Minha Grana Organizada - Your financial life in an app

Problem

Do you know where your money is going every month?

Research shows that almost half of Brazilians do not control their budget, and many rely on memory.

High credit card use worsens expenses, insecurity and lack of planning.

We used the 5W1H method to detail the problem, which you can see here.

In light of this, how might we help users organize their finances and improve their choices, in addition to making credit cards an ally?

Solution

Offer an intuitive app that allows users to organize, plan and analyze their finances in one place, in a practical way and adapted to their routine.

Discover and test our high-fidelity prototype by clicking here

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Production Process

Discovery

We started by benchmarking our competitors to find out what the apps were offering and what users were saying about them.

At this stage, we discovered that no app offered a specific analysis of recurring expenses, and that's how the first idea for a solution emerged.

With the Business Model Canvas we align business objectives and define the value proposition.

Then, with the Value Proposition Canvas we map the needs of our target audience.

Finally, we used the HEART framework to evaluate our product performance post-launch.

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Research

Desk Research helped us learn about many real issues related to money and also validate many assumptions as certainties.

To help us visualize better, we distributed the data found in the CSD Matrix.

Quantitative Research

We conducted a survey (questionnaire) that provided us with the following data:

142 answers

70% classes B and C and with completed higher education

The identified audience gave us important insights that helped us validate or overturn biases in the CSD Matrix. See the results found:

Qualitative Research

To better empathize with users' financial routines, we used a semi-structured interview with more exploratory questions, and these were some of the insights we obtained:

Persona

Based on the research, we redefined the proto-personas and then created a user profile.

It became clear that the root of the problem is not related to aspects such as social class, education level, gender or age, but rather to three key factors: routine, organization and satisfaction.

User Journey

We mapped the user's pain points and motivations, which helped us see interesting opportunities.

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Solution

Learning about money may seem difficult, but it is important. Today's apps make many things easier, but when it comes to organizing expenses, some methods are complicated.

In view of this, we created a simple app to help people manage their personal finances, aiming to make the process easy and promote the habit of management and financial autonomy.

Effort X Impact Matrix

We prioritize the most impactful solutions to solve pain points, with the least effort required.

Once we had gathered information and had an idea of ​​what already existed, we began to shape our ideas. To do this, we used Crazy 8 and then, in Scribbleframes, we outlined the first possible solutions.

Usability Testing

We conducted three rounds of usability testing in our project with different objectives.

First Round

Objective: To validate the initial registration experience of the application in a medium-fidelity prototype.

Findings: During the research, we identified a pain related to the time and complexity in the initial configuration process of the application, leading many users to give up using it.

Proposed Solution: We developed an initial registration that, despite being detailed, is filled out automatically and in a personalized way, simplifying the user experience.

Testing Methodology: We conducted the test using Google Meet with the participation of 5 users. The tests were supervised and we observed the behavior of the users during the process.

The prototype can be viewed here.

After validating the feedback, we created the wireframes to help us organize the screen flows.

Second Round

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and clarity of the flows through 2 defined tasks.

Test Methodology: We used the Maze tool to analyze the results obtained in the heat maps, average time spent, wrong click rate, variation in success in the tasks and feedback.

Conclusions and Learnings: We found some usability issues that caused confusion for the user in understanding the flows. We reevaluated in order to eliminate critical frictions in the interface and applied a third usability test to the most critical flow.

Third Round

For the third round, we adjusted some aspects of the prototype, such as visual standardization, elimination of buttons, simplification of top navigation, division and simplification of screens and flows, which resulted in a significant improvement in the user experience.

To see the full report of our second and third usability tests and the design decisions made, click here.

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UX Writing

Considering that our largest target audience is between 25 and 44 years old, our Tone of Voice is a little casual and enthusiastic, conveying humanity and closeness, and at the same time serious and respectful, conveying confidence and security to the user.

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UI Style Guide

Brand

The name Minha Grana Organizada was created to bring proximity, and that's why we chose the word "Grana", a word used in everyday Brazilian life. Designed to be simple, three words invite the user to organize their financial life in an uncomplicated way. The concept for the logo was to bring a friendly and modern touch to the identity. With the typography all in lowercase, we conveyed something common and close to the user.

Colors and Typography

After benchmarking colors in other apps, we noticed a very common pattern of green in financial apps.

Thinking about breaking away from this pattern, we chose shades of blue, a powerful color associated with positive feelings, contrasted with neon green, a vibrant and modern color that we highlighted on the interface screens. We also worked on accessibility issues (W3C).

For the typography, we chose the Montserrat font because it is easy to read and read on screen, as well as having different weights to help with composition.

Icons and Illustrations

For the icons, we chose aesthetic patterns used in other apps so that the user would be familiar with them. We also chose line icons because they are simple and ideal for contrasting with the vibrant colors of the screens.

The illustrations helped with the composition and brought more life to the screens.

Components

Several components were developed based on our color palette and typography in order to maintain brand consistency and standard across the entire interface.

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Final Thoughts

Next Steps

A product is never complete, it needs constant testing and improvements based on user-focused research.

Throughout our process, we identified some future opportunities, such as: an integrated web version (desktop), shared goals with more than one user, shared access for couples and special services in a premium subscription.

And finally…

While working on this project, we realized how vast the field of User Experience Design (UX) is. Even when we made mistakes and had to go back a few steps, each obstacle taught us something new and broadened our vision. Our constant goal is to improve the user's life.

Case Study Project proposed by the UX Unicorn program for training in UX/UI and Product Design developed by:

Amanda Ávila - UX Research, UX Strategy, UI Design & Style Guide, Prototyping, Mapping, Usability Testing and Final Documentation

Leif Bessa - UX Research, UX Strategy, Prototyping, Animations and Moderate Usability Testing

Raquel Guzman Oxa - UX Research, Mapping, Usability Testing, UX Writing

Priscila Pereira - UX Research, Mapping, Usability Testing, UX Writing

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