Fastwire was a startup company dedicated to solving the operational challenges faced by business and finance teams through innovative software solutions. Our mission was to help these teams scale efficiently by improving payment reconciliation processes, thereby reducing the need for additional headcount. FastWire helps businesses save time, reduce errors, and improve overall operational efficiency.

When I joined the team, there was already a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in place, and initial user interviews and participant observation had been conducted. I continued the user interviews and presented the synthesized findings to the team. To ensure alignment and a shared understanding, I facilitated several collaborative activities with the team, including Persona Prioritization, Customer Journey Mapping, and Story Mapping. 

Research

Methods and Activities:

• User Interviews

• Participant Observation

• Affinity Mapping

• Persona Development

• Customer Journey Mapping

• Usability Testing

Persona Development

We identified 3 personas from the user interviews. The team chose Hobbyist Hannah as our Primary Persona because our business partners in this group are willing to participate in our research studies, including participant observation, usability test, and monthly product feedback. Moreover, by addressing her pain points and challenges, we could effectively resolve the issues faced by the other personas as well. 

Since Hobbyist Hannah represents business owners of recreational and extracurricular activity businesses, such as soccer, ballet, dance, and taekwondo, we developed features and functionalities that align with her needs.

Affinity Map

I then created an affinity map based from the user interviews to identify common challenges and see which ones are the most pressing, which are mostly related to manual processes and ensuring timely payments.

Mapping the Customer Journey

I mapped out the customer journey of Hobbyist Hannah based on the interviews that the team and I conducted in separate sessions. I did a walkthrough with the team and asked for their input, as they had also done participant observations and talked to customers before I joined. 

I then facilitated an activity to brainstorm opportunities for each phase of the journey to explore potential improvements. The team prioritized features that could be developed in the next to enhance their experience on the platform, which includes Customer Profiles with Custom Fields, Payment Reminders, and Attendance Tracking. 

Design Process

Story Mapping

In order to achieve a shared understanding of the current system, I facilitated a story mapping session with the stakeholders (Product Owner, Engineers, and QA). 

I then facilitated a story mapping session with the Product Owner to discuss and outline the tasks for the prioritized features.

After aligning and discussing the project details with the team, I crafted the design. This process involved incorporating user feedback, aligning with stakeholders, gathering feedback from stakeholders, and iterating the design to ensure it met all requirements and expectations.

Key Features:

Customer Profiles allows businesses to streamline their processes by automating invoices based on their clients’ payment plans and the number of sessions remaining. This enables business owners to efficiently manage and track customer information, ensuring accurate billing and timely invoicing.

(For an in-depth look at how user feedback influenced design decisions to improve data accuracy of customer profiles, please refer to this Case Study :Optimizing Customer Profiles for Data Accuracy )

Create New Invoice and Bulk Upload is an added flexibility to allow businesses handle special cases. We made the process easier by using common patterns, simplifying terms, to guide users smoothly. 

Field observations played a crucial role in shaping the design of key features like Attendance and Classes. By observing users in their natural environments, we gained valuable insights into their workflows and pain points. For instance, we learned that teachers and coaches often check attendance while out in the field, making responsiveness a critical factor. As a result, we ensured that our attendance feature is fully responsive, allowing seamless access via mobile devices and tablets.

Businesses have the option to manually mark invoices as paid when customers choose to pay in cash, or cancel invoices under specific situations.

Businesses have the option to add custom fields to customer profiles, accommodating the specific needs and requirements of each business.

Businesses can manage and customize reminder messages for both Pending and Overdue invoices, ensuring timely notifications. 

Conclusion