Mycelium Wallet UX Audit: Full research report

Problems

• The Add New Account function is duplicated with the one next to the menu call button.
• Cold Storage and Verify Message should be used less often than Gift Cards (conversion action), but they are located above Gift Cards in the menu.
• The menu contains too many items.
• Sign Message and Verify Message functions are logically close and relate to wallet actions, where actions such as Send and Receive also belong, but are located in different parts of the application.
• In most applications, Settings are the last item in the context menu. Users will find this more familiar.
• The Refresh button is redundant.
• The Cold Storage button leads to a screen where you can only spend from paper or hardware wallets, without adding them to the Accounts screen. The name misleads about a more extensive functionality.

Recommendations

• Remove the duplicated account addition function.
• Place Cold Storage and Verify Message below the conversion Gift Cards.
• Conduct an analysis and move functions to other places. Forming a separate screen hub for launching micro-applications, such as transfers via FIO, gift card marketplace, and backup manager would be a good solution.
• Place Sign Message and Verify Message

Issues

• Too much introductory text. The first paragraph simply lists the supported accounts, which are already on the page.
• Ethereum and ERC-20 seem like different networks. In fact, the "Add ERC-20 account" button initiates the process of adding tokens to the Ethereum account (ERC-20 - Ethereum token standard).
• When entering this screen, it is not clear that the hardware wallet connection is located in the Single Address Account / Advanced & More section.
• The "Advanced & More" button, which is under the "Single Address Account" heading, leads to the "Add Unrelated Account" section.
• In the “Add Unrelated Account” section, you can add a Bitcoin account by scanning and copying from the clipboard. The buttons are arranged in a column and have different introductory texts, which take up a lot of space.
• The design of the main and nested screens are inconsistent with each other.

Recommendations

• Remove the first paragraph, rewrite the second more succinctly and without the “Info: ” signature.
• Rename "Add ERC-20 account" to "Add ERC-20 Tokens", highlight them together with the "Add Ethereum Account" button in one category.
• Show hardware wallet connection as a separate sub-item in the main menu, which would lead to a dialog with the wallet model selection with the ability to go to the site for purchase with a referral link.
• Remove the Add Unrelated Account screen, moving the 6 hardware wallet addition buttons to the "Connect Hardware Wallet" section, and everything else to the main menu.
• Place the Scan and Clipboard buttons at the same level under a single description in the "Add New Account" section.
• Bring the appearance of the nested screen visually to the style of the main one.

Issues

• The screen does not contain the usual "Back" button.
• The meaning of the "Okay, I understand" button is not clear. Does it allow you to proceed, help get into the settings, or just send you back? It turned out to be the latter.
• To set a pin code and go further, you need to find it in the settings, which is not easy.
• The screen contains too much text and there are no graphics. As a result, a high cognitive load, the screen creates a complex impression.
• Such a large amount of text, centered, creates visual tension and harms aesthetics.
• The button is far from the bottom of the screen, it is quite difficult to reach it.

Recommendations

• Add a "Back" button, just like similar ones on other screens.
• Rename the "Okay, I understand" button to "Return" or "Back to %Name of the previous screen%".
• Add a "Set PIN now" button, which quickly redirects to the settings, and more user-friendly, allows you to set the PIN directly on this screen.
• Reduce the amount of text and possibly add a clear error illustration.
• If it is not possible to reduce the amount of text, align it to the left edge.
• Move the button to the bottom of the screen.

Issues

• There is no "Back" button, which is present on other screens.
• Such an amount of text, centered, looks bad and is difficult to read.
• The buttons look as if there is no design and are inconsistent with the "Add New Account" screen.

Recommendations

• Add a "Back" button.
• Reduce the amount of text, or make center alignment.
• Use buttons across the entire width of the screen, or place several buttons in a row, use icons. You can try using round buttons in the "Get private key from:" section, the same as the Scan, Send and Receive buttons on the Balance screen.

• There is no "Back" button, which is present on other screens.
• There is no introductory text to help understand the essence of the function.
• The edges of the elements on the sides go beyond the fields present on other screens of the application, which violates consistency and aesthetics.

Recommendations

• Add a "Back" button.
• Add introductory text with a description of the essence of the function.
• Observe the fields along the edges of the screen.

Issues

• The visual style is not consistent with other screens.

Recommendations

• Bring the visual style into consistency with other screens. By the way, a monochrome background, compared to a gradient background or a background with a picture, does not contain unnecessary elements and corresponds to the style of standard applications.

Issues

• FIO technology has not gained enough popularity in flagship products. For billing in BTC, they use the invoice function in the lightning network.
• Visual style and colors are not consistent with other screens.

Recommendations

• Transfer functions related to FIO from the main navigation to the micro-application hub screen.
• Make this screen and other application screens look consistent.

Issues

• Similar to the basic state
• The tag icon is commonly associated with tags - an array of keywords, but here it triggers a name change of the selected wallet
• The "Sign Message" button is located in an accent place, but this function is rarely needed by users.

Recommendations

• Similar to the basic state
• Replace the tag icon for renaming with the standard Rename icon with a pencil from Material Design, or leave only text.
• Move the "Sign Message" function to the hidden menu of functions on the selected wallet screen.

Issues

• The user does not understand the phrase "Show Unspent Outputs". It refers to HD accounts, which consist of several accounts and simply shows addresses where funds are actually located and their balances.
• The "Show Unspent Outputs" function is displayed for non-HD accounts, but this function is unnecessary for them.
• The first 5 items relate to a specific account, while "My FIO Names" and "FIO Requests" do not relate to a specific context.

Recommendations

• The "Show Unspent Outputs" call point is better to move to the balance screen and rename it to "Show addresses with balance".
• Do not show "Show Unspent Outputs" at all for irrelevant accounts.
• Remove "My FIO Names" and "FIO Requests" items from this context menu.

Issues

• The captions under the Send, Scan, and Receive buttons do not have sufficient contrast according to the WCAG standard.
• The screen does not show the full name of the coin (token) and the network to which it belongs (for example, ERC-20), which can be misleading if wallets of one coin in different networks have different names (for example, the Bitcoin token in the RMC network and just Bitcoin).
• The element showing the exchange rate of the asset on the exchange with the exchange selection button unnecessarily takes up a lot of space in the vertical plane.
• Using the chips element to show a long list of buttons in the form of a carousel, some of which lead to referral links of partners, and some to micro-applications within the wallet is extremely inconvenient. Some services can be overlooked. Once clicked on one button and realized that it's just an ad, the user might think that other buttons in this carousel are also ads.
• According to the Material UI guidelines, the Banner (an element reporting backup problems) should contain text at the top and action buttons at the bottom.
• It is not recommended to use types of buttons different from the Text Button in the banner to avoid excessive attention.

Recommendations

• Use more contrasting to the background color of the text for the captions of the Send, Scan and Receive buttons.
• Display the full name of the coin and the currently selected network on the screen.
• Place the element showing the asset exchange rate on the exchange and the exchange selection button in one line.
• You can place the buttons from the chips carousel in the form of vertical text links in a row, which will give a stable and memorable position in the interface to the micro-applications that were in this carousel.
• Re-arrange the banner about backup problems so that the text is located in its upper part, and the action buttons in its lower part.
• Change the style of the buttons in the banner to Text Button.

Issues

• 4 buttons in a column look very ridiculous. You need to read the text on each button, and after indicating the address, the elements below shift.
• Among the many options for substituting an address, there is no way to send coins to the last address
• When you click on the input field of the amount, it shifts, and the keyboard appears in an unfamiliar place, which causes discomfort for the user.
• The button to increase the transaction volume to the entire user's funds is located on the digital keyboard, which is not a familiar place, while

Problems

• 4 buttons in a column look very silly. The text on each button needs to be read, and after indicating the address, the elements below are shifted.
• Among the many options for address substitution, there is no ability to send coins to the last address.
• When you click on the amount input field, it shifts, and the keyboard appears in an unusual place, which causes discomfort for the user.
• The button to increase the transaction volume to the full amount of the user's funds is located on the numeric keyboard, which is not a usual place, while logically it is more associated with the element showing the total account balance.
• If the user chooses too low a commission, he does not fully realize that the transaction may be delayed.
• The transaction speed calculation mechanism works incorrectly. Having chosen a commission with a calculated arrival time of 2 hours, the coins were credited after 4 hours. The combination of this problem with the previous one causes a noticeable share of support tickets and negative reviews on Google Play about the transaction getting stuck.

Recommendations

• To choose the source of the address, use a more familiar and intuitive component. For example, a text field, on the right side of which there will be buttons-icons for pasting and scanning QR, to the right of the text "Enter recipient address" you can place a text button "Address Book", and when the text field is in focus, show the last used addresses.
• Add the ability to substitute one of the 5 last sent addresses.
• At the beginning of the amount input, leave the input field in the interface in the same position and form. If necessary - hide or darken the elements below the field. It's better to use the standard keyboard, and if you use your own, it should be located in the usual place.
• It's better to place the Max button in the form of a text button near the line indicating the account balance.
• If a low commission is chosen, show a warning that the transaction may take too long.
• Change the data source for calculating transaction execution speed.

Problems

• The button for scanning is not needed, because the continuous scanning process is already going on and the scanner closes as soon as a QR code comes into view.

Recommendations

• Remove the scanning button.

Problems

• The Share Address button is duplicated by the icon.
• The QR code is not large enough and it may be difficult to scan it with a poor camera.
• If the user uses an HD account to hide their assets from counterparties, then here you cannot choose an address related to his HD account, to which he wants to receive funds.

Recommendations

• Remove the Share address button duplicate.
• Make the QR code larger.
• Add the ability to choose an address to receive on HD accounts.

Problems

• It is not intuitive that bitcoin has 3 different address formats and what their advantages are. To switch, you need to click on the QR code, although users are more accustomed to clicking on the QR code to expand it to full screen.

Recommendations

• Make the address type selection a three-position switch (P2PKH, P2SH, Bech32). Next to it, place a button (?), which opens a popup with detailed information about what it all means.

Problems

• There is no information on the screen that the wallet is in HD mode. This can only be understood by the icon with three keys, which is poorly visible and not intuitive.
• There is no entry point to a popup that would explain the peculiarity of the HD account and why the wallet balance, the address of which is now displayed on the screen, is empty. People do not understand the principle of work and accuse the Wallet of stealing funds in reviews in the Play Market.
• There is no button to view balances at addresses. It is also missing in the menu under the "..." button. You need to go back to the Accounts section and look for this function in the menu under the "..." button there.
• From this screen, you cannot understand how many addresses this wallet uses.

Recommendations

• Add an indicator to the corner of the screen that the wallet is in HD mode.
• Next to the HD mode indicator, add a button-icon that calls a pop-up window explaining how HD mode works.
• Not far from the indicator, place the “View all addresses” button, which would show on which real addresses the balance is stored.
• Indicate on the screen how many active addresses the account has, or integrate this number into the button from the previous point, for example, “View all 6 addresses”.

Problems

• Excessive use of colors on the text makes it difficult to read and the selected shade of red has insufficient contrast according to the WCAG standard.
• In the Ethereum network, expenses related to interaction with smart contracts are not marked.
• Often several transactions are made in a day, but the interface does not show the time of the transaction.
• Amounts with a large number of digits after the decimal point are difficult to compare when they are aligned to the left, and in standard list items in Material Design, the date is usually located on the right.
• There are not enough explanations when there are many transactions. For example, tags about who and what the money is being transferred for, or which service was interacted with.
• The linear separator between transactions creates visual noise, and the text relating to different transactions is closer to each other than the text relating to a single transaction.
• In Ethereum, fees are displayed as separate transactions, and in Bitcoin, the equivalent amount of the transaction in dollars and the equivalent amount of the transaction in dollars, taking into account the commission, are displayed next to each other. The user does not understand and thinks that one of the numbers is the paid commission.
• It is unclear what to do if the transaction is stuck and has not been executed for several days.

Recommendations

• Abandon the use of colors to denote expenses and accruals, and use icons to denote the direction of debits and/or a minus in front of the number in debit operations.
• In addition to icons for displaying cryptocurrency sends and receipts, use an icon to denote interaction with smart contracts.
• Show the time of the transaction under the date instead of its status, and show the status graphically.
• Place the amounts and their equivalent in dollars on the left, and the dates and times on the right.
• Display explanations for transactions as a third line when available.
• Remove the separators and express that the text relates to different transactions in the language of distances between the text: the gaps between texts related to different transactions should be larger than the text elements that together form information about one transaction.
• Do not show commissions or the amount of the transaction volume and commission in the general list similar to other wallets, so as not to mislead the user.
• If the transaction takes more than three hours, show a message under it with a proposal to call the function of adding gas to the transaction.

Problems

• If the transaction gets stuck, there is no way to "push" it by increasing the commission, this problem is very often faced by people in reviews on the Play Market.
• The equivalent of the transaction amount and the miner fee in dollars at the time of sending is not shown, although it is in all other parts of the application.
• The fields on the sides are not observed.
• There is no back button and the distance from the header to the top edge and to the content is too small.
• A larger font size is used, so on devices with a small screen, all the text may not fit.
• You cannot add the sending address to the "Address Book".
• It is not intuitive that address would be copied when user will do a long press.

Recommendations

• Add the "Bump transaction" feature with an increased commission to an already sent transaction.
• Show the equivalent of the transaction amount and miner fees in dollars.
• Add fields on the sides, consistent with other screens.
• Add a top panel with a "Back" button and a title, consistent with other screens.
• Use the same font size as in other pop-up screens.
• Add a button opposite the recipient's address with the ability to add the recipient's address to the "Address Book".

Problems

• The concept of a separate section for partner advertising seems strange, as this section can also be hidden in the settings.
• The text in the title suggests that these projects should be useful to cryptocurrency beginners, but there is vodka advertising in the list here.

Recommendations

• Place advertising in accordance with the context in different parts of the application, or integrate the use of partner services into the functionality of the application.
• Remove irrelevant advertising from the application.

Problems

• The screen does not follow the fields around the edges of the screen.
• The screen unjustifiably uses too large a font size.
• In the current composition, the address is transferred several times. Perhaps this is done to simplify the comparison of addresses, but it looks messy.

Recommendations

• Follow the fields around the edges of the screen.
• Reduce the font size.
• To display entries, it is better to use the List element from Material Design. In it, elements are arranged in one row, and you can also add an icon to the left (logos of popular exchanges, wallets, images of people), which the user will be able to choose when adding a new entry.

Problems

• The QR code display function calls a similar to the point of confusion screen with the function of displaying the address of your own wallet. The warning message is too long and written too small. There may be a situation where the user unlocks the phone and presents the wrong QR code.
• The button to change the name of the address is called "edit", which implies that not only the name can be changed, but this is not the case.
• The fields at the top and bottom are violated in the pop-up window for changing the address name. It feels like a standard Material UI component with link buttons was taken, and styles were unsuccessfully imposed on it.
• It is expected that the "Show QR-code" button will simply show the QR code of the wallet, but it opens a screen where, in addition to the QR code, the address can be copied, and also generate an invoice link for the amount specified by the user.
• The address book seems like a reasonable entry point into the script for sending coins to the specified address, however, this cannot be done.

Recommendations

• Change the design of the screen so that the user cannot confuse it with the screen for receiving payment to his own account.
• Rename the "Edit" button to "Rename".
• Correct the fields at the top and bottom in the pop-up window to acceptable ones, or use link buttons at the bottom.
• Rename the "Show QR-code" button to "Share address".
• Add an entry point into the script for sending coins to the highlighted address.

Problems

• The popup window does not contain a close button.
• The window uses text components, although a graphic component that is intuitive and familiar to users can be created from the standard Material UI elements.
• If the user wants to add an address to the Address Book that he is forced to rewrite, he will not be able to do it.
• After inserting the address, it is impossible to check it until you assign a name and return to the main "Address Book" screen.

Recommendations

• The popup window should have a close or cancel button consistent with other parts of the application.
• Instead of two labels and two buttons, you can use a text field with insert and QR code scanning icon-buttons on the right.
• Both stages of adding an address can be fit on one screen.