User Analysis

Interview Takeaways

We knew that we wanted to create an app that would help young adults increase their financial literacy and confidence in their ability to make financial decisions. The user interviews provided essential insight into how to effectively approach this task by helping us better understand our target users’ needs.

Their three main needs are:

  1. Our target users truly need a basic understanding of personal finance, especially in regards to budgeting and saving. Many did not possess this basic knowledge despite being in a time in their life where they must make important financial decisions that will impact their finances for many years.
  2. Many of our interviewees expressed a desire to validate their financial decisions by learning about how others make financial decisions. This pattern showed us that users will benefit from forms of learning about personal finance that feel like others are sharing their own personal experiences and tips with them, which can occur through a podcast or Youtube video.
  3. All of our interviewees expressed a strong desire to learn about various financial topics, but most of them did not actively take steps to gain this knowledge. This may be because financial literacy may not be a fun topic to learn about for some. Additionally, many of our interviewees expressed that they feel stressed when they think about their own finances, so perhaps they avoid learning about different financial topics in order to avoid this stress. Our target users need a way to learn about financial topics in a way that feels fun, non-stressful, and that fits into their busy schedules by requiring less of their energy and time.

Personas

From the user interviews, we realized that there are three dimensions along which our target users mainly will differ:

  1. Their level of financial literacy.
  2. Their level of confidence in their current financial situation and financial knowledge.
  3. What part of life they are in (underclass(wo)man, upperclass(wo)man, or recent college graduate).

We created three personas to represent, understand, and empathize better with users who embody these dimensions differently.

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Hierarchical Task Analysis

HTA 1
  • Plan 0: Do 1,2,3, 4, 5, and 6 in order.
  • Plan 2: Do 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, and 2.6 are optional but recommended. Do 2.7.
  • Plan 4: Do 4.1 and 4.2. 4.3 is recommended.
  • Plan 4.1: Do 4.1.1 and 4.1.2 in any order.
  • Plan 4.2: 4.2.3 is optional.
  • Plan 5: 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3 are recommended. Only one is required.
  • Plan 5.1: Do 5.1.1 and 5.1.2 in any order.
  • HTA1(Plan 1)
  • HTA1(Plan 4)
  • HTA1(Plan 5)
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HTA 2
  • Plan 0: Do 1,2,3, and 4 in that order.
  • Plan 1: Do 1.1 and 1.2 or 1.3 if applicable.
  • Plan 1.2: Do 1.2.1 and 1.2.2 in that order if necessary.
  • Plan 1.3: Do 1.3.1 and 1.3.2 in that order if necessary.

  • Plan 2: Do 2.1.
  • Plan 2.1: 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 and 2.13 are recommended, only one is required.

  • Plan 3: Do 3.1 and 3.2 in that order.
  • Plan 3.1: Do 3.1.1. 3.1.2 is optional but recommended.
  • Plan 3.2: Do 3.2.1. 3.2.2 and 3.2.3 in that order.

  • Plan 4: Do 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3 in that order.
  • Plan 4.2: Do 4.2.1, 4.2.2 and 4.3.3 in that order.
  • Plan 4.3: Do 4.3.1 and 4.3.2 in any order.
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HTA 3
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  • Plan 0: Do 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in that order.

  • Plan 2: Do 2.1.
  • Plan 2.1: Do 2.1.1, 2.1.2, and 2.1.3 in any order. Do 2.14 last.

  • Plan 3: Do 3.1.
  • Plan 3.1: Do 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 in any order. Do 3.1.3 last.
  • Plan 4: Do 4.1 and 4.2 in that order.

  • Plan 5: Do 5.1.
  • Plan 5.1: Do 5.1.1.

Domain Analysis

  • People: College students and recent college graduates and their families, friends, advisors, and dependents.
  • Websites: real estate websites, financial planning product websites, investing websites, banking websites, Youtube and other streaming websites, education/learning-based websites.
  • Applications: banking apps, investing/stock apps, news apps, mobile-friendly blogs, social media apps, Facebook Messenger.
  • Objects: laptop, phone, credit and debit cards, headphones.