ATM for Kids: A Design Thinking Exercise
Nowadays I only use ATMs to withdraw money for cash-only services, which is rare. So I had to think about how kids would have useful, usable, and desirable interactions with ATMs and how ATMs would provide effective solutions to kids’ problems.
The process began with empathy. I put myself in kids’ shoes to match their needs. I thought about why kids might use an ATM in different situations and processed how these interactions may be different from those between ATMs and adults. I also needed to design a prototype that addressed the physical and knowledge constraints of my target users: 5 to 12 year old kids. I assumed this as the target age range because they can start kindergarten at age 5 where they learn numbers and by age 12 they are allowed to have a debit card.
Using the framework of Design Thinking, I prototyped an ATM for children below. I described my design process and showed how I came to define the adaptabilities, safeguards, and solutions incorporated into the prototype to make the product useful and usable to kids.
Empathize
I started by empathizing what different situations would require kids to use ATMs as solutions. Since my target user is usually under the supervision of their caretakers, I also empathized with the caretakers and asked myself why ATMs would be solutions for parents of 5 to 12 year olds.
Why would 5 to 12 year old kids need to access an ATM?
- for daily activities without parents that require money e.g. lunch, snacks, bus fare, game, or activities with friends
- to access allowance deposited by parents
- to check balance in their account
- to deposit earned wages from job such as dog walking, lawn mowing, and babysitting
Why would parents of 5 to 12 year olds want their kids to be able to have a personal ATM account and access to money?
- education: kids can learn to manage money through small scale transactions and account balances, and start to have a rudimentary understanding about financial liquidity
- kids in the older(10 to 12) range can learn how to create savings along with managing and planning their expenses
- these small financial transactions could lead to a greater sense of financial independence, responsibility for their financial decisions, and self-reliance for kids as they grow up
What assumptions or constraints must be taken into account when designing an ATM for a 5 to 12 year old kid?
- varying heights of kids ages 5 to 12
- ability to understand banking language ie. deposit, withdrawal, overdraft
- ability to understand overdraft, withdrawal limits, and penalties
- ability to remember to take debit card out after ATM withdrawal
- ability to remember PIN
- must include the ability to support micro financial interactions(less than a dollar)
Define and Ideate
After I empathized with the target users and their parents, I went on to define the fundamental requirements and details to include in my design through rational analysis. I tried to go beyond obvious uses and brainstormed benefits or incentives I could incorporate to make the design more creative and therefore more desirable, teachable, engaging, and emotional.
- ATM needs to be adjustable to accompany varying heights
- First time users complete a “onboarding/trivia” similar to a game so they get familiarized with banking language. ATM uses real world vocabulary so kids get an early understanding of financial terms.
- *option to have parents deposit “reward” money or incentive for kids who successfully pass the banking language and system how-to quizzes
- limit on amount that can be withdrawn or account balance is shown on withdrawal page so children can understand how much they can withdraw
- Have a “middleman” screen that asks what the transaction is for. For withdrawals, it prompts users to pause and think critically about their spending habits. For deposits, it allows users to work towards a goal eg. saving $100 for the game set he’s been eyeing. It also allows parents to keep track of their kids’ spending and saving habits and provide further guidance if needed
- friendly reminder screen and sound to take out debit card after using ATM
- symbol friendly log-in process where kids use unique chosen set of pictures or icons instead of traditional PIN to access ATM
- ability to deposit or withdraw change
- replace traditional interaction of debit card and PIN with finger or face scan
In terms of the design theme it should be:
- easy to use interface with large text
- fun and colorful with illustrations and sounds to accompany actions and to confirm or indicate errors
- engaging and enjoyable through use of rewards and games
- extra security, room for error, and tracking eg. parental override and transaction receipts sent to parents
Below is a very rough and early sketch showing how I ideate by applying various solutions to problems in context within a design.
Prototype, test…and repeat!
The next steps to gain further insight are creating a prototype, testing, and repeating the entire process until the design boils down to new functionalities instead of fixing problems. This evaluative process allows us to gather valuable user feedback. These insights allow for us to quickly identify, build, and test our way to success.
