Designing the error handling process while Loggin in on Kuda. (A case study)

Here’s to the bank of the free…..KUDA.

It might actually be nothing but it gave me a hard time.

Introduction

I have a problem; a very big problem and I think it stems from me being appreciative of good, tidy and seamless processes ~🙂

I tend to find solutions to problems, regardless of how small it may seem, especially if it’s something that gave me a hard time, I wouldn’t want any other person to experience such, so rather than me complaining, I just create a solution around it, I figured it gives me a level of peace of mind I desire.

Identifying the problem

Users are required to view errors on a validation page.

Users are unable to go back to the previous screen when an error is identified.

My Hypotheses

I wasn’t sure how some of these decisions made it to a live website that services a million+ people around Nigeria and the world, but I came up with a few hypotheses.

Kuda’s customers mostly use the App rather than the Web

It’s a new product and currently in the works.

It’s Kuda’s first iteration on Web.

With these three hypotheses, I set out to design out a solution

The solution

This solution might not be much for Kuda Bank, but it is a necessary evil as it helps user’s login without having to second guess their flow or thought process or where they currently are, for me, this just makes the process make a lot of sense, as a user, I don’t want to be stuck, I don’t want to feel like I am lost, I want to be confident enough in the process, I want to be confident enough on where I currently am in the flow and I want to be confident enough to move from one place to the other, if these things aren’t in place while I try using a product, then it defeats the entire purpose.

Onboarding is a crucial aspect of any product, that particular point is where the real work is, it is where you put in a lot of energy to make sure the users are comfortable.

Explaining my process

It all started with me being stuck and scared something might have gone wrong with my account, I was lost in a jungle without a compass to guide my path or guide me home, I eventually figured it out the old-fashioned way but it still didn’t feel right or sit well with me.

I decided to run a few tests with a few of my friends to confirm if I wasn’t just hallucinating, the reports came in and at every point, they were always stuck and didn’t understand how to navigate back to where they can fix the error, so it became evident that it was a problem that needed a solution.

User flow

The initial flow:

The initial flow looked something like this, very deceiving, you think you are through a journey and then you find your way back to the initial point you thought you scaled, this was the “stuck” part I initially mentioned.

The proposed flow:

The new flow is a refreshing, direct, interactive and on the board view of the product, you can’t scale through the next journey if your credentials are wrong and you are given the opportunity to go back when you eventually scale to the next journey.

The Complete flow:

Now you get a broader scope of how these solutions ties to the entire login process of the web view.

Additional thoughts

It’s okay to “think” beauty beats functionality but it would be damaging to any product that sacrifices one for the other, both go hand in hand and make for a usable product.

What the current screens looks like:

What the proposed screens looks like:

Testing.

I tested the proposed flow with a few of my friends and they found it easy to navigate, it was well understood and the confusion cleared.

Conclusion

I hope Kuda bank gets to implement this flow Immediately in order to make it easy and less confusing for her users.

Thank you.

Hey, I am Chinedu and I believe that Good design shouldn’t lose the human feel, good design should be usable& accessible, good design should be human-centred, good design is simple in nature but yet powerful.

I make awesome pixels that makes life easier follow me on Twitter to continue this conversation. You can also check out more of my work on my portfolio.