Methods
User-Centered Design, User Interviews, Competitive Research, Feature Analysis, Competitive Matrix, Product Research, Affinity Mapping, User Archetype, Site Mapping, Design Studio, Sketching, Wireframes, Agile Scrum, Prototyping, Usability Testing, High Fidelity Mockups


Tools
Figma, Sketch, InVision, Canva, Miro, Adobe Creative Cloud
Team
Matt Lillis
Seo Young Oh
Gabriel Molina
My Role
UX Researcher
UX Designer



From the Solipay website; 
“Solipay is changing the ecosystem around consumer data by providing payment for high-frequency, high-quality, passively generated data delivered via Google Cloud Platform.”
The goal of Solipay is to allow users to collect, control and sell their data to data-buyers.
We researched eight competitors in the data-sharing market. Competitive research allowed us to see the opportunity space that makes Solipay unique in the passive data-sharing market and it also helped us to discover the types of features and designs that users of data-sharing apps expect to see. We used the research to create a Competitive Matrix and Feature Analysis.
The research process was interesting because the client gave us a list of over 20 users to schedule interviews but only 3 people from the pool of users responded to initial requests for interviews. Our team decided that we would pivot from creating a user persona to creating a user archetype. We created an online screener survey to find additional users of the Solipay app, created a discussion guide and conducted the interviews. 

From our interviews we know that Solipay users:
-are looking for more passive income.
-expect good customer service.
-want a clear and friendly design.
-think public social features aren't necessary but will share with friends.
-generally see apps as tools to make life more convenient.


When it comes to data, Solipay users:
-want to learn more information about data collection / sharing.
-want control of their data and how it's being used.
-don’t mind sharing data because it's already being shared on other platforms.
-want to know specifically what data Solipay is collecting.
People are aware their data is being collected by the apps they use, but don't know how they can benefit from it directly.

Digital natives are always looking for opportunities to raise their income passively, especially if it involves something they already do. However, they won't participate in something that feels "suspect".
How might we demonstrate the monetary benefit of sharing data while ensuring they can trust the platform with sensitive information?

We designed a user Archetype based on interviews, user demographics provided by Solipay and our own user research. The Archetype of the typical Solipay user was designed to better understand user needs and to focus our design studios. Through the creation of the archetype we found that Solipay users are less interested in social features and more interested in the potential for passive income from data sharing. The pain point with the app stemmed from the users not understanding the types of data being collected. Through the creation of the user archetype we knew that we had to change direction from designing a new social feature, to improving the transparency of the app. 
We applied UX best practices based on competitive research and heuristics. Based on our research we designed onboarding screens with a tutorial about how the app works and improved the text copy in the app to be more informative. The new design was a great success with our testers and the users now felt more comfortable sharing their data with the app.
Design Studio 
We identified the key expected functions of the app with a MoSCoW map and we quickly sketched and iterated new designs for the Data Permissions and Offers pages in the Solipay mobile app.

A sketch of a new Permissions page design.

A sketch illustrating app navigation design.

Mid-Fidelity wireframes
After a quick test of the low fidelity sketches we began creating mid-fidelity wireframes to prototype and test.  We focused on bringing trustworthiness to the Solipay app by designing a tutorial onboarding process. 
We added clarifying text to two main landing pages of the app; the Permissions and the Offers pages. We also replaced the hamburger menu with a nav bar to provide the user-friendly experience of having all the pages available to the users throughout the app. ​​​​​​​
Usability Testing Mid-Fidelity
We performed one round of usability testing with five users for the mid-fidelity design.  Users appreciated the simplicity of the onboarding process but needed more clarity on the control they have over their data. Users expressed concerns that the word “banking” made them concerned that bank account data is being kept by the Solipay app (rather than their "purchase history" data). 
Hi-Fidelity
Using insights we gained in mid-fidelity testing, we created a high-fidelity design. For the high-fidelity we gave the on-boarding screens more concise descriptions of the data being collected.  We changed the name from “Banking” to “Purchasing” to more accurately convey the type of information being collected. We also linked the Permissions page to the Data page so that users could quickly see how much data is being collected when toggling the data sharing permissions.
Usability Testing Hi-Fidelity
The first task: create an account and go through the onboarding process.
The second task: get some new offers by turning on data sharing permissions.
All users successfully completed the tasks. 4 of 5 turned on permissions first; one user wanted to click around before feeling comfortable turning on permissions. All users accepted offers; some clicked to find out more about what they were accepting.  
We found that the users would like to have some additional information on why companies are buying their data & why they received the offer.
Next Steps
Adaptations from Hi-Fi Testing:
Revisiting Offer copy - What do users need to know?
Adding a transaction history to the balance page - When was your last payout, how much, etc.
Possible Feature Integrations:
A dedicated Home Page
A social feed - Think Venmo's feed
Alternative methods & forms of payment
CashApp
Cryptocurrency

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