Mobile App Research & Competitive Analysis

Timeline: 4 Weeks

Additional Team Members:

  • Nina Sclabassi (Project Manager)

  • Marc Delia

My Project Team Roles & Responsibilities:

  • User Interviews & Survey Distribution*

  • Affinity Diagram Mapping*

  • Competitive Analysis Research*

  • Data Synthesis & Prioritization Matrix*

  • User Journey Development & Prospective Use Case Scenario

  • Wireframing

  • Interactive Low-Fidelity Prototype

  • Usability Testing Design*

  • Presentation of Findings & Product*

*Design process covered in this case study

Summary

This project centered around extensive user research and competitive analysis to understand the broader market of mobile app education services.

The objective of this project was to create a product— in this case, a mobile application— that connects individuals with an educational platform. As a design team of three, we ideated and prototyped an app that provides foundational information and learning opportunities around key life management skills— such as understanding personal finances, navigating health insurance, and more. The key research methods we used were user interviews and surveys, competitive analysis, and a consolidation of findings into a prioritization matrix to steer the direction of eventual product ideation and prototyping.

Young adults often feel thrown into the deep end with responsibilities and obligations they may be unfamiliar with how to execute. Matters like navigating insurance, financial literacy and other skills that seem daunting. Despite this, there is an implication that these are “common sense” skills, leaving many young adults feeling isolated and frustrated when it comes to these topics.

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As an additional research methodology aimed at understanding young adult sentiment, a survey was created with various question types to reduce response fatigue. Most respondents were young professionals with varying life management experience, living in or adjacent to metropolitan areas.

One of the key takeaways from this additional approach was that we found that only about 54% of respondents currently have a clearly defined budgeting plan or strategy.

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The four key topics that young adults wanted to better understand were the following:

Financial loan repayments from college/other educational or career development programs

The review process of different car insurance policies, payment options, and affiliated responsibilities

How to read through a lease and other important housing documents to ensure tenant/homeowner rights

How to determine what insurance plan (whether car, medical, etc.) will benefit you most in the long run

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Project Takeaways & Reflections

From initial interviews and research, our team found several vital topics that aren’t explicitly taught to young adults.

Still, reflection on the research and design process spurs thought into additional topics that would be important to provide educational content on. Our usability test showed that features such as an intuitive interface, the use of icons, and the ability to navigate quickly from page to page are highly-valued attributes.

A more comprehensive initial interview process would allow for further clarity on the specific questions and concerns that prospective users may have, making for a more holistic data set.

Creating a visually engaging, gamified and overall gratifying platform to teach young adults invaluable areas of life knowledge is a necessary yet lacking concept.

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Mobile App User Research, Ideation & Low-Fidelity Prototyping