FINADA
Introducing Finada, a mobile app designed to empower individuals who feel overwhelmed and daunted by complex financial content to make confident and well informed decisions. Finada is unique due to its innovative approach to financial literacy, transforming it to a gamified experience. Users participate in periodic treasure hunt challenges related to a financial management topic, turning personal finance into a rewarding and engaging adventure. The app provides an interactive compass tool for users to effortlessly navigate their financial success journey. Users are enriched with unique featured gems to simplify financial education, to enable clarity and confidence throughout their financial journey. Finada not only makes finances manageable, but also an enjoyable exploration along the way to one’s goals.
Product Experience
Problem Space
Problem Statement:
How might we empower individuals who feel daunted by complex financial content to make confident and well-informed personal financial decisions
Problem Background:
The target for this product is a user who faces difficulty when encountering intricate financial content, such that they lack the emotional stability, confidence, knowledge and helpful tools that enable one to create an informed personal financial decision. Such individuals, apart from this target, come from a wide range of various demographic backgrounds including young individuals, adults, those a part of the working force, and the retirement demographic. These demographics vary in their financial literacy needs, due to the extent of their financial literacy gap, as some lack a significant portion of financial education and knowledge then others.
It is clear that when individuals encounter any type of intricate financial data, the complexity influences an apparent lack of confidence. In particular, individuals currently struggle with personal financial decisions that range from savings, budgeting and financial information, the stock market, and risk management .According to CNBC, the lack of financial literacy has resulted in 15% of adults spending greater $10,000 in 2022, and there is a persistent mean average of 68% respondents according to the National Financial Educators Council, that said they lack an efficient knowledge of financial literacy that cost them on average $1819.
Just recently, CNBC posted an article, They discuss the changing economic environment, financial markets are currently facing a shift with higher interest rates that are expected to be higher than ever,this shift is predicted to be 5% by the 10-year treasury yield.As a result, this problem should be addressed now as individuals need to be offered guidance in to such a fluctuating economy, to secure their financial well-being.
Research Insights
User Pain Points
To address this problem effectively, we conducted 3 user interviews to gain an in-depth context and information about one’s financial goals particularly related to savings and budgets and to better gain an effective understanding of the habits and techniques they use to approach all their financial aspirations. The goals of these user interviews is to explore the emotional aspects, gain an extensive comprehension, identify obstacles between all users, and delve into the motivations that influence financial goals, and what users feel throughout the process.
To further identify user pain points I conducted a survey with 17 questions and completed a research synthesis, to gain the emotional and motivational consequences of not maintaining an effective high amount of financial literacy, particularly financial loss and stress.
During both the user interviews and the surveys, we were able to find out particular pain points and challenges they face to feel confident and informed with their personal financial decisions, among all age group demographics, user pain points involved difficulties with categories of savings & risk management, budgeting and financial information & the stock market
Supporting Data
Age Group: 18-25
Savings & Risk Management
- Impulsive spending is a major issue in this demographic
- 26.66% save after expenses consistently each month
- When considering forming a budget, 60% people prefer personal desires
- 16.66% of people ensure a contingency plan is generated
Budgeting Financial Information & The Stock Market
- Lacks accountability for budgeting and saving goals
- Fail to seek solutions and professional criticism
- Tend to set ambitious goals that are beyond their limit
- 56.66% utilize personal strategy of their own
Age Group: 26-35
Savings & Risk Management
- Growing priorities impact their budgeting plans
- 6.66% of individuals have no strategy to increase their savings
- Have a similar short term mindset to the 18-25 demographic
Budgeting Financial Information & The Stock Market
- Consider immediate wants more important
- 66.66% have a savings goal that they at least maintain monthly
- Persistent difficulty with budgeting tools that are complex
Age Group: 36-50
Savings & Risk Management
- Struggles with savings only for long term financial goals
- 3/30 individuals consider contingency fund to be important
- Higher expenses in this demographic compared to others
Budgeting Financial Information & The Stock Market
- Mainly considers consulting with an advisor for financial planning
- Does prioritize retirement savings apart of their budget
- 16.66% save after expenses for potential saving strategies
Age Group: 50+
Savings & Risk Management
- Have a stronger capability to track all their expenses
- 23.3% prefer a contingency plan, largest among all demographics
- Effective cognitive abilities to understand complex information
Budgeting Financial Information & The Stock Market
- A strong foundation of financial education
- Emergency Funds are used in times of economic uncertainty
- Savings after expenses as a strategy is 3.33%
Feedback
In addition, research also confirmed that among all demographics 76% don’t have a short or long term budget goal, and 15% only allocate a fixed percentage to savings. This further indicates that there is a significant gap in financial goal-setting and proactive financial planning among all demographics. To address this, our user research is instrumental in crafting a solution that caters to the identified needs and challenges, that address numerous goal categories focusing on product prioritization. With our insights from user interviews, surveys, and analysis we can develop a user-centric financial app, Finada, that caters to the main setbacks in financial goal settings.
- Lack of financial empowerment
- Financial literacy gap
- Lack of confidence
- Limited financial Literacy
- High levels of financial distress
- Inability to adapt to changing financial conditions
- Dissatisfaction with accessibility
Landing on the Solution
Based on the pain points of our potential users, we knew we wanted to work on the following features. We created user stories, and implemented acceptance criterias to land our solution.
We also set KPIs to measure the success of the mobile app. In particular, we will implement a financial confidence rollercoaster metric, using a wheel of emotions provided before and after users use the app. The metric quantifies the improvement in users' confidence levels after engaging with Finada, but with emojis that have quantified ranges.
The calculation would proceed as (Post Finada Emotional Highs - Pre Finada Emotional Lows)/Pre Finada Emotional Lows *100. A high FCR means that our product simplifies complex information but also enhances the well-being of users and provides them with a sense of confidence, and follows the criteria below.
Financial Empowerment: The main goal is to empower individuals, through having access to simplified knowledge and tools so that they can navigate their financial well-being
Create A Decision With Confidence: The product aims to empower users to overcome their feelings of financial stress and overwhelming feelings
Financial Security: Aims to help users better navigate and manage all savings, expenses and financial categories to reduce the insecurity outcome of all financial hardships
Long Term Planning: The product wants to ensure that all users engage in long term financial planning
Improve and Reduce Financial Distress: Product will help users reduce their stress by providing clarity and guidance to managing their finances
Explanation of the Solution
Finada is an app designed to simplify complex financial topics and empower users to make informed financial decisions. Users are able to navigate their financial journey through an intuitive treasure map theme, with the goal of turning financial goals into exciting treasures to uncover. Users are able to budget with ease using the interactive compass tool to guide them towards financial success, in which they can gain expert advice into any personal challenge they encounter by speaking with professionals specializing in the goal they want to achieve. Users can select “Knowledge Gems” along the way to them navigating their financial decisions, this provides them with straightforward financial education to ensure clarity.
Finada is a unique solution as it gamify’s the experience with financial decisions, compared to its competitors. Users are able to engage in periodic treasure hunt challenges to compete against others alongside a leaderboard with rewards, this not only makes personal finance approachable but engaging and rewarding to make financial goals exciting.
User Flow/Mockups
Future Steps
Overall what we learned from speaking with customers is that conversations reveal particular user needs and pain points, and understanding those needs is significant to tailoring products to best meet those needs and prioritize only the features that provide valuable insights. Users want to be able to comprehend how to manage a budget and create one, and want tools that simplify complex financial analytics, and want to be able to receive expert advice and a simple guide with educational resources.
After this enriching experience, I plan to fully execute this proposed product with a team of designers and engineers when applicable resources are made available. As I continue the development of this product, refinement of the value proposition will continue, I want to be able to continue to understand what users find most valuable and refine my proposition of this product to continue to effectively provide higher customer satisfaction levels.
As this product is fully implemented, I plan to regularly monitor my metrics and adjust as needed. Currently, when this product is launched I aim for the following target goals.
- User Engagement Frequency: I aim to achieve at least 15 interactions per week for each user on average
- Percentage of Daily Users: I strive to obtain a daily rate of 50%, enduring that majority of users are interacting with Finada regularly on a daily basis
- Progress Consistency: Over a span of 5 months after the launch, I aim to achieve 80% of a consistency rate, where users achieve their financial goals over a one month period.
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Falhada Farah
Co.Lab was a very interesting experience for me, it has been a continuous learning process. I am amazed by the level of retention, engagement, application and problem solving skills I developed in a span of weeks. I love the support of peer groups that allowed me to identify common challenges in PM topics such as problem statements from other individuals and developed new ones. The validation and inclusiveness of the cohort is amazing, I am now equipped with the diverse expertise to work in cross-functional team settings, with a wide range of diverse skill sets.
- I learned that when framing an effective user research, it's significant to provide detailed responses to questions that avoid a biased response.
- I gained some real valuable insight into industry leaders themselves and this is extremely significant to my learning as I developed the capabilities to become a product manager
- I gained so much valuable insight that helped me draft my research synthesis, with an emphasized focus on customer jobs, in order to actually develop an effective product its first important to understand particular features that actually benefit the customers
Importance of User-Centric Approach: Products should obtain needs and achieve a specific wanted outcome, and this is only possible if one uses a customer centric approach. To achieve a desired product outcome you must first understand the emotional and social aspects that help function job customers. This was really helpful when I was creating my questions for the user interviews, I was able to make sure that my questions would not only entail to the respondent but it would enhance a centric approach where I can obtain an emotional result
Job Mapping: Job mapping identifies unmet opportunities so that you can continue to map out your ideas, and re-examine them. I really loved the learnings that came out of this topic, it helped me become an innovative and driven thinker. Product management is about growth, outcomes of customers are continuously changing and I learned it's ok to have unmet needs, as long as you continue to job map throughout your journey.
Differentiation: It's very important to evaluate your stance in the market place and understand that customers sometimes have alternatives, and this is where customer segmentation comes in. Customer segmentation is important to the needs of the customer instead of demographics.
Importance of a clear spec: A key to an excellent product development process is making a clear spec so that the outcome would be more effective,stakeholder communication for developers and cross-functional teams is very important to a product spec and these strategies help and are important to even developing an effective collaborative technique.
With the extensively wide and dynamic product management field, Co.Lab has provided me with valuable mentorship, guidance and robust learning support systems throughout. These essential resources have significantly enhanced my proficiency and ability in innovating and improving product outcomes. As I progress in my Product Management career, I am enthusiastic about integrating my insights gained from Co.Lab into new cross-functional teams and my professional journey, confident that these insightful learnings will contribute positively to the field I enter.
Designer Learnings:
Designer Learnings:
Jo Sturdivant
- Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
- Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
- Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.
Developer Learnings:
Developer Learnings:
Vanady Beard
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As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.
Developer Learnings:
Stephen Asiedu
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As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.
Developer Learnings:
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Developer Learnings:
Maurquise Williams
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- Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
- Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
- Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.
Developer Learnings:
Jeremiah Williams
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All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key
Developers Learnings:
Justin Farley
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I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.