Project context

UX study on a mobile banking application

‍

As part of my master’s thesis in UX, I contributed to a large-scale applied research project conducted by Tech3Lab in partnership with a major Canadian financial institution. The project aimed to improve accessibility and the overall user experience of the bank’s mobile application.

Over a one-year period, we conducted an experimental study to understand how age and digital self-efficacy influence multiple dimensions of the user experience when performing essential banking tasks.

‍

‍

‍

‍

Team and collaboration

UX research lab and banking partner

‍

Throughout the project, I worked closely with the lab’s research directors and research assistants. I contributed remotely during the exploratory phases by sharing and validating research outputs, and on-site during laboratory sessions with research assistants. This role required strong scientific rigor and clear, structured communication with diverse stakeholders, including academic researchers, lab directors, research assistants, and the client-side UX team.

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

Problem statement

Research question and framing

‍

In UX research, age is commonly used as a recruitment variable to ensure diverse user profiles. However, literature review suggests that other factors may play a significant role in shaping digital experiences, particularly variables related to confidence, perceived skills, and relationship to technology.

‍

This led to the following research question: : To what extent does digital self-efficacy moderate the relationship between age and user experience?
‍

The goal for the partner was to:

• Provide scientific evidence of the impact of this moderating variable
• Deliver actionable recommendations to improve UX research sampling practices

‍

‍

‍

‍

User testing

100+ controlled laboratory sessions

‍

We conducted a controlled experimental study combining performance, psychophysiological, and psychometric measures.

‍

‍

Digital banking tasks

Transactional tasks:

• Logging into the mobile app
• Adding an Interac recipient
• Completing an Interac transfer

Informational tasks:

• Finding a mortgage rate
• Comparing two credit cards
• Locating local customer support contact information

‍

‍

‍

‍

Results

Validated hypotheses and actionable recommendations

‍

Key hypothesis supported

Digital self-efficacy significantly moderates the relationship between age and several UX dimensions. While age influences certain UX measures such as performance and cognitive load, it is insufficient on its own to represent the true diversity of user profiles

‍

‍

Additional key findings

• Strong correlation between mobile phone usage frequency and digital self-efficacy
• A single question about usage frequency reliably predicts self-efficacy levels

‍

Strategic recommendation to the partner

To recruit truly representative user profiles:

‍
Combine age, digital self-efficacy, and mobile usage frequency at recruitment
‍

This approach enables:

• Richer user profile heterogeneity
• Reduced sampling bias
• Increased reliability of future UX studies

These recommendations were very well received by the bank, as they can be directly applied to internal research processes.

‍

‍

‍

Conclusion and learnings

Robust scientific approach in a business context

This project allowed me to:

• Master a full scientific research process in an industrial context
• Develop strong expertise in advanced quantitative analysis, including statistical modeling in SAS
• Conduct complex user testing involving eye tracking and biometric measures
• Collaborate with diverse academic and industry stakeholders
• Deliver clear, rigorous, and actionable research outcomes
• Translate scientific findings into operational recommendations for industry use