Usability Testing Study · Financial Services Company · 2023
10
Participants
9
Tasks Tested
3
Metrics Measured
18–45
Participant Age Range
Overview
A moderated usability testing study evaluating the new design of a mobile payment application before launch. The goal was to measure how easily and intuitively users could complete key tasks, and to identify critical usability issues that — if left unaddressed — would have caused significant drop-off in production.
Research Goal
Evaluate how simple and usable the new design of the mobile payment application is for real users across a range of core tasks — and identify what needed to change before the app could go live.
Research Approach
Format — In-person moderated sessions combining interview and usability testing
Participants — 10 participants, ages 18–45, mix of existing and non-existing app users
Session duration — 10 to 20 minutes per session
Tasks — 9 tasks covering core app functions
Metrics Measured
Error Rate
Ratio of failed tasks across all users
Time on Task
Average time spent completing each task
Effort Score (CES)
User-rated difficulty per task (1 = very easy, 5 = very hard)
Tasks Tested
Pay a utility bill using 3 different paths
Pay a city cleaning fee using 3 different paths
Change app language to English
Add a service to favorites
Remove a service from favorites
Transfer money by phone number
Subscribe to notifications
Request money
Copy account number
Key Findings
Home Page
The oversized card component was mistaken for a promotional banner by most participants and ignored entirelyMajor
Categories displayed directly on the home screen would significantly reduce navigation frictionObservation
The offers and promotions section created visual clutter and competed for attention with core functionsObservation
Transfers, payments, and requests worked better as a unified space rather than three separate sectionsObservation
Bottom menu icons without text labels were consistently misidentified by participantsMajor
Too many menu items created confusion — participants struggled to find the right sectionMajor
Reducing the menu to 4 sections would improve discoverability: Home, Transfer & Request, Transactions, TemplatesObservation
Utility Payments
Search was the most successful path — fast, intuitive, and completed without errorsObservation
The payment path via the bottom menu completely failed across all participantsCritical
Showing the last payment or template when entering a utility provider would improve task completion speedObservation
The extra step of selecting a service after choosing a provider was unnecessary and created confusionMajor
Favorites
Saving only a service name proved insufficient — participants needed subscriber numbers and balance saved tooMajor
The process of adding to favorites was too complex and failed across all participantsCritical
The swipe-to-delete gesture for removing favorites was not discoverableCritical
Favorites functionality needed to extend to transfer contacts, not just servicesObservation
Money Transfer
Transfer via the main button was completed successfully by all participantsObservation
Transfer via the bottom menu completely failed — the path was not discoverableCritical
The "Card to card transfer" label caused consistent confusion — participants did not understand what it referred toMajor
Card balance should be visible during the transfer flow to support decision-makingMajor
Money Request
The money request feature was completely undiscoverable through the bottom menuCritical
The icon was not intuitive — participants could not identify its functionMajor
Card selection on the amount entry screen confused participants — they mistook it for selecting the recipient's cardMajor
Account & Card Page
The "IBAN" label was unfamiliar — participants consistently responded better to "Account Number"Major
Participants expected to see card balance on the card details page — its absence was a repeated pain pointMajor
A unified transaction view with filters across multiple cards would better match how participants think about their financesObservation
Key Recommendations
Card size reduced
Participants consistently mistook the full-width card for a promotional banner
Text labels on all bottom navigation icons
Icons alone were not self-explanatory
Last payment or template shown in utility flow
Removes unnecessary steps and speeds up task completion
Transfer and Request merged into one section
Their separation caused complete task failure
Favorites updated to save full payment details
Saving service name only had no practical value
"IBAN" replaced with "Account Number"
The technical label was unfamiliar to participants
Card balance shown during payment and transfer flows
Its absence caused confusion and hesitation
Bottom menu reduced to 4 items
Current structure had too many competing options
Success notifications moved to bottom with auto-dismiss
Top placement was frequently missed
Redundant service selection step removed
Provider selection was sufficient
UX writer collaboration recommended
Copy and label issues were present across multiple flows
Outcome
This research study had a direct impact on the product. The application had critical usability failures across multiple core flows — the money request feature was completely undiscoverable, key navigation paths had 100% error rates, and several labels and interactions caused consistent confusion among participants. Had the app gone to production without this research, it would have faced significant user drop-off and a poor experience at launch.
My findings and recommendations were taken on board by the product and design team, who used them to address the identified issues before release. The research effectively prevented a flawed launch and ensured the application went live in a significantly improved state.