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CLIENT
Cooperative Capital
PLATFORM
Website (Desktop Version)
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DESIGN TEAM
Katherine Chiu, Rachael Allen, Rose Ayala
MY ROLE
UX Research, UX Design
Involved with: Interviews and Synthesis, Persona Creation, Usability Tests, Site Maps, User Flows, Competitive Research, MVP Features, Low-Fi Prototypes, Client Handoff Materials
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MY TOOLS
Sketch, Photoshop, InVision, Google Drive, Trello, Keynote
OVERVIEW
01
PROJECT SCOPE
What is the client's problem space?
Cooperative Capital's goal was to make investing accessible to individuals regardless of financial standing or literacy level. The business would act as an investment resource and channel to let investors choose a local project and make an ROI. However, the client was experiencing difficulties early on with educating interested parties about the fund model and acquiring enough members through signups and referrals in order to launch their first local fund.
Defining the Goals of this Project
We held a stakeholder interview during our project kick-off day given the short design sprint timeline. In order to fulfill the business model and jumpstart the investment process, our client had planned 4 phases of implementation.
Initial Assumption
After coming to an agreement about the client's main blockers, we formulated a statement to guide our user research strategy.
"We believed an informative website landing page and transparent registration process will help people learn about the impact of community equity funding and the goals of Cooperative Capital. This would increase the number of interested parties and subsequently drive interested parties to spread the word about equity funding."
02
RESEARCH
Website Analytic Trends
Our client provided access to Squarespace analytics. It presented quantitative data that informed some qualitative insights. Based on the analytics, we discovered that side retention is low after the Home Page, signifying major problems with the user experience. The data pointed to a greater need for a desktop-first design proposal for our client with mobile iterations in the future.
Competitor/Comparator Analysis
We conducted market research to identify the market and industry in which Cooperative Capital operated. We utilized these following research methods: competitive matrix, business concept comparison and feature analysis with comparators/competitors.
Interview Key Insights
A screener survey was shared to the 200+ individuals who had previously expressed interest in Cooperative Capital's mission. As a team, we filtered through the survey responses to interview 11 people and then synthesized the results through affinity mapping. Below are the 4 major trends we found (hover for more details).
Lack of Credible Data
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9/11
"I'm deterred if I have no interest or don't care about the problem."
(Hover for more info)
3 cups
Flour
Users expressed that investing becomes difficult when they do not have enough credible resources to assess the risks and returns. They were also less likely to invest if the opportunity did not directly affect them or if they did not care for it.
Lack of Credible Data
Financially Literate/Motivated
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8/11
"I manage my own money and have financial goals."
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(Hover for more info)
3 cups
Blueberries
3 cups
Flour
Users described themselves as having moderate to high financial literacy and understanding of personal finances. They had saving methods set in place and were conscious of their spending habits.
Financially Literate/Motivated
Unaware of Community Fund
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9/11
"I haven't heard of it before, is it like crowdfunding?"
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(Hover for more info)
3 cups
Blueberries
Users were unaware of how a community fund model works and how it was different from crowdfunding, peer to peer lending, or impact investing models. They did not know a cooperative private equity fund could even be an investment option.
Unaware of Community Fund
Preferred Low-Risk Options
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10/11
"When I decide to invest I look at risks and return. I don't have a huge risk appetite."
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(Hover for more info)
Users were already invested in familiar or reliable low-risk options. These included retirement accounts, real estate, various funds, and individual stocks. Users would invest either for themselves or for family members to profit from it.
Preferred Low Risk Options
03
DEFINE
Persona Generation: Who is the user?
These key findings from the 11 interviews were combined into this profile that represented Cooperative Capital's user base.
The Design Challenge: What are we solving for?
Local residents are more likely to engage in Cooperative Capital's cooperative private equity fund if they are presented with credible sources and measurable data. They want to make investments that can provide a reliable return and they know improvements in their community can't be made without financial support. However, the information they find is not always relevant to their current financial knowledge and goals.
How might Cooperative Capital:
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Guide interested investors like Jennifer to invest in a fund that will directly impact their community and provide a reliable ROI?
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Encourage them to also refer others to make promising investments within their community?
Usability Testing
After gaining a better understanding of our users, we screened for people to conduct a round of usability testing with on the current Cooperative Capital website. We tested 4 users in total and documented our findings through a report and recordings.
Information Architecture
Aside from coupling website analytics with usability testing results of the current website, I utilized IAD for more qualitative and quantitative research synthesis. I conducted an analysis of the current website's information architecture to further help us understand the user's journey. This helped us identify key problems areas that needed to be addressed in the next design phase.
Jennifer
"Serving the community is as important as building your own interests."
35 years old / She/Her / Researcher - Bachelors Degree / Lansing, MI
Jennifer is a dedicated professional who decided to take a research job in Detroit. She's been living in the city for about 10 years and has developed friendships with locals and her neighbors. Jennifer is aware that the community she lives in needs support and spends her weekends helping at a local non-profit. While she has a retirement account from her employer, Jennifer still wants other reliable investment opportunities.
GOALS
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Find a reliable way to grow her financial assets while positively impacting on her community
CHALLENGES
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Finding credible financial resources and understanding financial terminology
BEHAVIORS
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Seeks financial advice from trusted sources within her social circles, online forums, media (podcasts) and books
NEEDS
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Low-risk investment opportunities
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More community support for the causes she's involved with
04
IDEATION
Prioritizing Features For MVP
In order to determine what features were necessary, we had to keep in mind both the users' and business's needs. We used the Moscow Mapping method to formalize a list of key features to be integrated into our minimum viable product. We then continued to synthesis those features into the context of use and how they would sit within the users' journey.
Comparative Website Feature Analysis
Further research on effective website designs from Cooperative Capital's comparators (financial and crowdfunding sectors).
Low-Fidelity Prototype:
We employed the "Crazy 8" technique towards paper prototype development. The timed sessions allowed us to produce low-fidelity paper versions of our core concepts. It was also a great opportunity to communicate actionable feedback.
05
THE SOLUTION
How did the proposed design improve user experience?
The onboarding experience improved after re-organizing the IA, applying best practices for visual representation, and revising copywriting and imagery. Users new to the website and the fund model could easily digest information and feel supported in their journey through each page. The addition of a referral system on a media kit page also represented the business's goals to provides a means for campaign/grassroots-style information sharing.
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06
DELIVER DESIGN
Deliverables To Our Client:
While our client did not have a developer for us to conduct hand-offs with, our open communication minimized confusion about the final proposal. Since our client was either traveling or in Detroit during the 2-week design sprint, we had to utilize communication tools to involve the stakeholder in our research and design process.
07
REFLECTIONS
Client Management Requires Adaptability
Our client did not have a full understanding of the UX process or its relative value at first. However, through maintaining open conversation about questions and feedback our client was able to develop a greater understanding over the sprint cycle.
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Approaching an Unfamiliar Industry/Problem Space
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How can I still design a great user experience for an industry I don't know much about?
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Follow best practices
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Conduct stakeholder interviews - speak with people who are familiar with the industry or service.
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Do a thorough competitive analysis.
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Understand the user's journey and challenges.
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How can I get up to speed about this problem space?
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Read, research, communicate and ask questions.
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