Rocket Money
Using the heuristic evaluation method, we identified usability issues with Rocket Money, a popular budgeting app. Our evaluation revealed key insights that helped shape recommendations for enhancing the user experience.
This project was completed in collaboration with Morgan Brennan, Dylan Brown, and Purav Patel.
Tools
Figma
Data from User Survey and Interviews
We began our research by collecting qualitative and quantitative data from users about their financial habits and preferences for a budgeting app.
User Personas
Using the data we collected from the user interviews and survey, we constructed our user personas and scenarios. We identified two types of users: the aspiring saver and budgeting perfectionist. With differences in lifestyle and financial knowledge, some of their needs vary. However, they both are concerned about their savings and prefer personalized recommendations to reduce time spent in the app.
Heuristics Violated
Rocket Money violated 9 out of 10 heuristics according to our evaluation. The main issues are a mismatch between system and the real world, inconsistency in displayed data, and lack of error prevention. The app also exhibits poor visibility of system status, lack of support for recognition rather than recall, low flexibility and efficiency of use, and poor aesthetic and minimalist design. We found that it does properly adhere to heuristic #9 - help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors.
Conclusion
Design recommendations include streamlining the onboarding process and budget settings to retain users, ensuring flexibility and efficiency, and focusing on supporting recognition rather than recall on the dashboard. The app's information architecture and presentation also need rethinking to align with aesthetic and minimalist design principles, maintain consistency and standards, and improve intuitive navigation. Enhancing user support and feedback accessibility is crucial, with a focus on providing clear documentation, preventing errors, and improving the visibility of system status. To learn more about our research, please view the presentation and documents.