Stanford University, Spring 2002

1
An Investment Management Simulation

• A conceptual captology design by
• Kara Blond and Minette Chan

Design Challenge Create a simulation program for
a mobile device to persuade young peopleto
invest responsibly Time limit 10 hours
2

• Persuasive Purpose
• Use simulation to persuade young people to make
  responsible, educated investing decisions

Industrial Design
3
User Description

• High school or college students who need to learn
  and practice investment skills
• Have access to mobile devices (generally
  comfortable with technology)

4
Design Process

• Ideation with mind maps, bodystorming, sketching
• Storyboarding of user experience
• Prototyping
• User testing
• Iteration

5
Monday, 930AM Mr. Smith unveils the Stock
Shock PDA application to his students. Theyre
excited! He explains that one hour in the
simulation world is equal to one real-world week.
A full sim-day is one real quarter. Students
see big picture changes, and learn from authentic
past market data.
Monday, 10AM Each student is given 20,000 in
simulation money to invest. To allow for deeper
analysis, Stock Shock allows students to choose
between four stocks and Bank CDs. Two boys start
to examine their options.
Last year, Mr. Smiths Investment Management
students were overwhelmed by the complexity of
the stock market. But they couldnt grasp the
concept from reading books and articles, or even
by using Internet programs.
Wednesday, 11AM Amy checks out her investments.
She looks up her PORTFOLIO and is worried
because her earnings are dropping. The company
she invested in (ranked top 10 by Fortune
magazine 2 years ago) earlier is filing for
Chapter 11!
Friday, 930AM Mr. Smith leads the class in
discussing the years events. Amy learns that
her losing company is actually Enron! A lesson
well-learned Past performance does not guarantee
future success. Amy needs to consider multiple
perspectives in the future.
Monday, 12 noon Its been two hours! Amy
downloads the current information to her PDA..
She researches the stocks that look interesting
to her by clicking on RESEARCH. She then makes
decisions based on the data.
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Prototype of Stock Shock!

• Students personalize experience by entering user
  name
• They can choose to Buy/Sell stocks, view their
  Portfolio or Research stocks

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Prototype of Stock Shock!

• Students can see the long-range changes in their
  portfolio, or click to see zoomed-in views
• Choosing a point on the graph will show the
  holdings for that day

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Prototype of Stock Shock!

• Before making purchasing decisions, students
  research stocks by choosing from an options menu
• Video clips, articles and other types of analysis
  can be viewed on the PDA screen

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Prototype of Stock Shock!

• Understanding the implications, students then
  make purchasing decisions and continue to monitor
  their portfolios
• Decisions are monitored through in-class exercises

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Success?!

• Students thinkcarefully about investment
  decisions
• They choose to research and ask questions about
  financial options
• Students of both genders have funand feel
  confident making financial decisions

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Product Features

• Five investment options allow for in-depth
  analysis without overwhelming students. Stock
  choices mirror actual companies and behave
  accordingly. The companies change weekly in each
  category to simulate the volatility of investing.
• Users can take three actions
• Buy/Sell purchase or sell specific amounts of
  stocks/bank CDs
• My Portfolio see in one glance investment
  performance over time, can zoom in to see
  specific days volatility
• Research look up information about companies
  (e.g. performance history, analysts forecasts,
  newspaper articles, videos)
• Help option always available to offer navigation
  tips, investment advice, etc.

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How it works!

• Portability and wireless access features of the
  PDA allow user to download current information
• 1 hour in simulation time 1 fiscal week
• 1 week in simulation time 1 fiscal year
• Uses authentic information and tracks results
  over time. This program is ideally used over at
  least 5 weeks, to simulate market shifts over 5
  fiscal years.
• Students can use PDA tools - calculator, memo,
  date book to enhance experience.
• Project is embedded in classroom curriculum
  students beam results to common computer and
  complete an all-class analysis of individuals
  decisions

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Theoretical Justifications

• Simulation presents information in a stimulating,
  direct manner. Authentic data improves situative
  learning.
• PDA platform provides portability and easy
  wireless access. Students can use in free time.
• Weighing risk versus reward is an essential
  analytical skill, and a valuable persuasive
  strategy.
• Persuades by using rapid changes (theyll want to
  monitor them), pre-giving of money (theyll want
  that to increase) and competition (theyll want
  to make better choices than their friends)
• Simulation relies on principle of rehearsal as a
  tool for self-efficacy.

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Results of User Testing

• Bonny, financial advisor
• Informant design methods required to enhance
  learning
• Simulation, authentic past data and overall
  portfolio view very effective
• Not helpful to encourage regular checking of
  stocks (we decided to show only weekly changes)
• Wyant, graduate student
• Unique application for PDA I havent seen that
  before.
• May be technically difficult to implement
• Important to introduce students early to
  financial decision-making encourage interest

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Shortcomings of Design

• People take investment classes for months, even
  years. This task is limited in time and scope and
  might oversimplify the subject.
• Not all PDAs have easy access to wireless
  networks and the Internet.
• Its EXPENSIVE for schools, but cheaper than
  laptops!
• In-class participation needed to optimize
  learning in this application.
• Small screens limit available information.
• Could take away from other class activities if
  students are too engaged with the program.

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Expansion?

• Other form factors or ID possibilities
• A program on a laptop or computer might work, but
  would be more cumbersome (longer boot-up time,
  heavier equipment, etc.) and less individualized
• Could be used on mobile phone, but screen is
  smaller and less interactive. The functionalities
  are also not as robust (notepad, calculator,
  etc.)
• Other features and interactions
• Can be linked to a website that offers online
  lessons on investment management skills
• Content can be expanded to include trends over
  the decades (e.g. 1920s Depression Era 1970s
  Oil Crisis, etc.)
• More customization options (e.g. users can choose
  to have only tech stocks appear).
• Use analysts expertise to effect smart choices

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Next Steps in Design Process

• Create functional prototype.
• Interview financial experts on the
  appropriateness of the content.
• User test with students and teachers.
• Iterate with usability/learnability suggestions.
• Establish content for the product (assimilate
  stock data over time). Introduce flexibility for
  teachers.
• Test drive in classrooms.
• Iterate!

18
Evaluation of Captology Design Project
How well does the design idea fit into the realm
of captology? 0 1
2 3 4
5 6 7
How well does the design match the design
brief? 0 1
2 3 4
5 6 7
How viable/convincing is the proposed solution?
0 1 2
3 4 5
6 7
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Evaluation continued
How clever is the proposed solution?
0 1 2
3 4 5
6 7
How effectively did the presentation
communicate? 0 1
2 3 4
5 6 7
How well does the document communicate?
0 1 2
3 4 5
6 7
Bonus Points