Overview

Through insights across our company, it has come to our attention that predicting future stock performance and overall insights could offer a huge value to our clients. Seeing and wanting to get the best out if this opportunity, we envision a user-centric trading tool leveraging stock predictions. This tool empowers users to trade shares, identify trends, and receive personalized suggestions based on predictive models. A lot of possibilities are on our radar. The solution will accommodate companies and professionals overseeing client portfolios, expand its scope to individuals with an interest in investments or other business ventures. Our main goal and focus is to improve user experience in stock trading and investment, bringing the overall satisfaction to new levels.

Thought Process - Understand Phase

First things first, let’s dig in the whole thought process behind our tool.

User research is the cornerstone of user experience design. It’s the process to uncover the user’s goals, needs and struggles. For the first part I’ve decided to use a 2-Step method that includes interviews and surveys which provided a massive understanding to our target audience. Besides this modus operandi we also start to analyze existing market research (especially investor behaviors) and collaborate efficiently with the Product Manager, Engineers and Data Scientists (importance of the predictive models available)

User Interviews & Surveys

Together with the team we tried to find and tailor the question in such maner that the insights and findings would help shape the best solution possible. Our pool of core users were between 20-55 years old with different social and educational background. These were moderated interviews on Zoom and Teams.

To summarize it all up:

The user's journey, due to dissatisfaction with the current platforms, develops from frustration to discovery. Technical difficulties and navigational roadblocks could be seen as our opportunities.
The tool's solid desire for an in-depth educational experience is reflected in its wish for a learning boot camp. This means that we will create more than just a trading platform; it's a search for a traveling buddy who can relate, share knowledge, and adapt your lifestyle without any issues.

Core user groups

After all the informations we gathered with the interviews and surveys the core user groups started to shape a lot clearer and also gave us a good understanding of the real needs.

I’ve identified 4 core groups that could help us further: Begginer/Novice investors, Experienced investors, Risk takers, Constantly Learning.

User personas

I’ve decided to create two user personas as shown bellow. The main engagement was to deliver a clear and concise path for us to guide the product’s features.
In my process I’ve found out that in the lack of in-depth and relevant informations about the users, creating the personas is a big and dangerous loop hole.
It was essential to consider the real needs of the user and take account of the autenthicity and relevance of the data that went into creating them. To guarantee that personas continue to accurately reflect the shifting user landscape, frequent updates and validation using real user feedback are essential.

Competitor analysis

The team moved forward with a in-depth analysis of our tool’s direct competitors.
But why is this analysis important? Because it offers insight into how other platforms approach user-centric design. Examining the interfaces, navigation, and general user experience of other companies can reveal successful patterns, discover fresh features and functionalities as well as potential risks.

From a UX viewpoint, competitive analysis gives essential information for improving TradeWave's design, learning from industry best practices, and introducing unique features leading to a greater user experience. It acts as a guideline, directing UX strategy to fit with user expectations and market trends.

We managed to discover 3 strong competitors: TradingView, RobinHood, and Yahoo Finance.

Validating solutions

After we collected all the data, I’ve setted up meetings with the stakeholders to validate the core groups and personas. One problem was rising, that of the real and true need of a bootcamp within our tool. The reason behind that besides the strict budget and timeline of the project was the fact that one could argue why isn’t the user search/learn anywhere else on the web.
I’ve stood my ground debating the real needs of the majority, users like our persona “Sarah” would embrace and feel more confident and also engaged after a learning curve inside the tool. Also my reasoning was that It's not only about providing knowledge, it's also about being available to them when they need it the most.
Strategic thinking and making a product that is user-centric is probably the most important aspect when creating one, especially when talking about finance.

After putting together the ideas, we started creating low fidelity wireframes and high-fidelity prototypes because it would serve two purposes. Low-fidelity wireframes allow for rapid design iteration and early user feedback while fostering a user-centric approach. In contrast, high-fidelity prototypes replicate real user interactions, allowing for a more complete evaluation of the user experience. These designs work together to provide a well-informed and developed design that easily matches with user demands and expectations.

Impact

TradeWave has not only met but exceeded expectations. The tool's success is determined by its significant influence on user's lives. It is proof that a user-centered design and a commitment to ongoing development can provide a digital environment that is more than just functional, actually, it can become a vital partner on every user's journey toward financial empowerment. TradeWave is a breakthrough in online trading that puts the needs of the user first.