Ara Yahya
KOOPOOLAM
What is Koopoolam?
Koopolam is a digital platform built to help anyone overwhelmed by managing money. Whether it’s a student budgeting for the first time or a newcomer adjusting to a new financial system, Koopolam empowers users with personalized financial guidance and approachable tools
Roll: Designer and UX researcher
Timeline: 5months
Team of 5: Design Manager,Design Lead and
3 UI/UX Designer
Timeline: Figma, Miro, Adobe Creative Suit
Problem
Business Problem
Most personal finance apps cater to experienced users. They assume a base level of knowledge and financial literacy that many people don’t have. This leaves behind a large group of users who need help the most — those facing financial stress, transitions, or unfamiliar systems.
Human-Centered Problem
“I know I should save and plan, but it always feels too complicated. I don’t know where to begin.”
Many users feel excluded from digital finance tools — not because they lack motivation, but because they lack accessible, personalized support.
.
Solution
Koopolam simplifies personal finance by offering an inclusive, beginner-friendly platform. Users can enter basic income and goals, then receive tailored budgeting plans, smart goal recommendations, and motivational feedback. With a clean interface, adaptive flows for irregular income, and real-time insights, Koopolam empowers users to build financial confidence without feeling overwhelmed.
Outcome
The result was the development of a guided financial planning tool that improved onboarding completion by 4×. During testing, 80% of users reported feeling more confident managing their money. The smart budgeting and goal tracking features were identified as key drivers of continued engagement. worldwide.
Process Overview
01 Empathyze
02 Define
03 Ideate
04 Usability Testing
05 Results and Metrics
06 Challenges and Lessons Learned
We used Design Thinking process in an iterative approach in order to: define problems, better understand users, the conditions of their use, how they think, behave, feel, and empathize:
My Design Process
Emphasize
-
Competitive audit
-
User Interview
-
Architecture
Define
-
Information
Ideate
Ideate
-
Mid-Fi Wireframe
Test
-
Iterate
-
Suggested Solutions
Test
-
Test Prototype
Prototype
-
prototyping
Prototype
-
Hi-Fi Mockups
Empathyze
Competitive Audit
As part of my research, I audited four personal finance platforms to evaluate how they approach onboarding, personalization, and motivation. This helped identify usability gaps and opportunities for Koopolam to differentiate.
01/05
User Interview
To explore current needs, user behavior, goals, and pain points, I conducted 6 in-depth qualitative interviews with participants who struggle with budgeting or managing their finances. The goal was to gain deeper insight into how they approach financial decisions and what causes them to drop off from using budgeting apps.
Participants received an invitation via email, along with information about the interview. A small incentive was offered to encourage participation.
Questions Categories
When preparing the interview guide, I kept the questions open-ended to encourage honest and detailed responses. The goal was to uncover core needs, emotional blockers, and tool expectations.
Interview questions were structured around the following themes:
-
Financial Behavior and Budgeting Habits
-
Emotional Reactions to Financial Planning
-
Frustrations with Current Finance Tools
-
Motivation and Accountability Preferences
-
Onboarding and Personalization Expectations
Structure:
-
Format: Semi-structured interviews
-
Date: October 2nd – 10th, 2024
-
Method: Conducted remotely via Zoom and recorded with permission
Interview Criteria
-
Participants currently use or have tried at least one finance app
-
Range in age, income type (freelance, part-time, full-time), and background for better generalization
Persona
Meet Ali.
Referencing insights from user interviews, I crafted a fictional persona that represents users managing variable income while building better financial habits. This helps personify their needs, motivations, and challenges within Koopolam.
.png)
Research Insights
Affinity Diagram
We coded the responses and analyzed them using an affinity diagram.
By identifying users’ behaviors, motivations, frustrations, and expectations, we created five key patterns and prioritized specific needs that would guide the next steps in Koopolam’s design process.
Findings
By determining users' wants, behaviors, likes, and dislikes, we prioritized certain needs that we would later design for.
Guided Onboarding
A welcoming step-by-step setup process to help users input their income type, goals, and comfort level — reducing drop-off at first use.
Users can create saving or debt goals that reflect their real life — whether it's rent, travel, or emergency funds.
Personalized Goals
Instead of just numbers, users receive encouraging, simple messages like “Great work! You’re 20% closer to your goal.
Motivational Feedback
Flexible Budgeting
Supports weekly or irregular income, making it easier for freelancers or gig workers to stay consistent.
Complex terms are translated into everyday wording. Users always know what they’re doing and why.
Plain Language
Clear explanations about data usage and privacy help users feel safe, respected, and in control.
Trust & Transparency
02/06
Define
Information Architecture
We first listed the main features of the Koopolam app and the different navigation paths users would follow. This helped define and reorganize access to information in a clear, goal-oriented structure. We prioritized key sections based on user needs uncovered during research.
Koopoolam
Onbording
Dashboard
Goals
Challenges
Settings
Personalization
Welcome
Income Type
Goal Setup
Budget Overview
Progress Feedback
Daily Tips
Create a Goal
Track Progress
Milestones
Suggested
Custom
Privacy
Language & Tone
Notifications
User Flow
To visualize how users interact with Koopolam from onboarding to completing actions like setting a goal or activating a challenge, I mapped the primary task flows. This helped ensure clarity in decision points and guided navigation, especially for first-time users unfamiliar with budgeting tools.
03/05
Ideation
Wireframes: Mid-Fidelity
We began ideation by wireframing the main screens in Figma, aiming to balance user needs with business goals through clear and supportive design.
Color Palette
The color palette was chosen to balance trust, energy, and clarity—supporting a finance experience that feels approachable yet confident.
Typography
04/06
Usability Testing
Goals
-
Identify confusion or friction in accessing key features like goal setting and challenge tracking.
-
Validate how easily users can navigate the home page and engage with their financial goals.
-
Discover whether users understand the structure and social features of challenges.
Methods
-
4 participants recruited from the app’s target audience.
-
15–20 minute moderated sessions via Zoom using the Figma prototype.
-
Tasks completed using think-aloud method.
-
Followed by a post-task anonymous survey (Google form).
Task Lists
-
Task 1: Ask users to view their total balance and breakdown.
-
Task 2: Ask users to start a new savings challenge.
-
Task 3: Ask users to set a goal for a specific item.
-
Task 4: Ask users to invite a friend to join a challenge.
-
Task 5: Ask users to review ongoing goals and activity.
Updated Mid-Fidelity Wireframe
Insights from usability testing and survey, led us to reiterate on our designs. Below are the before vs. after mid-fi wireframes of our final solutions.
Design Revision
🔴Pain Point 1: Some users were unsure how to start a new goal or challenge.
🔴Pain Point 2: Users didn’t notice the option to invite friends to join challenges.
🔴Pain Point 3: Users wanted to better understand their earnings vs. expenses breakdown.
.png)
✅ We added Quick Action buttons (Set Goal, Start Challenge, Invite Friend) to the home screen for faster navigation.
✅ The Invite button was included directly in ongoing challenge cards to encourage participation and collaboration.
✅ A “See breakdown” link was added to the balance card for clearer insight into earnings vs. expenses.
.png)
.png)
🔴Pain Point 1: users couldn’t tell how much was saved or how far along they were.
🔴Pain Point 2: Users didn’t find the savings challenge visually engaging or motivating.
✅The progress bar was redesigned with better contrast and numeric indicators to help users clearly track their savings milestones.
.png)
.png)
🔴Pain Point 1: Some users couldn’t easily see how much time was left in their active challenge.
🔴Pain Point 2: Some users didn’t feel motivated to continue without a clear sense of urgency.
✅We helped users stay on track by moving the “Remaining Days” indicator to the top of the card, making it easier to spot and reinforcing a sense of progress and commitment.
Initial
Revised
Initial
Revised
Initial
Revised
05/06
Prototyping
Mockups: High-Fidelity
After founding the pain points and revising the mid-fidelity wireframes, in this phase, our emphasis was put on visual consistency and how the interface could serve the core functionalities.
.png)
Home Page
Offers users a personalized dashboard to track their total balance, view active goals, and monitor challenges in progress. Quick actions like “Start Challenge” and “Set Goal” keep the experience actionable and motivating.
Koopoolam offers tailored financial challenges to help users build smart savings habits. From recurring deposits to essentialist budgeting, users can explore challenge types, track group progress, and stay engaged with clear milestones. The modular structure encourages both individual focus and peer collaboration — all in a tap.
Koopoolam Challenges
.png)
Outcome
06/06
Koopoolam Goals
The Goals section empowers users to visualize, set, and track their financial aspirations — from short-term purchases to long-term dreams. Users can choose suggested goals or customize their own, monitor contribution progress, and stay motivated with time-bound visuals. The flow is simple: pick, plan, and progress.
01
Higher Onboarding Completion
Introducing guided onboarding steps led to a 4x increase in first-time user completion. Users found it easier to input income type and set goals without confusion.
Improved Motivation & Clarity
Redesigned progress bars and goal visuals resulted in 80% of users feeling more motivated to stay on track. Users clearly understood their savings milestones and timeline.
02
03
Faster Goal Activation
The addition of quick action buttons reduced friction—users were able to start challenges and set goals 25% faster during testing, boosting overall engagement.