Venmo | Group Split Feature
Imagine you're out with a group of friends having dinner. After a great evening of good food and pleasant chats, it's time to wrap it up and get the check. One friend offers to put their credit card down and then that dreaded moment comes. How do you figure out how much to pay them back? Is someone going to break out the pen and paper and calculate it for you? These situations can range from being a mild nuisance to time consuming, if not more.
What if it could all be easier though? I decided to explore finding a solution to address this sort of frustration through the use of Venmo.
Venmo is a mobile payment service that allows people to pay and request money from friends. Through this project, I explore the opportunity to simplify the process of splitting a bill between multiple users on the Venmo app.
Research, User Flows, Information Architecture, Sketching, Wireframing, UI, Prototyping
2 weeks
Design of a new payment service feature that embeds within the current Venmo app.
Step One: Research
Research Plan, Secondary Research, App Audit, Competitive Analysis, and User Interviews
Research Goals
Gain insight on people's payment preferences.
Discover how users split bills.
Understand how users currently make use of mobile payment services.
Competitive Analysis
Venmo itself has been around for a few years and has grown to be loved by users. In order to seamlessly build a new feature into the app, I conducted an app audit to better understand the branding, UI, and features that Venmo currently has. Once I had a good feel for the app itself, I was able to start thinking about how to use this new feature to elevate the product. I began by comparing what competitors are doing.
User Interviews
I spoke with five active users of Venmo in order to get a better understanding of their spending habits, preferences, and motivations. I also dug into their experiences when it comes to splitting bills with friends in small or big group settings.
- 5/5 users typically use Venmo when it comes to splitting bills with others.
- 5/5 users mentioned that people use calculators to figure out tip and tax.
- 4/5 users said that they will venmo other people right away.
- 3/5 users voiced that the process of figuring out how much each person owes is frustrating.
- 3/5 users said that they appoint one person to figure out how much everyone owes.
- 3/5 users prefer to venmo someone rather than pay for the entire bill.
- 3/5 users private their transactions on Venmo.
Math is too hard. Usually someone begrudgingly takes on the calculations.
Step Two: Define
User Persona, Empathy Map, Storyboard, HMW, Sitemap, Project Goals, Feature Roadmap, Task Flow, User Flow, and Product Requirements
User Persona
Meet Michael! He is a millennial who is a frequent user of Venmo. I created Michael as my persona based off the interview findings to help represent my users.
Framing the Question
Taking the insights from the interview findings and research, I was able to determine some user needs. In order to craft some solutions, I thought out the POV and HMW through the lens of my persona, Michael.
Sitemap
It was important for me to establish the sitemap for the existing app. Since my goal is to seamlessly add a feature, I had to determine where my new feature would make the most sense within the given framework. I decided to keep the features as closely aligned to the existing flows as possible.
User and Task Flows
The feature that I had settled upon based off user needs was implementing a group split. This feature would cover two aspects. I had to map out how users could create a group split. I also wanted to establish what it would be like to receive a group split request.
This idea grew more and more complex the more I thought about it. I ran through many ideas such as who should be in charge of sending the request. Should it be all managed by one person or does everyone claim their own item within the app? After a lot of discussions with other designers and users, I ultimately decided upon these flows.
Step Three: Design
Wireframes Sketches, Wireframes, Moodboard, Brand Style Tile, Logo Design, UI Design, and UI Kit
Brand Style Tile
If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Venmo already has done a wonderful job with their logo and branding. As such, I kept with what they have. My purpose in creating a brand style tile was to ensure that I had all the elements I needed to keep my new feature on brand.
Wireframes
Wireframes became the start of a fun but complex time! I had solidified my idea through all the research and established that I wanted to create a feature that would make splitting a bill easier. How it would look though was the next big challenge. All I knew was that it had to look and feel like something Venmo would actually create.
Final Design
Step Four: Test
Hi Fidelity Prototype, Usability Testing, and Affinity Map
Usability Testing
Test Objective #1: Determine if users can find and use the new features.
Test Objective #2: Discover any issues with the flow and experience of the new features.
Part A
Scenario: You've just finished eating at a restaurant with your friends, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. When the bill came, you decided to put your credit card down.
Task 1: In order for everyone to pay you back, please start a new group payment request on Venmo.
Task 2: Harry Potter ordered the Rainbow Roll, you (Michael Brillo) ordered the Dragon Roll, you all split the Edamame, Ron Weasley ordered the Spider Roll, and Hermione ordered the Beef Udon. Assign these items to the correct people.
Task 3: The group agreed on paying 15% tip so include that in your request. Once that is done, finish sending out the request.
Part B
Scenario: You have received a payment request from a friend for lunch that you all went to earlier.
Task 4: Go to the payment request and look through the details of the group request.
Scenario: After looking through the details of the request, everything looks like its correct.
Task 5: Complete the request by paying back your friend.
Affinity Map
All four users completed all the tasks for the usability testing. Overall, they followed the flow and steps as anticipated. One user pointed out an issue with an unsmooth transition between adding recipients and the camera screen. The three others also had a reaction or longer pause when they arrived on the camera screen. Two of the users were also uncertain if the tip had been included into the total after the fact. As such, there can be a way to refine the tip process.
Reflection & Next Steps
This project grew more complex the further I got along into it. The idea had started off simple enough but with one feature to focus on, I really had to dig deep into perfecting the implementation. I cycled through many ideas of how I could better the flow. At one point during the usability testing, I even had a moment where I restructured the whole way I thought about this feature. I was hung up on the fact that this was a group split but I came to realize that this could be a useful feature for even just between two people. Changing my mindset and being open to feedback from users really helped bring this project to the next level.
