Building a Cash on Campus UX Case Study Template

It starts with a late‑night call from a friend on the phone. “I just got the first payment from the campus fund, but I don’t know how to set it up for my student account,” she says, voice a mix of excitement and dread. That moment is the heartbeat of Cash on Campus—a touchpoint where the promise of instant financial freedom turns into the real‑world question of how to make it work, as detailed in our Cash on Campus UX case study. In the space that follows I’ll walk you through a UX case study template that keeps that pulse in sight, letting us design a tool that feels like a steady, comforting hand instead of a high‑speed, confusing roller coaster.

Problem & Opportunity

We need to ground the problem in user feeling first. Students and staff want a smooth, friction‑free way to manage their stipend or scholarship money, but they’re met with clunky banking apps, confusing terms, and a lack of real guidance. The opportunity? A platform that merges financial transparency with intuitive flow, turning each transaction into a learning moment, as outlined in our Cash on Campus UX blueprint tutorial.

Key pain points we surfaced:

• Inconsistent access to balance information across devices.
• A feeling that the app is too much like a bank and not enough like a teaching tool.
• Anxiety around how to allocate funds for tuition, living expenses, and investing.
• Lack of social proof or community discussion to demystify budgeting.

Goals & Success Metrics

We kept the goal simple and grounded: “Help users feel confident and informed when they manage campus‑related funds.” We translated that into metrics we could actually measure:

• Increase in time spent on the budgeting section by 30 % after the first month.
• Reduction in support tickets related to fund allocation questions by 40 %.
• User satisfaction score of 4.5/5 on post‑interaction surveys.
• Growth in users who set up recurring allocations to tuition or savings, a key outcome we explore in our Cash on Campus product UX guide.

Research

Qualitative

We conducted three round‑table interviews with a mix of undergraduate, graduate, and faculty members. Each session started with an open question: “Tell me about the last time you had to manage your campus stipend.” From those stories, we identified three themes: confusion over fund categories, frustration with manual transfers, and a craving for peer learning.

We also ran shadowing sessions – a few students followed us through a day, watching how they handled the financial aspect of their routine. This gave us context: seeing that the campus app’s “Transfer” button was buried under a maze of menus.

Quantitative

We pulled anonymised usage data from the existing campus portal, spotting a 25 % drop‑off rate when users reached the “Budget Overview” page. A/B testing on a simplified layout increased completion by 18 %. We also surveyed 200 respondents about their confidence in managing funds, revealing that 68 % felt “somewhat unsure” about how to allocate money.

Personas

We created three personas to keep our design human‑centered.

Marta – the first‑year student
Age: 19
Goal: Cover tuition and living expenses while staying on top of her finances.
Pain: Overwhelmed by unfamiliar banking terms.

Luis – the part‑time lecturer
Age: 34
Goal: Optimize scholarship funds for research and travel.
Pain: No clear way to see how fund balances affect grant budgeting.

Elena – the financial educator
Age: 37
Goal: Guide students through responsible money handling.
Pain: Limited tools to create micro‑learning content directly in the app.

We’ll refer to them in our journey maps to stay connected to real needs.

Journey Mapping

We mapped the student’s journey from receiving their stipend to allocating it across tuition, rent, and a tiny investment seed fund. At each step we annotated emotional cues: excitement at the first deposit, confusion at the “Allocate” screen, reassurance when the app offers a simple “Auto‑Spend” suggestion.

Key insights emerged:

• The “Allocate” screen is the biggest source of friction because users don’t understand the categories.
• A visual “budget waterfall” helps users see where every euro goes, as illustrated in our Cash on Campus UI/UX storyboard.
• Users trust the app more when they see peers successfully allocating similar amounts.

Ideation & Design

Sketches

Our first sketches were low‑fidelity wireframes. We kept the layout uncluttered: a central balance display, a simple “Allocate” button, and a sidebar with quick tips. We intentionally used metaphorical icons—like a watering can for “invest” and a small tree for “grow” to connect with our gardening metaphor.

Wireframes

From sketches we moved to mid‑fidelity wireframes. We grouped financial actions into clear sections:

• Fund Summary – shows current balance, last transaction, and a simple pie chart.
• Allocate – allows users to drag and drop funds into pre‑defined buckets (Tuition, Rent, Savings, Investment).
• Learn – micro‑learning cards that explain each category in plain language.

Prototypes

The prototype was interactive, allowing us to test the drag‑and‑drop allocation flow. We added a subtle “Why do we recommend this split?” tooltip that surfaced a short explanation: “Because 50 % of your stipend typically goes to tuition, leaving 30 % for rent, and 20 % can be earmarked for a rainy‑day fund.”

We kept the design consistent with the campus brand but added our own color palette—a calm green that signals growth and stability.

Usability Testing

We recruited 12 participants matching our personas. Each was asked to perform three tasks: view balance, allocate funds, and read a learning card.

Observations:

• 9 participants completed allocation in under 2 minutes; the remaining 3 paused because the tooltip wasn’t clear enough.
• 7 participants reported feeling “empowered” after reading a learning card; 5 felt “still uncertain” about long‑term savings.
• No participants expressed frustration with the layout, which was a relief.

From these sessions we refined the tooltip text, added a short “How to set up recurring tuition payments” guide, and simplified the language around “investment” to “growth”.

Iterations & Final Design

The final version solidified a three‑step flow:

1. Balance Overview – a clean snapshot with a “How it Works” button.
2. Allocate Funds – a drag‑and‑drop interface with automatic category suggestions.
3. Learn & Reflect – short, digestible cards that users can revisit anytime.

We also introduced a community board where students can post questions, mirroring the way Elena’s classes are built around open discussion. This board features a “Most Helpful” voting system so the best answers rise to the top, giving users confidence that they’re not navigating the ocean alone.

Handoff & Implementation

The design handoff included:

• Style guide with typography, spacing, and color usage.
• Interactive prototype links for developers.
• Accessibility checklist: color contrast, keyboard navigation, screen reader labels.

We held a joint workshop with the development team to clarify the priority of features. The MVP focused on the balance and allocation modules; the learning cards were slated for a future release.

Analytics & Continuous Improvement

We set up an analytics dashboard that tracks:

• Daily active users on the allocation screen.
• Drop‑off rate at each step.
• Click‑through rate on learning cards.
• Engagement on the community board.

Monthly reviews will feed data back into the design backlog. For instance, if we notice that users frequently abandon the “investment” bucket, we’ll investigate whether the explanation is still unclear or if the option itself is redundant.

Takeaway

Designing for Cash on Campus isn’t just about making an app that works; it’s about making a tool that feels like a trusted companion. By starting with real moments of financial anxiety, grounding our goals in measurable outcomes, and walking through each touchpoint with empathy, we create a system that helps users move from uncertainty to confidence. The final product is a small ecosystem where every transaction is a learning step, every allocation is a garden bed, and every student feels empowered to let their money grow with patience rather than panic.

If you’re stepping into a similar project, remember these simple, grounded rules:

• Start with a story – a late‑night call, a student’s first stipend.
• Keep metrics human – time spent, satisfaction, support tickets.
• Make learning optional but visible – micro‑cards that don’t interrupt flow.
• Validate with real users – iterate until friction drops below your target.

Let’s keep designing not for the market’s noise, but for the quiet confidence that comes from knowing your finances are in a place you understand.