Project introduction

This was a 7-week senior-level project that focused on using real-world insights to create a compelling user/customer experience. During this time, I was in charge of conducting user research, wireframing and creating interactable prototypes. Simplii Learn is a platform under Simplii Financial, an online bank, that helps newcomers coming into Canada to feel financially confident.

RESEARCH

Insights that started the project

Through research, the team discovered that many immigrants had trouble adjusting to the Canadian financial landscape through these two insights:

INSIGHT ONE

The financial pressures

Newcomers often feel overwhelmed, worried, and confused when learning to navigate the Canadian banking system.

INSIGHT TWO

Credit invisibility

In general, newly landed immigrants are likely to have very low credit visibility due to their lack of credit history.

Who are our newcomers?

The team also discovered that according to Statistica, in 2022 the number of newcomers between the age of 15 to 39 was 327,572. Among the group, a huge portion of the number newcomers coming into Canada were between the ages 20 to 34. Notably, the age range also belongs to generations that are the most adept with technology and likely to technology.

Finding the right bank

Finding the right medium to help newcomers transition into Canada is crucial because their choice of financial institution significantly impacts their experience. For 85% of newcomers, the first Canadian bank they choose remains their primary financial institution for the first five years.

After thorough research into what each financial institution offers, the team chose Simplii Financial, a Canadian online banking service under the ownership of CIBC, for the following reasons:

1. Apply early

Newcomers are able to setup an account with Simplii Financial a year prior to arrival.

2. Online Bank

Younger adults are more likely to be app-centric and are comfortable banking online.

3. Full Banking Service

Unlike other online banks and institutions, Simplii Financial offers mortgage setup, personal lines of credit, and loans.

Business value vs. Customer value

One of the goals of this project was create value for not just the newcomers but also for the business. So a question we asked ourselves was: What kind of product would be beneficial for the newcomers but also profitable and valuable to Simplii Financial.

FRAMING

"How might Simplii Financial create a compelling experience for the working group of immigrants to help them to build financial confidence and security in Canada?"

IDEATION

To help us quickly defining problems, generate ideas, prototype and then test with customers, we framed our project to align with the Google Design Sprint timeline and methods.

Day 1

Sprint questions

To begin our sprint, the team asked each other the following questions and tried to answered them:
‍
Q1. Why are we doing this project?
A: Reduce cognitive overload for immigrants to learn about credit score, reduce the learning curve and create more new loyal customers.
‍
Q2. What do we want to answer in this sprint?
A: We want to understand our target audience more. (ex. needs, wants). Also we want to understand where the struggles happen.
‍
Q3. To meet our long-term goals, what has to be true?
A: Discoverable to immigrants before coming into Canada, accessible and wanting to stay in Canada.
‍
Q4. Imagine if we end up failing the project, what would be the cause?
A: Not understanding the struggles, needs and wants of immigrants and too hard and confusing to use (content and UI).
‍

Mapping

The purpose of this map was to consolidate the team's understanding of the process of a newcomer starting their credit journey with Simplii Financial.

Too many deals, offers and rewards

An insight that emerged from from mapping the customer and Simplii Financial's journey was identifying that financial institutes are constantly competing against each other with better deals, services, credit cards and rewards. So what can Simplii Financial do to stand out other than competing with available deals while creating value to newcomers?

Interactive educational experience

Inspired by Duolingo, the design team gamified learning about credit in Canada, creating a platform for newcomers to build financial confidence. The platform also aims to increase financial confidence for newcomers while providing Simplii Financial with opportunities to pitch their services and offers.

Day 2

Sketching ideas

For day 2 of the sprint, the team individually looked for ideas elsewhere and sketched their ideas on paper. After which the team looked decided what ideas were worth pursuing.‍

The three ways

The team liked these three approaches to educating newcomers coming into Canada:

1. Big picture

Enable customers to see the bigger picture of the credit system, leading them to making good financial decisions that align with their goals.

2. Ongoing engagement

A way for customers to look back at the information they have learned for ongoing engagement.

3. Real-life examples

Help customers easily understand the difference between concepts like, good credit and bad credit by showing real examples.

Day 3

Deciding

On this day, the team decided to take an exploratory approach to the educational platform by using a microsite. Additionally, they determined the essential information needed on the site to be most beneficial to newcomers. Many of the ideas came from a precedent study on how they displayed information and hid information.

Day 4

Prototyping the idea

The idea of the microsite is so newcomers can view information without having to read too much but simply explore through through the site. At the end of the microsite, they are met with other financial topics that are important.

Day 5

Testing

We tested the microsite with 9 recent newcomers and received considerable data. I have compiled data and have shown the ones that are worth mentioning.

Navigational issues

Participants had trouble navigating through the information due to the horizontal scroll. Most participants suggested exploring a vertical approach.

Obvious information

Information lack depth and often participants new of the fact. Therefore, participants felt after the interview that they feel like they would not have made better financial decisions.

Hard to look back on

The nature of a microsite and bad navigation led participants struggle looking back on information they would like to look again.

No connection to the bank

Although the microsite allowed users to explore various financial topics, it struggled to create a strong connection to the bank due to significant branding disparity.

FINALIZING

Creating a product with what we know now

With little time remaining, the team pivoted from the microsite approach to a more functional design, incorporating interactive elements to retain the essence of exploration and discovery. Newcomers are now available to access Simplii Learn through the main site.

Interactive elements

We wanted to retain the interactive elements from the microsite, enabling users to actively engage with the content rather than just reading it. This approach helps make the learning experience more dynamic and encourages users to explore the material in a more hands-on way.

Simplii stories

We aimed to create relatability and empathy by sharing newcomer stories and their financial journeys. These stories, ranging from successes to failures, offer insights and help newcomers connect with the experiences of others.

Debunking misconceptions

The team looked at some of the misconceptions many newcomers have when navigating through the Canadian financial landscape. Therefore, this provided us the opportunity to debunk those myths to help newcomers avoid any financial confusions.

Banking offers and services

To create value for Simplii Financial, we added call-to-action elements about credit card options, allowing newcomers to click through for more information.

Language friendly

The team identified the most common languages spoken by newcomers to Canada and integrated these languages into the platform to create a smoother, more accessible experience.

Responsive for mobile devices

Our research indicated that immigrants often use social media to find information, making it a valuable entry point. To accommodate this, we decided to offer Simplii Learn on mobile, giving newcomers the flexibility to access the platform on their preferred devices.

CONCLUSION

Reflection

This was a project that made me think about what experience design is all about. How can we take real-world insights and problems and turn them into a valuable solution? What kind of value are we able to give our users but also give value to the business providing the product or service? These were the questions that were mulled over throughout the course of this project and will continue to with projects in the future.

What I would do differently next time

‍1. Be more decisive.
Being decisive saves time, but the team often struggled with making decisions, spending too much time debating which ideas were better. The group frequently found itself evenly split, leading to difficulties in reaching a consensus.
‍
2. Set responsibilities for each person on the group.
Setting responsibilities means everyone's roles are more clear as to who does what.
‍
3. Talk to professionals and newcomers more early on before prototyping an idea.
Our initial microsite prototype was based on assumptions about newcomers' knowledge of the Canadian financial landscape. Learning early on from actual newcomers and professionals would have led us to provide more relevant information for Simplii Financial.