User Research
Discovering Pain Points for the Futures Trading Mobile App
NinjaTrader is a futures trading fintech company known for their web and mobile applications.
Client
NinjaTrader
Service
User Research
Date
2023 - 2024
My Role
As the UX Strategist for NinjaTrader, I planned, organized, and conducted research for this project. During this time, I also collaborated with the lead product designer to analyze and synthesize the findings.
Project Overview
About The Company
NinjaTrader is a futures trading fintech company known for its web and desktop trading platforms. With an established presence in the U.S. market, the company set its sights on international expansion — starting with South Korea.
The Challenge
As the company prepared to enter the South Korean market, focus groups with local users surfaced an uncomfortable truth: the existing mobile app wasn't just unfamiliar to South Korean users, it had deep UX and UI problems that cut across cultural boundaries.
The Question
What is the mobile app experience like for domestic U.S. users, and how does it hold up against competitors?
The Timeline: 3 Months
We worked on this project for about three months. In the time we covered the following:
Research & Planning for 1 - 2 weeks
Recruitment for 2 weeks
Analysis and synthesis for 1 week
Recommendations and next steps for about 1 to 2 weeks
Research & Methodology
We recruited 5 beginner and 5 advanced users through the UserTesting Platform, conducting a total of 10 moderated usability testing sessions for 45 minutes each.
Data Analysis & Synthesis
We analyzed and synthesized using the following methods and data:
Systems Usability Scale (SUS) calculation - 62.5 (D), so the app was acceptable, but not up to par.
The Average Task success rating - 1.68 our of 3, so most users could complete tasks, but not without effort, confusion, or friction.
Calculated the severity rating for each usability issue - most ranged from moderate to high on the severity scale.
What We Produced
Findings & Recommendations Report: a full synthesis of all usability issues, organized by severity, with actionable design recommendations for each
Stakeholder Presentation: the report was presented to key stakeholders and stored in the central research repository for cross-team access.
Jira Task List: every actionable recommendation was converted into a development ticket and added to the product backlog.
Key Highlights
Our Findings
They couldn’t find the charts, and when they find it, they can’t use it.
Didn’t know they can trade from multiple areas.
Struggled to navigate the app.
Were confused by the navigation.
Couldn’t intuitively use the search bar.
Struggled to customize the watchlist.
Overall, over 90 issues were identified.
Our Recommendations
Streamline the design
Improve the information architecture
User friendly interface
Separate and clearly mark charts and DOM
Make chart controls more visible
Use guided interactions
Redesign and overhaul the navigation
Create an adaptive search feature
The Outcome
The findings from this study became the direct foundation for the next phase of product work:
The lead product designer used the recommendations to develop new design prototypes for usability testing.
A card sort study was launched to rethink the app’s navigation architecture.
The research ultimately drove a full redesign of the NinjaTrader mobile app.
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