Kid’s ATM for a UX/UI Boot Camp Exercise

kATM: Banky

• Empathize.

Think about these questions: What is an ATM (both functionally and metaphorically)? How and why would a child use an ATM? What are the possibilities or features a kid may need for using an ATM? Is there an educational aspect at play?

What is an ATM? An ATM is an automated teller machine. This machine took the place of a human in the 1960s. An ATM allows you to take money out, deposit money or checks, and check account balances any time of the day. You need a plastic bank debit card that is inserted or recognized by the Near Field Communication (NFC) chip for contactless recognition by your bank debit card.

An ATM allows you access to money at any point of the day. An ATM allows you secure transactions. You can take out money (likely associated with a fee) and check balances from any ATM, but you can only deposit cash or checks at your personal bank ATM.

What is a kid? This is very broad.

Why would a kid need an ATM? Is this a young kid learning how to save money? Is this a kid that’s around 9 or 10 that is hanging out after school with their friends and they need some money to go buy snacks?

Features: Lower to the ground, bright/cool/fun colors/voice recognition, braille, very easy jargon, choose your own language, pictures, shaped like a piggy bank (?), slight different acronym than ATM, Banky (a friendly bank helper); Banky tells the value of money; when depositing Banky fills up more; when taking money out Banky depletes; card used to begin Banky

• Define. On a high level, how should it look? What functionalities should it include?

-The kATM (kid ATM), should be lower to the ground so shorter kids can access the machine easier.

-The kid would use a card to tap the screen to begin.

-It should be shaped like a piggy bank to help kids associate saving/gather/conserving money in one place, like a piggy bank. This shape would work with smaller kids like age 3 to kids age 9 to maybe 11 or 12 before they’re “too cool” to associate their banking with a piggy bank. When they hit that age, they can transfer over to a boring “adult” ATM.

-There would be a lot of friendly pictures/icons AND words for kids that are learning to read

-There would not be very many words and keep it as very simple as possible

-There would be a pig bank teller that talks to the kids named Banky; Banky would talk to the kids vocally and there would be a visual version of Banky that pops up on the screen when speaking and also does sign language while speaking

-Banky would be able to voice recognize or visually recognize the kid to be able to say a personal hello

-Banky would help kids recognize how much money they have in their account and what that amount of money “means”. Banky: You have $5 in your account right now! You could buy one plastic Pokémon character, and you would have $2 leftover and (when adding money); when a kid is taking out money they can tell Banky what they are looking to buy with the money they’re taking out and Banky would say: If you want to buy five sodas, you need at least $10.

-There would be screens on the side of Banky to demonstrate Banky becoming more full of money when a deposit is made/depleting when money is taken out

• Ideate. Quickly draw a few versions and ideas for this ATM.

• Prototype. Draw the final sketches with a bit more detail and refinement than the previous one.

• Test. No need to go through this phase at this moment since it would typically involve a lot of time. For a typical interview assignment, for instance, you would also not be expected to do this phase, but we will definitely go through it in more detail later in the curriculum.