User Experience Designer
Personal Project
2022
4 weeks
1 User Experience Designer
A few course mates
Double Diamond
Redesign
User Research
Ideation
Testing
Prototype
As a user who just uses PayLah! for what I think are its most used features (that being QR code payments + paying friends), I can't help but notice how cluttered the app is with features I have never used or even taken note of.
Well, I for one wouldn't open up my digital wallet app and browse through the various features while the cashier is waiting for me to make payment for my large oolong milk tea, 0% sugar, less ice, with konjac jelly and golden bubbles.
Nothing really, at it's core its a functional digital wallet that gets the job done.
However... Brand new PayLah! users might run into some problems as they aren't that familiar with how to access the entry points for payments or transactions.
DBS is trying to push the various features to create an all-in-one lifestyle app for users every need. This is where the problem of the app being too cluttered distracts users from their current goals, making QR code payments or transferring friends money. This makes sense from a business perspective, and for existing users it wouldn't really affect them.
I had conducted a small user research study where I interviewed a few friends and course mates, most of them being avid PayLah users. The objective of the research done was to find out what their habits and thoughts were while using the app.
A few of these interviews were conducted in person, while the rest were done through online interviews. Questions relating to digital payments and the PayLah app itself were asked to gather findings and data. A google survey was also used for some more quantitative results and condensed through affinity mapping.
The research had helped me confirm my hypothesis that PayLah! had a cluttered UI. Also, the fact that most users only use the app for two features (QR code payments and peer-to-peer transactions) contribute to them failing to notice or seek out the other features on the app.
If existing users also shared this sentiments of the UI being too messy, how would brand new users feel when using the app for the very first time?
Not a lot actually, since PayLah! already had a set design along with their own components, sketching of the intended wireframes was rather simple. A few tweaks to the layouts would hopefully solve user pain points and satisfy the objectives.
Unclutter the PayLah! landing page so user's can focus on the main features of the app
Redesign the 'Payment Done' page to increase readability of important details that users/vendors want to see.
I had created the frames in Figma while taking reference from the existing PayLah! components which greatly reduced the amount of time. In order to satisfy the objectives of the redesign, It was important to get some feedback from user interviews regarding different choices for the various screens.
There were two separate flows to be used for user testing. This however did not allow me to get deeper insights on details regarding the more important screens that impacted the user journey. Instead, I opted to focus on the screens that were crucial to the user during their digital payment journey.
A small A/B testing was done with 5 users (Optimal amount according to sources) before starting the high-fi prototype.
I had tried to access DBS PayLah!'s existing design system for the high fidelity prototype but their files weren't available on their resource page. Despite that, I was able to maintain their brand colors and typefaces used in their products for consistency.
Another round of usability testing was conducted to see if my proposed solution was viable and most users agreed the changes were an improvement.
Well... In order to find that out we would need long term results and data. A few KPIs could be used to see if there is an increase of usage of the other features. Surveys could be done in a few months after a rollout to see if discoverability had increased. Data could be collected for the amount of complaints regarding their messy UI on the app store reviews or from customer feedback, a lesser number would mean success.
BUT... In terms of the objectives for the redesign, yes! More positive reactions and user satisfaction was created through the proposed design.
Users generally preferred a cleaner interface as long as they are able to complete their objective or goals. Discoverability is important, but so is usability of your products main feature or function.
Paylah! didn't really have anything that prevented their users from completing their main goal of transferring money or paying for purchases, only if you've been using the app for a long time. For new users, it would be a navigation nightmare. The problem they had was trying to push the other features offered on their app by cluttering their user interface.
Sometimes, less is more!
This was a self initiated case study, but if it were to be rolled out and metrics were trackable, I would have liked to see the (hopefully) increased usage of the application compared to the prior version. The number of errors in transaction amounts and fake transactions could also be a tracked metric
of my blood sweat and tears were put into this case study
