After evaluating the mobile app in accordance to Neilson’s 10 usability heuristics, there were issues regarding consistency & standards, recognition rather than recall, and aesthetic & minimalist design.

For user-testing, a framework based on these issues were created to conduct additional evaluations with secondary evaluators.

The heuristic evaluation resulted in three recommendations to enhance user experience of Discover Mobile:

1. Simplify and Clarify the Main Page

2. Integrate Spend Analyzer and Improve Language

3. Enhance Payment Transparency

Neilson’s 10 Usability Heuristics are guidelines for designers to create and evaluate user interfaces that are user-friendly and efficient to use.

I used each heuristic to test if the system aligns with the app's intended purpose by giving a rating from 0 to 4, with 4 being a usability catastrophe that needs to be fixed.

Using the three key usability issues, scenarios and tasks were created as a framework for two user interviews.

Meet Crystal

• Age: 21

• Student at St. Johns University

• Used online banking for 3 years

• Never banked with Discover

Meet Kevin

• Age: 20

• Student at FIT

• Used online banking for 6 years

• Never banked with Discover

While completing these tasks, they were asked to narrate their actions and thoughts using the think aloud protocol. Insights on observations, pain points, and opportunities for improvement for each step of the tasks were sorted into clusters.

Scenario 1: You realize you aren’t getting the notifications regarding your Discover account.

Task 1: View and customize your alerts.

Scenario 3: You are wondering if you have made enough payments to avoid interest for the balance.

Task 3: Make sure you have paid off your last statement balance and make extra payments if needed.

See Affinity Mapping Board

• Users spent extra time scanning the homepage before acting, indicating uncertainty about where to begin.

• Once users located the correct feature, completing tasks (e.g., modifying alerts, submitting a payment) was straightforward.

• The Spend Analyzer feature was positively received for its color coded clarity and easy interpretation.

• Filters for transactions worked as intended and did not cause confusion.

Pain Points

• Users struggled to understand the payments page due to lack of transparency and unclear balance information

• The app relied too heavily on user memory to track payment progress (how much of a statement balance has been paid).

• The main activity screen was visually overwhelming, causing users to hesitate or miss key details.

• Important features like “last statement balance,” “recent activity,” and “pay” button were often overlooked due to the overload of information.

1. Simplify and Clarify the Main Page

Problem: Overwhelming main page that users may miss features or information.

Recommendation: Make the landing screen more minimal and readable to reduce hesitation and cognitive overload.

Before:

2. Integrate Spend Analyzer and Improve Language

Problem: Inconsistent “pop-up” websites for features and verbiage. This pop-up website format leads the user to another interface (website version) that has all the same features.

Recommendation: Embed the spend analyzer in-app and change “recent activity” to “recent transactions” for greater clarity and user intuition.

Before:

3. Enhance Payment Transparency

Problem: Users struggled to track how much of their last statement balance was paid, risking interest charges and credit score impacts.

Recommendation: Provide clearer, more direct insights into past payments and statement balances.

Before:

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