Splitwise: Group Budgeting Feature
Eliminating awkward conversations around spending limits.
ROLE
UX Research, Information Architecture, UX Writing
DURATION
8 Weeks
PLATFORM
iOS Mobile
INDUSTRY
FinTech
TOOLS
Figma, Figjam, Google Forms, Maze
AREAS OF FOCUS
Research, Interaction Design, Content Strategy
Overview
* This case study presents a conceptual redesign of Splitwise, envisioned as part of a student project. The design explores innovative UX/UI enhancements to enhance user experience, though it has not been implemented in the existing app.
Assigned to add a new feature to an existing mobile app, I challenged myself to incorporate budgeting into the popular finance mobile application, Splitwise.
As a regular user of the app myself, I noticed that while the current version does a great job handling expenses once they are charged, there was potential to improve the user journey leading up to it.
This proposed feature helps users collaboratively plan shared expenses within the app, promote trust and fairness within friend groups, and eliminate awkward conversations around finances.
In order to understand and facilitate conversations around spending limits in groups, good research and content strategy were essential for this project.
THE PROBLEM
Shared expenses can amount to high costs if not planned for and agreed upon by payors in advance. This often leads to friction between group members, and a reluctance or inability to pay back debts immediately.
Research + Analysis
I started by conducting a competitive audit and surveys to understand the needs of Splitwise users who also use other budgeting tools, and later interviewed five respondents who used Splitwise with other budgeting tools for their group.
From my research, I learned that 50% of Splitwise users use the app every few months, and the top two use cases are during travel (65%) and with social groups of friends who meet regularly (60%).
Participants also shared these frustrations when it comes to sharing expenses with others:
Uncertainty around estimated costs for events or trips with a vague plan
Friends not remembering how much they owe
Shyness in entering expenses in the app
The need to remind others to settle their payments
Discomfort in asking people to pay them back
Difficulty dealing with splits that are not equal
3 out of 5
mentioned assigning a group facilitator for planning cumulative expenses
4 out of 5
experienced tension within their group during the most recent event sharing expenses
5 out of 5
feel collaborative budgeting helps minimize surprises and unexpected fees at the end
— Key Insights
Overall, research revealed that:
Splitwise users are interested in discussing collaborative budgeting with their group, but they hesitate to initiate the conversation for fear of being seen as too cost-sensitive or less fun. They want to avoid appearing judgmental when discussing shared expenses and prefer non-awkward ways to do so.
People are mostly eager to share expenses because it means contributing to a fun group activity. However, users do not enjoy coming to a cost agreement and requesting reimbursement.
“It would be nice if there were a way to profile or gauge what each contributor’s tolerance is for surprise costs or sudden purchases.”
— Splitwise user
Defining the Scope
Based on research findings, I knew that my solution had to:
help members within a group have conversations around collaborative budgeting more comfortably
help group members acknowledge the cost-sensitivity of other group members or the group as a whole
involve all group members in the collaborative budgeting process
encourage group members to repay their debts better to improve trust and interpersonal relationships
Therefore, my main goals for the design became to:
Make the conversation around budgeting impersonal
(to reduce shame or embarrassment, by making users aware of other group members’ limits)
Include a way for users to add planned expenses in advance of payment
Design + Prototype
— High-fidelity Design: Round 1
Key Features
Toggle switch to enable budgeting when creating a new group
“Spending Style” survey
Summary of group members’ spending preferences
Group mindfulness agreement
The ability to add a planned shared expense (in the future)
The ability for users to opt in or out of a planned expense
— Usability Testing
I conducted usability testing with seven participants who fit the target user demographic to test the feature on an iOS mobile prototype.
-
Create a new group in Splitwise that enables group budgeting
Add a planned expense to the group
Describe their understanding of how the feature works and thoughts while going through the process
-
The participants were asked questions related to their understanding of the feature, and they gave varying responses. Some of the participants provided accurate responses, while others were unsure or gave incorrect answers.
When asked to rate the quality of the questions on a scale of 1 to 5, the majority of the testers rated them as good to excellent. However, some participants suggested adding questions related to flexibility in payment options and notifying group members about expenses they would not be able to contribute to.
The content on the Group Preferences Summary page was rated informative by most of the participants, but some found it confusing or suggested changes.
The group mindfulness agreement was appreciated as a way to draw attention to this field, and the open-ended form to put in information was liked by some of the participants.
— High-fidelity Design: Round 2
After collecting the testers’ feedback, I addressed the problem areas and revised the prototype.
Key improvements included:
Clearer microcopy
More relevant survey questions and group summary information
Improved UI and visual hierarchy
Click here to explore these design revisions and experience the latest prototype.
Projected Outcomes
-
Increased engagement on the Splitwise app
More quantitative + qualitative user data collected around spending habits
-
Improved relationships with group members
Fewer surprise expenses
Less awkward conversations