UX CASE STUDY
UX Lead
6 weeks
Finance
When a new user opens up Trust Bank's app they are bombarded with a long list of boring tasks to complete.
Opening deposit (must be made within 60 days)
Subscribe to financial Insights
Verify personal information
Set up alerts
Set up direct deposit
Ordering debit cards
Ordering checks
Enroll in Bill pay
Manage balance (for promotional offers)
Customizing dashboard
Paperless enrollment
Enroll in personal finance management features
Enroll in Zelle
Enroll in Credit score reporting
Here's what the users said:
We improved this onboarding process by simplifying these tasks and giving users more control over the process.
Rather than overwhelming users by presenting all tasks together, we provide a flexible process which allows them to complete tasks at to their convenience while following the security and compliance guidelines.
The design process was divided into smaller phases each done over the period of two weeks.
empathizing with the users
defining the problem
ideation & critique
wireframes & prototyping
iteration and user testing
After consulting with the stakeholders, we categorized the list of tasks in the order of importance.
We went through onboarding processes of other apps and how they tackled completion of tasks. Some of them were Robinhood, Chime, Google Pay and Cred. We noticed a few patterns and repetitions of ideas like combining of similar tasks, option to skip on every step (to reduce friction) and progress indicators.
We brainstormed a lot of ideas and critiqued them with the team. After critiquing, we finalized the top two ideas that best aligned with the stakeholders' requirements.
1. Temperament assessment of the user: Giving a small task first and presenting more tasks on completion.
Just because a user completes a small task doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll continue completing more. For instance, a user might add their preferred contact method, thinking it’s a quick, simple step. But if they’re then asked to verify their identity with something like their SSN or ID, it can break their momentum and lead to a drop-off.
2. Presenting tasks based on their complexity (number of steps)
This wasn't ideal as not all steps carry equal weight. For example verifying your number and email ID could be counted as two steps while visiting the bank to submit documents is just one. But it involves significantly more effort and friction. So, we considered task complexity, not just quantity when designing user flows.
To address the individual flaws of both solutions, we decided to combine them so they could complement each other effectively.
In the new onboarding flow we present a few small but important tasks first, then give them an option to continue or skip and fill the less important details later.
Based on their responses, the app tailors the onboarding experience by showing tasks that match the user's preferences. Users can also skip any task at any point during onboarding.
Later, the app gently reminds them about any skipped tasks through in-app notifications, encouraging them to complete those.
In the final solution, we took a dynamic approach where users first see only the mandatory tasks at the start of onboarding, and are then asked about their preferences.
Since this was an academic project, we could only test the prototype with a small group, limiting the feedback we received.
Since, we didn’t have access to performance data from the original onboarding flow, we couldn’t compare it with our prototype.
So, we focused on an iterative process, conducting 3 rounds of testing and refinement. Using the feedback, we fixed usability issues and improved the user flow.
Even with limited testing and no benchmark data, we saw clear improvements in task completion times and error rates which helped us validate our design decisions.
No design is perfect, and with limited time, resources and knowledge, some aspects were not fully considered.
Since we tested on a Figma prototype, users didn’t need to enter credentials or wait for verification codes, which reduced their effort. There was also little to no delay after clicking buttons to save preferences or move forward, lowering cognitive load.
In the future, we could introduce randomized delays in the prototype to better simulate a real app experience during user testing.
Currently, all tasks are still shown one after another with the option to skip, which adds several screens before users can access the app.
This could be addressed by using dynamic, count-based timing for tasks and sending reminders via SMS or email based on how users interact with the app. For example, if a user frequently transfers money, the app could suggest enrolling in Zelle.
