Journey Map

Our team began by outlining what a user might experience when attempting to find financial information—especially when under pressure to make responsible decisions with their income.

In this scenario, the user has just received their paycheck and wants to make a smart, informed decision about how to handle it. This journey allowed us to empathize with the confusion, uncertainty, and overload of options that can arise during this process.

By mapping out this experience, we gained insight into user pain points and emotional states, helping us better identify opportunities for intervention and support in the financial literacy space.

Workflow Diagram

Building on the journey map, we created a workflow diagram to illustrate the user’s decision-making process. This allowed us to visualize their steps, needs, and moments of friction when managing finances.

The diagram highlights user actions and surfaces pain points that could hinder confidence or clarity—such as uncertainty in choosing tools or knowing where to begin. It also helped us pinpoint opportunities where our solution could step in and provide support at the right time.

This step was essential in shaping a thoughtful, user-informed experience structure for our application.

Information Architecture

To support a smooth and intuitive user experience, we developed an information architecture that outlines how content and functionality are structured within the app. This helped us establish a clear, easily digestible hierarchy that guides users through their journey.

By organizing content in a way that reflects user needs and behaviors, we aimed to minimize confusion, reduce cognitive load, and promote confident navigation throughout the platform.

This foundation also served as a blueprint for designing consistent interfaces and seamless interactions across the app.

Low-fidelity Wireframe

In response to the key pain points identified during the research phase, we created a low-fidelity wireframe designed to address the primary user concerns:

• Feeling inconclusive and unfulfilled about information read – We aimed to provide clear, actionable insights.
• Too many options creating uncertainty in choices – Our wireframe simplifies the decision-making process with fewer, more focused options.
• Unsure what to search – The design includes intuitive navigation and suggestions to guide users effectively.

This wireframe serves as the foundation for a solution that aims to reduce confusion and provide clarity for users in need of financial assistance.

User Stories

We identified key personas and scenarios that represent the types of users who would benefit from an app like this. The user stories help us understand their needs, motivations, and the pain points they experience when managing their finances.

By creating detailed user stories, we were able to ensure that the app design would cater to the real-world situations users face, providing them with relevant and actionable financial guidance.

Prototype Completion

This is a layout of our final prototype, wireframed in Figma. It represents the finished design, incorporating feedback from earlier testing phases and is ready for further iterations and user testing.

Interview and Testing

In this phase of the design process, we conducted interviews with potential users from a range of financial backgrounds. Each team member recruited one participant to evaluate our application and provide feedback. We started by asking introductory questions to understand each person's financial background and perspective on financial literacy.*

We then guided participants through the application prototype and asked them to complete specific tasks to simulate real use cases. Afterward, we gathered qualitative insights on their experience, visual preferences, learning methods, and suggestions for future improvements.

What We Wanted to Learn

• How do users respond to the Resources page vs the Lessons page? Which is more helpful?
• Which learning methods are most effective? (Text, Gamification, Models, Pictures)
• How would users use the Chat feature? (Learning, Q&A, support with specific situations?)
• Would users want automatic chat recommendations or follow-up suggestions?
• Are there any additional features users wish the app had?

Interview Script (15 minutes per person)

• Introduction: Briefly explain the purpose – to reduce pain points for people seeking beginner-level financial guidance.
• Pre-interview questions:
  • Name & Age (and major, if applicable)
  • How important is financial literacy to you?
  • How confident are you in your financial knowledge?
  • If you had financial questions, where would you typically go for answers?
• Walkthrough: Guide the participant through the mockup while noting reactions, comments, or questions.
• Task-Based Prompts:
  • Set up your profile page.
  • Explore a budgeting model and share what lessons you learned.
  • Use the chat feature – “What would you ask the chat?” or “What do you wish it could help you with?”
• Reflection Questions:
  • How do you feel about the look and feel of the app?
  • Do you prefer the Resources page or the Lessons page? Why?
  • Which learning methods work best for you when it comes to finances?
    (Options: reading content, interactive models, visual examples, picture-based content)
  • Do you have any features or suggestions you wish this app included?
• Observation: Note down any activities or pages the user revisited during testing.

Revisiting What We Wanted To Learn