KAIALEARNS.COM

Subwoofer

Role / Services

Research, Design, & Testing

Role / Services

Research, Design, & Testing

Role / Services

Research, Design, & Testing

Year

2024

Year

2024

Year

2024

It’s hard to keep track of all the products and services that we subscribe to each month. All we see is money deducted from our accounts for services that we might not even need or want anymore.  SUBwoofer, our subscription dashboard, originally launched as a desktop application that helps users track and manage their subscriptions and take a comprehensive view of their subscription spending habits.

It’s hard to keep track of all the products and services that we subscribe to each month. All we see is money deducted from our accounts for services that we might not even need or want anymore.  SUBwoofer, our subscription dashboard, originally launched as a desktop application that helps users track and manage their subscriptions and take a comprehensive view of their subscription spending habits.

It’s hard to keep track of all the products and services that we subscribe to each month. All we see is money deducted from our accounts for services that we might not even need or want anymore.  SUBwoofer, our subscription dashboard, originally launched as a desktop application that helps users track and manage their subscriptions and take a comprehensive view of their subscription spending habits.

SUBwoofer keeps track of all of your subscription fees on websites, apps, services, etc. over the years. As our user base has grown, and in order for SUBwoofer to remain competitive, we needed to give users a mobile solution and help them take proactive steps toward keeping subscriptions they value, and ditching those that don’t.

the problem

SUBwoofer keeps track of all of your subscription fees on websites, apps, services, etc. over the years. As our user base has grown, and in order for SUBwoofer to remain competitive, we needed to give users a mobile solution and help them take proactive steps toward keeping subscriptions they value, and ditching those that don’t.

the problem

SUBwoofer keeps track of all of your subscription fees on websites, apps, services, etc. over the years. As our user base has grown, and in order for SUBwoofer to remain competitive, we needed to give users a mobile solution and help them take proactive steps toward keeping subscriptions they value, and ditching those that don’t.

the problem

This is a capstone project is part of my career fellowship with Springboard. I was a solo designer for this project, and responsible for user research and synthesis, information architecture, visual design, UX design, and usability testing.

my role

This is a capstone project is part of my career fellowship with Springboard. I was a solo designer for this project, and responsible for user research and synthesis, information architecture, visual design, UX design, and usability testing.

my role

This is a capstone project is part of my career fellowship with Springboard. I was a solo designer for this project, and responsible for user research and synthesis, information architecture, visual design, UX design, and usability testing.

my role

The bulk of discovery centered on competitive analysis. Recurrent billing is a feature that many applications and websites deal with, whether it's for subscriptions or setting up auto-pay for utilities. I took a birds eye view of the marketplace to study industry leaders. I then narrowed my focus on two competitors that have a high amount of user satisfaction documented on review sites: Rocket Money and Bobby.

research & discovery

The bulk of discovery centered on competitive analysis. Recurrent billing is a feature that many applications and websites deal with, whether it's for subscriptions or setting up auto-pay for utilities. I took a birds eye view of the marketplace to study industry leaders. I then narrowed my focus on two competitors that have a high amount of user satisfaction documented on review sites: Rocket Money and Bobby.

research & discovery

View my competitive analysis of Rocket Money & Bobby

the user

I already have a decent idea of what our average SUBwoofer users look like from previous research, so I revisited the user persona, Nicole, to narrow my focus.

Like Nicole, the majority of SUBwoofer’s users are over the age of 30. The user base is an equal split between men and women, who split their apps across phone and desktop equally.

user stories

From Nicole’s perspective, these are the tasks I want to accomplish:

• As a current user, I want to see all of my subscriptions in one place so that I can get a comprehensive view of my spending on subscriptions

• As a returning user, I want to unsubscribe from a subscription so that I can reduce needless spending

• As a consumer, I want to be notified if any of my subscriptions are about to be auto-renewed so that I can make a decision about if I want to renew the subscription and continue spending money

With these tasks in mind, I created three user flows that I intended to test. For example, the cancellation flow pictured to the left gives the user two tiers of interaction with a subscription item - a quick menu of actions, followed by a card with detailed information about that subscription. I integrated an option for users to cancel through the subscription dashboard similar to Rocket Money’s Cancel This For Me feature, allowing the user to login with their credentials to control their accounts.

user flows

With these tasks in mind, I created three user flows that I intended to test. For example, the cancellation flow pictured to the left gives the user two tiers of interaction with a subscription item - a quick menu of actions, followed by a card with detailed information about that subscription. I integrated an option for users to cancel through the subscription dashboard similar to Rocket Money’s Cancel This For Me feature, allowing the user to login with their credentials to control their accounts.

user flows

With these tasks in mind, I created three user flows that I intended to test. For example, the cancellation flow pictured to the left gives the user two tiers of interaction with a subscription item - a quick menu of actions, followed by a card with detailed information about that subscription. I integrated an option for users to cancel through the subscription dashboard similar to Rocket Money’s Cancel This For Me feature, allowing the user to login with their credentials to control their accounts.

user flows

As I was building a somewhat higher-than-expected fidelity wireframe, I tried to hue closely to what I determined worked with competitor brands. The idea was to mesh the best of both worlds (adding details to subscription items, canceling subscriptions within the app, billing notifications at various intervals) and see where I can reduce friction.

wireframing & prototyping

As I was building a somewhat higher-than-expected fidelity wireframe, I tried to hue closely to what I determined worked with competitor brands. The idea was to mesh the best of both worlds (adding details to subscription items, canceling subscriptions within the app, billing notifications at various intervals) and see where I can reduce friction.

wireframing & prototyping

As I was building a somewhat higher-than-expected fidelity wireframe, I tried to hue closely to what I determined worked with competitor brands. The idea was to mesh the best of both worlds (adding details to subscription items, canceling subscriptions within the app, billing notifications at various intervals) and see where I can reduce friction.

wireframing & prototyping

This is where I can tend to get myself in trouble, but this can also be helpful in the future. I probably could’ve done guerilla usability testing with paper and pen, but by the time I got my screens, I had determined how a number of components should behave. I had my start points mapped out, so now all that was left was to prototype the behaviors and prepare for testing.

usability testing | round 1

usability testing | round 1

I used Figma to build and test my user flows and check for any major usability concerns or areas of confusion. Each of the 4 users tested met with me via Zoom and I started each test by asking a couple of questions about their current subscription usage.

methods

I used Figma to build and test my user flows and check for any major usability concerns or areas of confusion. Each of the 4 users tested met with me via Zoom and I started each test by asking a couple of questions about their current subscription usage.

methods

findings

  • The language on the “Bill due alert” seems to hold some users up.

  • There’s some small prototyping hiccups that caught my eye and may have contributed to some hesitation for completing the flow.

  • The cancellation flow login also confused two of the participants.

  • The calendar on “Bill due…” also seemed to cause some hesitation.

  • The timing on those alerts is relative to the due date, so removing the calculation from that process might help

recommendations

usability testing | round 2 | high fidelity

usability testing | round 2 | high fidelity

I surveyed another 4 users for the high fidelity prototype, connecting via Zoom using Figma.

methods

I surveyed another 4 users for the high fidelity prototype, connecting via Zoom using Figma.

methods

recommendations

task metrics

There are a lot of ways to build on top of these new mobile features. While some users are definitely determined to cut down on unnecessary restrictions, others might be perfectly happy with saving a dollar or two if they can retain the value of a service or platform. Increasing user engagement with wallet-friendly alternatives who still enable users to maintain some power and clarity over their subscriptions, both in spending AND usage. How might we incorporate someone’s usage metrics to help make some decisions easier? Canceling Netflix might be even easier if you know that your usage has demonstrably dropped over a period of time.


If I had the chance to revisit any aspect of this work, I'd probably focus on further examining user feedback, particularly in relation to how usage patterns influence their decisions to retain or discontinue use. Although I tried to incorporate a few survey queries during each usability evaluation, my preference would have been to align my rival comparison studies with competitor product user tests. Looking ahead, my aspiration is to transform SUBwoofer into a hassle-free mobile platform that provides users with all the necessary tools at the precise moment and location they desire.