Project Overview
- I interned at Firma, a design agency as a UX (intern) designer.
- I was responsible for creating a digital loan process for a bank in Israel. While making the process, I learned about the Firma’s UX team's methods, processes, and research stages.
- The project's primary objective was to collaboratively establish a 'Double Diamond' process in partnership with Firma's UX team, enabling us to immerse ourselves in, learn from, and develop an authentic UX methodology.
Tal Solomon • Head of the UX program @ MTA
“A project with a lot of investment. The process itself is high quality, short, and efficient. I appreciate the experience and effort, a very successful prototype came out, well done!”
Discovery • Competitors & User Research
Stage 1 - Competitor research
Our initial step involved seeking out existing knowledge related to digital loans. Our research approach began with exploratory research, starting with competitor analysis, followed by a deep dive into user research. This comprehensive approach allowed us to gain a holistic understanding of the digital loan landscape prior to engaging with platform users.
We received several instructions for this phase:
- Constructing research questions.
- What are the most common platforms for taking a digital loan?
- How many and what are the steps in the digital loan procedure at the various banks?
- Mapping of direct and indirect competitors.
- Collecting materials and sorting them according to the research questions.
- Extracting insights from the collected information and presenting them.
The competitors
Banks in Israel are considered our direct competitors, while Israeli non-banking credit companies serve as our indirect competitors.
Insights
Clarity and Certainty
- Initial screen with a clear process overview, user progress indication, and a detailed step summary.
Streamlined Steps
- Digital loan processes should save time while maintaining balance: not too short (suspicious) or overly lengthy (tedious).
Building Trust
- Clear guidance through tooltips, toggles, and concise yet detailed copy.
Stage 2 - User research
Following in-depth competitor research on digital loans, we moved to user interviews. Collaborating with Firma's UX team, we prepared targeted questions, selected participants, conducted interviews, and extracted key insights. Using a qualitative approach, we focused on understanding loan processes and behaviors, whether digital or traditional.
Define•Findings & Conclusions
User Research Insights
- Emergency Situations: Users often seek loans for urgent needs, such as addressing deficits, settling debts, or making various essential purchases.
- Instant Digital Loans: Users are drawn to instant digital loans primarily due to the convenience, speed, and ease they offer.
- Calculative Approach: Interviewees revealed a tendency to be calculated and plan loans well in advance.
- Preference for Banks: Users expressed a preference for obtaining loans from their own banks over alternative platforms.
Persona
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Stage 3 - User Flow
We created the User Flow together with explanations for the flow stages.
under each element, we added a note whose purpose is to explain the Flow - its location and the rationale behind it (decisions based on the research we have done).
Design & Deliver•Solution
Stages Fourth and Fifth -screens design and presentation of an initial concept
To facilitate the planning and execution of screen creation, we segmented each decision, choice, and screen from our User Flow individually. Below each, we detailed the specific elements and content that would be featured at that particular stage or screen, ensuring a seamless and comprehensive user experience.
Below these elements, we incorporated competitor screen examples (with photos) for inspiration and as a reference to apply the insights from our competitor and user research. for example:
Screens
Challenges
1. Terminology: Initially, the unfamiliar terminology and financial concepts in the world of loans posed a hurdle, making it challenging to immerse ourselves in this domain.
2. Competitor Research: While conducting competitor research on various platforms, we couldn't complete the process by actually taking a 'real' loan. As a result, we lacked insight into the final stages of obtaining a digital loan from different competitors.
3. User Research: User research in the context of loans presented its own set of difficulties. The topic was sensitive and personal, leading some participants to withhold certain details during interviews. This hesitancy may have prevented us from fully understanding their genuine pain points. Additionally, conducting remote interviews via Zoom posed a potential obstacle to building trust on such a personal and sensitive subject.