Joe de Lange - Product Leader | UX Expert | Product Design

22seven

Balancing Friction and Value
For an Effective Onboarding Strategy

22seven simplifies users' finances by consolidating their accounts, tracking their spending, and automatically creating a personalized budget. This empowers users to see all their money in one place, effortlessly manage their finances, and gain sophisticated insights into their spending habits.

Business Challenge

While the app attracts initial downloads and high sign-ups, we need to identify and address the factors causing significant user churn within 90 days to improve long-term retention and engagement.

Process

My approach prioritizes human-centered methodologies. This helps us to correctly identify the problem we are solving for the user and build the right solution.

The design thinking double diamond process uses two interlocking diamonds to represent a human-centered approach to solving problems.

01 Discover

During the the discovery phase we diverge to understand the problem to be solved, the target users, and the project's goals. The discovery phase lays the groundwork for the entire project. It reduces risk by identifying problems early, gets everyone on the same page, and makes sure the solutions developed address real user needs.

Quantitative Data (The What)

I analysed hard user data to identify usage patterns. This data reveals the facts of the problem: Overall engagement was very low and, while most users did not link a bank account, users who did so were highly engaged.

20%

new users were still engaged after 90 days

90%

engaged users had linked a bank account when they signed up

User Research (The Why)

I interviewed stakeholders within the business, highly engaged users, and users who had signed up but abandoned the app. This qualitative data compliments the data we already had by shining a light on the reasons behind the usage patterns observed by surfacing common themes.

''Signing up was so simple, but what now?''

''I’ll link my bank account later''

''Is this really secure?''

''I loved the app when I got it but I forget to use it''

02 Define

The define phase takes the insights from discovery and converges them into a clear problem statement, outlining the core issue, its impact on users, and why it needs solving. This phase also sets success criteria, ensuring that solutions are targeted to effectively address the problem.

Clear link between linked bank accounts and engagement

Linking a bank account unlocks all the value but it requires more trust

Users are only amazed by features when seen through the lens of their personal data

Users who sign up without linking a bank account upfront, rarely do so later

How Might We

HMW statements are questions that turn problems into opportunities for finding solutions. They focus on potential solutions while keeping the user's needs at the center.

HMW encourage users to link a bank account, given their concerns about security?

HMW show users the personal benefits of linking accounts, given that we don’t have access to their data?

HMW we double the number of users who are engaged after 90 days, given that most users churn?

HMW get users to say ‘Wow!’ the first time they use the app, given that many find the experience underwhelming?

Problem Statement

At this point, we are ready to formulate a problem statement. It’s a laser focus on a user issue. It clarifies what's broken, who's impacted, and why it matters. This keeps everyone aligned and drives solutions that fix the real problem.

Despite strong initial sign-ups, we experience significant user churn within 90 days because 22seven’s best features require linked bank accounts to demonstrate their personalised value, yet users are hesitant to link accounts without first experiencing that value, creating a barrier to long-term engagement.

03 Develop

In the develop stage the focus shifts from defining the problem to brainstorming and refining potential solutions. This stage involves generating a wide range of ideas through techniques like sketching, prototyping, and collaborative workshops.

We generated hundreds of ideas and sketches and over a period of two days.

Everyone presented their ideas to the team in a cross-functional forum and debated the proposed solutions.

The cross-functional team voted on the best ideas by placing dots on their favourite solutions.

A Big Decision Was Made

The most promising ideas converged around a structured onboarding experience that included the added friction of requiring users to link an account upfront.

This trade-off sacrificed initial ease for greater long-term engagement and user value. By asking more upfront, we could ensure users are better positioned to experience the full benefits that 22seven offers.

To be successful, the solution had to meet the following criteria:

Draw new users in and get them excited about the tool's possibilities

Overcome scepticism to instill trust in our security

Immediately reward users for linking their account by generating amazing insights from their own data as part of the onboarding journey

We begin with a carousel highlighting the app's best features and users cannot skip past it.

Emphasise security and require a linked transactional account.

Transparency and more information as we link the account.

Immediately present the user with a Wow! moment by generating powerful insights from their data.

Requiring more effort and trust during onboarding, and then immediately showcasing the deep personal insights gained from their own data, led to increased user buy-in and a more engaged audience.

76%

New users were still engaged after 90 days

51%

Total increase in engagement after 90 days

40%

Increase in new users linking a bank account

Balancing Friction and Value For an Effective Onboarding Strategy

Process

Balancing Friction and Value
For an Effective Onboarding Strategy