was conducted to gain insights into the target audience of the product.
12 Questions | 23 Participants
Income and Expense Tracking Preference
It was found that 37.5% of users track income and expenses monthly, followed by 25% who track them weekly,
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User Confidence in Budgeting
Graphic depiction
Employment Status Breakdown
Biggest Challenges
More than half of the users state that they are confident in their ability to create and stick to a budget.
43.8 % of users are full time employed, followed by 31.3% students
Keeping track of expenses, saving money and budgeting are the biggest challenges.
Nearly 90% of users indicated that visual depiction such as charts and graphs are highly valuable in helping understanding and comprehension.
Target Audience
The money budgeting app primarily targets individuals aged 18-45 who have a steady income and seek to effectively manage and secure their budget.
Interview Process
I interviewed users who have used or currently use budgeting apps to understand the challenges they face.
I asked them several questions :
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where do you record your income and expenses?
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How do You currently manage your finances?
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If using an app, what challenges did you encounter?
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What specific feature or functionality do you wanna see in the app?
Interview Insights
Customizable expense categories emerged as a key requirement for 4 out of 5 users, enabling them to tailor the app to their specific needs
01
Integrated goal-setting features were identified as crucial by the majority of users, as they enable effective setting and monitoring of financial targets.
03
In the app, it is crucial to provide data visualization through charts and graphs, allowing users to comprehend information beyond mere numbers.
02
Users mentioned that it would be helpful for them to see the full report of their spending for different categories for different time period.
04
Competitor
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Mint was identified as the best app for tracking, analysis, and insight.
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All competitors offered expense tracking and categorization.
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Only two out of the six competitors (Mint and Monarch) provided an overview of financial accounts and bill tracking with reminders.
2 Define
Affinity Diagram
Result
Based on the result of the affinity diagram, the necessary features are:
Simplified reconciliation, streamlined navigation, automatic expense categorization, a user-friendly interface, all-in-one financial management capabilities, customizable spending limits and budget categories.
Persona
Bio
Brian struggles with managing his finances and tends to overspend on non-essential items. He seeks an easy-to-use app to track income, expenses, set spending limits, and manage multiple accounts.
Goals
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Simplify finance management
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Stick to a budget
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Avoid overspending
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Track bill due dates
Challenges
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Limited time for manual tracking
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Difficulty managing multiple accounts
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Lack of financial discipline
Motivation
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Saving for future goals
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Achieving financial stability
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Understanding spending habits
Preferred Features
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User-friendly interface
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Automatic expense categorization
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Multiple accounts Integration
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Customizable budgeting tools
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Visual spending representation
User Journey
User Story
1- Brian realizes he struggles with budgeting and seeks a solution. He decides to find a finance app to improve his money management skills.
2- He discovers Pennywise Finance app and downloads it. He hopes it can assist him in setting and tracking budgets effectively.
3- He opens the app and creates his account. Then he goes through a brief tutorial to understand the app's features.
4- He sets up reasonable budget limits for categories such as groceries, dining out, and hobbies.
5- He starts logging his expenses in the app, adding transactions to the appropriate categories. The app sends him notifications when he approaches or exceeds budget limits.
6- He realizes he needs to manage his bills more efficiently. He explores the bill management feature in the app.
7- Brian discovers the goal-setting feature in the app and sets a savings goal. The app helps him to track his progress.
8- Over time, Brian becomes more confident in managing his finances. He feels empowered and relieved, thanks to Pennywise's.
3 Develop
Site Map
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Task Flow
Task 1: Reviewing Reports
User opens the Penny Wise app and logs in.
User selects the "Reports"
Chooses a specific time to view an overall summary.
User reviews the chart of their financial activities.
Selects months & see expenses of a specific card.
User see income and expenses of all cards.
Task 2: Checking and Adding Budget
User opens the Penny Wise app and logs in.
User goes to the "Budget" section.
User see overview of all categories selects an expense category.
User checks the current spending against the budget.
User selects edit budget for adding /updating expenses.
User add a new budget for another category.
Task 3: Checking and Adding Goals
User opens the Penny Wise app and logs in.
User navigates to the "Goals" section.
User views the existing goals and their progress.
User selects the "Add Goal" button.
User enters the details, such as name, target amount, and timeline.
User saves the new goal, and added it to the list.
User Flow
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Sketches
Wireframe
Style Guide
The app interface design started with the creation of UI assets and components for developing the app screens.
4 Test
Final Test Result
We conducted unmoderated usability testing with participants who had prior experience of using a similar app. For more detailed information, you can find the full report HERE.
Methodology
Unmoderated usability test
No. Participants
5 participants
No. Tasks
5 Tasks
Software
Google docs
Google sheets
Sticky Notes
"To get started with Penny Wise, sign up for the app and create a new account. Once signed up, link your RBC account to Penny Wise for seamless integration. Then, navigate to the "Budget" section to review and add a new budget, setting spending limits for each category. Move to the "Goals" page and add a new goal for a motorcycle to track your financial objectives. Finally, head to the "Reports" section to analyze your January expenses, focusing on those made with the Yellow Visa card. Lastly, find personalized insights from profile and analyze monthly insights and do a quizz"
Iteration
Home Page
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5 Design
Interactive Mobile Prototype
Navigate through PennyWise mobile prototype
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Welcome & Onboarding
Sign up and link bank accounts for new users.
Getting Started
To begin using the app, new users must go through an account setup process. During this process, they are required to sign up and connect their bank accounts to the app.
Setting Up Account
Sign up and link bank accounts for new users.
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App Homepage
Sign up and link bank accounts for new users.
Report Page
Report page offers valuable financial insights for informed decision-making and optimized savings strategies.
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Budget Page
Pennywise's budget page helps users set and track budgets, providing a clear overview of spending patterns to achieve financial goals.
Goal Page
Goal page allows users to define and track their financial objectives, by providing a clear roadmap towards achieving their goals.
Insights Page
Insights provides personalized financial analysis and recommendations for informed decision-making and improved financial well-being.
In Summary
Task
Developing a mobile money-saving app called Penny Wise for effortless expense tracking and management towards financial goals.
Approach
Conducting user research for mobile users, guiding design decisions for a seamless and intuitive experience.
Product
Penny Wise is a feature-rich app that tracks expenses, offers insights, and generates reports, helping users in achieving their financial objectives.
