Easypaisa's vision to offer a one-stop solution identified Mini-Apps as essential for boosting user engagement and retention. The Mini-Apps feature aims to create a comprehensive ecosystem where users can access various services without leaving the Easypaisa app, thereby enhancing convenience and engagement. The goal of the research and revamp is to pinpoint areas for improvement within the mini-apps ecosystem, aligning with Easypaisa's broader objectives of increasing customer acquisition, engagement, and revenue generation.

Research

To make Mini-Apps a complete solution, Easypaisa teamed up with Ideate Innovation to carry out thorough user research. The study aimed to understand what customers think, what they expect, and the usability challenges they face with mini-apps, all in order to improve discoverability and explore ways to generate revenue. The goals of the research are as follows:

Understand how customers perceive mini-apps, what they expect from them and how Easypaisa may package them.

Understand the value proposition of mini-apps for various customer groups, and key verticals for Easypaisa.

Understand usability challenges and preferences with Easypaisa mini-apps.

Findings

After extensive research done with joint effort of Ideate Innovation and our team including me, following findings came into light:

Based on the user feedback, I decided to improve the discoverability of mini-apps by simplifying the navigation and providing clearer labels, ensuring users could easily find the apps relevant to their needs

User Challenges

Most people were not familiar with mini-apps and couldn't understand their purpose just from the name. Additionally, many had doubts about how mini-apps would work and whether they would be useful and functional within the Easypaisa ecosystem.

“I had to Google what mini-apps are prior to this conversation. I’m still not sure I get what they are.”

Many users said they needed a clear reason to choose mini-apps over regular apps. They also didn’t know which specific mini-apps they were using, like Bookme and BurgerLab, and were worried about how much storage these mini-apps might take up in the Easypaisa app. Users generally don’t explore much because they only use apps that are easy to find and don’t know about other options in the Mini-App marketplace.

Goals

Increase awareness and understanding of Mini-App’s by providing clear explanations and value propositions. Ensure practical application and functionality are evident to users within the Easypaisa ecosystem. Address user concerns and enhance exploration by promoting a wider range of mini-apps effectively. Finally, to identify opportunity to monetize the Mini-Apps space for revenue generation.

Heuristic Evaluation

To further explore current user experience of the Mini-Apps, I performed heuristics evaluation. For that I used Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics which are as follow:

Jakob Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics (10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design)

Heuristics Evaluation (FigJam Board)

For instance, the decision to reduce cognitive load by minimizing the number of steps needed to access the mini-apps stemmed from Nielsen’s usability heuristics on flexibility and efficiency of use.

Interaction Design

After evaluating usability, I created detailed wireframes to ensure a smooth user journey by making it easy to access app categories, search results, and filtering tools. My goal was to improve the overall user experience while following best practices in UX design.

Hick's Law

The design reduces decision-making time by grouping mini-apps, minimizing cognitive load and simplifying navigation.

Jakob's Law

Familiar patterns like a top search bar and bottom filters make the interface intuitive and easy to navigate.

Fitts's Law

Frequently used elements, such as the search bar and navigation tabs, are placed within easy reach for quicker access.

Miller’s Law

The layout organizes content into categories & featured sections, making it easier for users to process and remember information.

Law of Proximity

Related items (such as categories and their respective apps) are grouped closely together, helping users understand relationships and navigate the interface more intuitively.

Wireframes & Interactions (FigJam Board)

By applying Hick’s Law, I simplified the menu options, allowing users to make quicker decisions by limiting the choices visible at any one time. Fitts’s Law also informed the design, ensuring that frequently used actions were placed within easy reach for quicker interaction.

Solution

These decisions, rooted in user insights and usability laws, led to a more intuitive interface where users can now easily explore and access mini-apps, fulfilling both business and user goals.

Final Remarks

Revamping the mini-apps for Easypaisa wasn’t just about enhancing the interface—it led to tangible, data-driven results. After the March 2024 launch, user transactions significantly increased, reversing the stagnation seen from December to February. User engagement spiked as well, with an increase in unique users interacting with various services, especially in high-use categories like food delivery and financial services. This, in turn, contributed to a clear upward trend in transaction amounts. The project’s success lies in its ability to combine seamless navigation with increased monetization, driving both user satisfaction and business growth.

Future Direction

I will conduct thorough usability testing to gather user feedback and identify areas for improvement. Working with developers, I will get analytics tools integrate in to the application to monitor user behavior and satisfaction.