Bill Wise
AI-powered subscription management tool that helps save money
Project Role and Responsibilities
Solo UX and UI designer of the project
UX research: secondary research, competitor analysis, affinity mapping
UX and UI design: sketching, wireframing, prototyping, usability testing.
Context
June 2023 - July 2023
Personal project for Springboard bootcamp
Tools: Figma
Overview
In the digital age, ubiquitous subscriptions, from streaming to shopping, pose challenges in managing recurring payments, leading to financial strain and hindered personal finance management.
To address this problem, the project aimed to create a mobile application that would simplify subscription management.
As a solution, I developed an app that offers insightful notifications and provides personalized money-saving tips. Key features included a single-dashboard view and AI-powered insights.
Project Objective
Bill Wise aims to expand its market share by introducing a mobile version of its subscription tracking product. The company seeks to develop a mobile app that provides users with a comprehensive expense view, auto-renewal notifications, and the ability to unsubscribe from active subscriptions.
Goal:
Develop a mobile tool that offers a comprehensive view of recurring expenses, timely auto-renewal notifications, and convenient subscription management, ensuring users can easily track and optimize their subscriptions on the go.
Constrains:
Limited information on the problem the product solves, its target audience, and brand personality.
Project time limit: 90 hours.
Solution
Simplified subscription management
Users can track recurring bills and free trials with a single-dashboard view.
The app ensures informed decisions and effective subscription management by providing price increase and promo indications.
Empowering insights and notifications
Bill Wise helps unlock AI-powered insights with interactive statistics and graphs.
Personalized notifications ensure users are always in control of subscription renewals and free trial decisions.
Saving money with personalized tips
Users receive tailored money-saving tips based on their spending habits that allow them to lower expenses and avoid unnecessary costs.
Research Methodology
To reach the goal, I had to thoroughly comprehend two crucial concepts:
how people manage their subscriptions and recurring bills, including methods of tracking and users’ pain points.
the level of satisfaction users have with existing solutions in the market.
Taking into account the project constraints and the above-mentioned, I devised the following:
Secondary research. I conducted research and explored the problems people experience with currently available subscription tracking apps.
Competitive analysis and user reviews. I analyzed three mobile subscription trackers, their functionalities, strengths and weaknesses, as well as their user reviews.
Survey. Through a survey, I investigated the reasons behind people avoiding mobile subscription trackers and concurrently gathered insights on the desired features for a potential product.
Research Insights
Secondary research
At this stage I realized that people do experience problems with subscription tracking:
According to the Chase survey 56 % of the participants mentioned that recurring payments are a hassle to track and that on average it takes them about three months to cancel unneeded subscriptions.
C+R research shows that Americans often spend significantly more than anticipated on subscription services each month due to underestimating the actual expenses involved.
Again, according to C+R Research, 74% of respondents report that it is easy for them to forget about their recurring monthly subscription payments, and 42% of those surveyed admitted that they had stopped using some subscriptions but had forgotten to unsubscribe from them.
Competitive analysis
Rocket Money
Tilla
SubX
After analyzing these mobile subscription trackers, I've made the following observations:
Observation
There are 2 ways to add subscriptions: automatic (linking bank account or credit card) and manual. Mobile apps typically utilize only one of these methods.None of the apps gives enough information about price updates or other changes with the user’s subscriptions. The mobile apps either display visual statistics on overall spending including all other expenses or omit graphs entirely.Opportunity for differentiation
By integrating both observed methods, users will have the convenience of choice at their disposal.Giving users valuable information to make timely decisions.Giving visual insights about subscription spending habits.Survey
The primary insight I got was that while many people face issues tracking subscriptions, they are reluctant to add another mobile app to their devices. Additionally, they hesitate to share personal financial information solely for subscription tracking. This highlights the demand for a new, more valuable tool to address these concerns.
User Persona
Wireframes
*Note: for the best experience please view this section on laptop device instead of mobile.
Style Guide
In developing the style guide for this project, my objective was to mirror the brand's personality as a caring and trustworthy friend dedicated to saving money for the users. The chosen color palette creates a casual and friendly atmosphere, while the simplicity of forms and omission of unnecessary details allow users to focus on their primary tasks.
Usability Test
Two rounds of usability testing revealed several areas for improvement. Here are three major changes:
Emphasizing protection of user information
Users expressed concerns about the security and safeguard of their financial information during the onboarding stage. To address this issue, I provided additional information about Bill Wise safety measures.
Changing the home screen
During the second round of the usability test, I realized that allowing the users to see and access all their subscription expenses provided more value than the calendar view. This led me to swap the screens.
Highlighting the results
Users expressed a desire for a clear monthly expense summary. In response, I created a new tab offering this summary, presenting spending from different angles and highlighting savings from Bill Wise tips. Subsequent to the second round of testing, here are the changes made to the Summary tab.
Conclusion
Things I learned:
Respecting the time constraint. This project highlighted my difficulty in tracking time and adhering to micro deadlines, despite being proficient at meeting hard deadlines. It emphasized the importance of choosing the right tools and methods and remaining adaptable to adjustments when time is limited.
Avoiding a scope creep. This project taught me the importance of maintaining firm project boundaries while still empathizing with users. I'll strive to be more cautious with scope management in future endeavors.
Conducting additional rounds of usability testing. I believe that conducting additional rounds of usability testing is essential for this project to validate the alignment of implemented changes with user needs. While the project is finished, I recognize opportunities for improvement. I wish I had more time to implement them.