UBA MOBILE BANKING APP REDESIGN (A UX CASE STUDY)
By: Richard Okunoghae
Tags: UX Research, Case Study, App Redesign, UI Design, Mobile Banking

RESEARCH

Next is RESEARCH, I needed to know what other users think about the current UBA mobile app, their pain points, what they want to see improve and things they want to see removed completely.

I went with the interview approach for both Quantitative and Qualitative data because it has proven to be one of the most effective way to communicate user needs and feelings and to get specific data directly from the users.

Also because it was a mini project so I just talked to family and friends who use the app.

To make this effective and so I can get specific data for analysis, I prepared five questions to ask the Interviewees.

How often do you use the mobile banking app? What do you mostly use the app for? What is/are your major challenge(s) when using this app? What are the things/features you want to see removed? What do you want to see added/improve on the app?

Below is the final result I got from each question asked and some exact words in quotes of some of the major PAIN POINTS faced by the interviewees.

Out of the TEN users I interviewed, Seven said they use the app daily, Two said they use it at least four times a week and only one user said she rarely opens the app and she prefers the USSD Banking instead. In her words..

“That app? It hangs a lot on my phone and it’s very stressful to use. the only reason why I still have it on my phone is because I use it to confirm if a transaction is successful because sometimes SMS alert delivers late.”

For the next question, nine out of the ten users use the app for fund transfer, six users use it to purchase airtime and mobile data directly from their account, two users use it for bill payment, two users use it to check account balance and transaction history only and only one user uses it solely to confirm transactions.

I asked if they have ever used the lifestyle section of the app and they all said NO.

“The app is very functional. I mean, it does exactly what a mobile banking app should do but the thing is they are too many unnecessary features on this app like who wants to change the background picture of a login page? that I’m so sure nobody has done before.”

Talking about major challenges when using the app, they all complained about the amount of steps they have to take before getting to the home page as a returning user. Six out of them complained about how stressful navigating the app is and also how unprofessional (Ugly) the general UI is as three didn’t care about design but speed and fast response time.

“I feel like using the app to check simple things like account balance is a waste of time because the steps I have to take to sign in alone is a bit long and tiring.”

For features they want to see removed, only two out of the ten interviewees said they should completely remove the Lifestyle section as they thought it is useless and unnecessary while the rest said they wouldn't remove anything but improve on the design and organization of already existing features.

“I really won’t remove anything, I just feel there is a way they can be better arranged for Instance instead of having to choose between Lifestyle or Banking from the onset why don’t we just do it in the app itself. Maybe in the menu or even in the quick actions.”

For the last question, Seven out of the Ten users wanted to add a cards section in the menu where they can check for their card details and also block stolen or misplaced cards. And they all asked for a general revamp of the app.

“Guy let’s be honest, that app is not fine at all LOL, I know its functional and fulfills it’s purpose but at least be pleasing to the eyes na.”

Solution

After getting the useful information needed for the redesign, it was time to work on a solution to fix the major problems faced by users.

Solutions include:

Faster Login process. Reorganizing the entire home and menu screen for easy navigation while providing better design quality. Redesigning the Transaction history and Funds transfer process screens.

USERFLOW

I designed a Task flow taking users from the splash screen to a successful fund transfer.