Problem
Exploratory research involved investigating practices of those who micromanage their money and their choice of tools and services, and mining their interactions to find positive aspects of the experience. Directed storytelling and competitive analysis revealed that these customers enjoy feeling in control and feeling smart.

Approach
During synthesis the focus was to capture the emotional as well of the functional user needs in the design, and these were captured in a moodboard and a persona. The iterative design process involved revisiting expert and novice users to validate the wireframes and flows.

Solution
The design is a service that personalizes monthly bill paying by situating it in context—with not only financial goals, but also experience and life goals. First, the system provides personalized breakdown of purchases based on categories generated dynamically, depending on the breadth of charges. Second, charges are also grouped by experiences by pulling holidays and scheduled events from digital personal calendars. As a result of presenting past expenses as events, the system suggests customers revisit memories to reflect on spending decisions.

Collaborators
Sushmita Subramanian and Daniel Weiss. Advised by John Zimmerman.

Design Methods
Directed Storytelling, Personas, Wireframes, Concept Validation, Iterative Design