Lean UX all the way

We used Lean UX methodology in our work, which allowed me to have a high level of collaboration with developers and PMs, and also a shared understanding of the product.

Stage 1. Paywalls

Problem statement

The current state of paywalls has focused primarily on the subscription model of monetisation. They do not take into account the needs of the consumer. If a person only wants to read one article, they do not need a monthly subscription.
Even if the service provides access to the article for a small fee, the payment process is too time-consuming.
Our product will cover this gap using Lightning Payment. This will reduce the payment process to a single step (scanning a QR code) and will also eliminate fees, allowing smaller amounts to be accepted.

Starting the process

To create a high level of shared understanding of the product and to make sure the whole team is on the same track, we got together to clearly define the goal of the project, talk about the problems we need to solve and draw up hypotheses. To do this we used standard brainstorming, sticky notes and whiteboarding techniques.

Who says that ideas are only discussed in cramped conference rooms? Lunch break with continued assumptions building.

First steps

The designer should not start work in isolation from the team. The first steps and sketches in product design should be done together, with each team member's ideas being heard. This increases involvement in the project and the design IQ of the whole team.

We used a simplified version of the Design Studio exercise and created our wierframes directly in Figma, discussing ideas in Zoom.

First prototype version of a branded popup with a QR code for payment.

First prototype of the dashboard to track payments.

Stage 2. Checkout

Shifting our focus

Stakeholders reviewed the concept and decided that it should not be limited to B2B/B2C solutions to solve the Paywalls problem. We should create a product that would act like Stripe in the crypto world and allow users to pay for Digital products with cryptocurrency. Businesses will be able to receive fiat money. A small project has become a giant

Too huge to cover

The project became very big and involved an even bigger development team. I decided not to add details of the project, otherwise this case would never have ended.

Back to analysis

We did not stop using Lean UX methodology in the creation of this product. Unfortunately, due to tight deadlines, we were often limited to making assumptions, analysing competitors and communicating with stakeholders.

Details

After creating low-fidelity wireframes, I proceeded to visualize and simultaneously develop a design system with components for easy integration of new features. This system also greatly aided the front-end team during the development stage.

Visualising

Once the design system was finished I had no trouble finishing the necessary platform screens. In total more than 80 unique screens were created, including modal windows and popups.

Results

It is difficult to list all the results of such a large project. The team came together and worked as one brain, at the highest level of trust. Everyone understood their tasks and did not hesitate to put forward ideas.
All the Features specified have been developed and shipped. The need to develop a flexible design system that allows the product to be easily scalable has enhanced my knowledge of design systems.
This case study is just part of a bigger project journey, we found a large American bank that was interested in the idea and started a branch of this project, tailoring it to the bank's needs.