Empathizing

I started the project by mapping out what the problem was and how it could be improved. In my own mobile bank, I was met with names of shares which in themselves were not particularly self-explanatory. The list of funds also contains internal words which in themselves are not self-explanatory. It is not necessarily a problem in itself, but can be overwhelming for new users.

As this was a digital service in my mobile bank, there was no one I could ask immediately for an explanation. Now my idea began to take shape. How had this process been in the bank itself? I'm sure they would ask me a few questions to gain insight into which funds might be relevant to me. How can that process be translated to digital surfaces?

Defining

I was still in the idea phase and didn't have anything concrete yet. The concepts were still abstract when I started thinking about who could benefit from an introduction to mutual fund savings.

Then I started to define the user segment. I started by asking myself who the users would be, what their needs are and how they can achieve their goals.

Without locking the idea into a box, I landed on the idea that the service had young professionals who were having their first encounter with the stock market in mind. It was obviously not only intended for this segment, but having them in mind fleshed out the idea further.

Who?

Young adults who had their first encounter with mutual fund savings

What?

High threshold to get started

Why?

Internal language and therms without any explanation

Design

I found a pen and paper and began to make my thoughts tangible. During my investigations, I had picked up that there are three simple questions you can ask yourself when you want to invest in funds: What do you want to save for? What do you want to invest in? And how much?