Check pay.
Then leave.
The original research described use concentrated around paystub review, with limited engagement beyond the transaction.
Skip to case studyPRIYANSHGANDHIPRODUCT DESIGN / SELECTED WORKAll work MORE THAN
THE TOOLS WERE THERE.
BEHAVIOR NEED“Where do
TIMINGA raise is
A SMALLER ASK.
01 02 03 04 FIRST, FIND
GOOD DESIGN
FROM FINDING TOOLS.
WALMARTFINANCIAL WELL-BEINGMOBILE EXPERIENCE
MORE THAN
A PAYCHECK.
Start with
the familiar.Make the next
step personal.
the familiar.Make the next
step personal.
S
THE SITUATION
01 / THE OPPORTUNITYTHE TOOLS WERE THERE.
THE CONNECTION
WASN’T.
Associates came to My Money to check their pay. Financial support was there, but it didn’t always feel relevant to what they needed next.
Someone starting an emergency fund, someone planning for retirement, and someone facing a life change saw largely the same experience. The interface exposed tools, but left associates to connect those tools to their own situation.
The opportunity: turn an existing habit into a helpful moment.
Check pay.
“Where do
I start?”
Associates needed different levels of guidance, from getting started to planning for the future.
Design question synthesized from the original findings.A raise is
a moment.
Changes in pay created an opportunity to introduce a relevant savings or benefits action.
MY CONTRIBUTION
Experience strategy
Journey mapping & prioritization
Concepts, interactions & UI
THE EXPERIENCE
My Money
Frontline associates
Existing mobile ecosystem
THE DESIGN CHALLENGE
Make financial guidance personal
while keeping pay accessible
and the interaction lightweight.
T
THE TASK
02 / DESIGN GOALSA SMALLER ASK.
A MORE USEFUL
NEXT STEP.
My goal was to connect payroll context, self-identified financial needs, and a clear action within the surface associates already used.
Protect the payday task.
Keep the pay period, deposit, and hours worked immediately available.
DESIGN SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
Pay remains the first content block.
Make relevance visible.
Ask associates about their financial stage and use available payroll context.
DESIGN SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
Guidance changes with the associate’s situation.
Make the next step clear.
Give each recommendation a primary action and a way to acknowledge progress.
DESIGN SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
Completed suggestions can give way to the next step.
Fit the system we have.
Reuse the existing feed and card patterns with rules-based conditions.
DESIGN SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
No new primary navigation is required.
A
THE ACTION
03 / FROM EXPLORATION TO DIRECTIONFIRST, FIND
THE RIGHT MOMENT.
I mapped the journey around what associates were trying to do: check pay, understand their options, take action, and build toward a longer-term goal.
- 01
Check pay
What did I earn?
Anchor the experience in the latest pay period.
- 02
Understand
What could help me?
Ask about the associate’s current financial stage.
- 03
Take action
What can I do now?
Offer a relevant, clearly labeled next step.
- 04
Progress
What comes next?
Acknowledge completed actions and adapt the guidance.
LOW-FIDELITY EXPLORATIONMake the hierarchy
Make the hierarchy
work before the UI.
The sketches established a consistent order: pay summary, personal context, then a relevant recommendation.
THE DECISIONS BEHIND THE SCREENSFIVE CONCEPTS.
FIVE CONCEPTS.
ONE CLEARER DIRECTION.
Each exploration resolved something—and revealed a tradeoff.
Select a concept to see how the thinking evolved.
CONCEPT 1
Bring the tools into the feed.
The first concept kept the familiar My Money structure and placed financial tools below the paystub.
- What improved
- A familiar surface with a low implementation burden.
- The tradeoff
- The same suggestions still asked everyone to decide what mattered.
Visibility alone could not make the guidance relevant.
Financial nudges in the feed
Select a phone to inspect the complete screen
CONCEPT 2
Separate browsing from support.
Explore and I need help created two clear entry points for different intentions.
- What improved
- Clearer categories and a dedicated path to help.
- The tradeoff
- The extra navigation separated guidance from the paycheck moment.
Keep the clarity; reconnect the guidance to pay.
Explore
I need help
Select a phone to inspect the complete screen
CONCEPT 3
Make the experience personal.
A dedicated question and confirmation moment made personalization explicit.
- What improved
- Associates could identify their stage and see a clear change in the experience.
- The tradeoff
- The flow competed with a quick visit to check pay and introduced completion friction.
Personalization needed a lighter entry point.
Personalization entry
Financial-stage question
Confirmation overlay
Select a phone to inspect the complete screen
CONCEPT 4
Keep the question in context.
The next exploration moved the invitation below the pay summary. An embedded variant brought the question into the same feed.
- What improved
- Pay stayed primary, with personalization available in context.
- The tradeoff
- Overlay variants still interrupted the flow; expanding content added density.
Retain the embedded question and remove a separate confirmation step.
Inline invitation
Question overlay
Embedded question
Select a phone to inspect the complete screen
CONCEPT 5 / DEVELOPED DIRECTION
Connect the moment to the next step.
The developed direction combined an embedded stage question with recommendations tied to payroll and benefits context.
- What improved
- Pay, personal context, and a relevant action live on one surface.
- The tradeoff
- The experience depends on reliable payroll signals, saved responses, and clear recommendation rules.
A coherent direction: familiar entry, personal context, progressive guidance.
Tell us where you are
A next step that fits
Select a phone to inspect the complete screen
THE DEVELOPED EXPERIENCEYOUR PAY.
YOUR PAY.
YOUR CONTEXT.
YOUR NEXT STEP.
Three layers. One familiar surface.
Scroll to see how the screens connect.
THE EXPERIENCE, IN MOTIONSCROLL TO FOLLOW THE FLOW ↓
Start with the familiar.
Pay period. Deposit. Hours worked. The reason associates arrived stays first.
PAY STAYS PRIMARY
THE SYSTEM BEHIND THE EXPERIENCESimple on the surface.
Simple on the surface.
Conditional underneath.
The design uses a rules-based recommendation model. It depends on available payroll and benefits data, together with the associate’s response.
INPUTS
Understand the context
- Self-identified financial stage
- Direct deposit & benefits status
- Payroll events, such as a raise
DECISION
Choose a relevant suggestion
- Match a need to an available tool
- Recognize completed actions
- Use reusable recommendation cards
EXPERIENCE
Offer a clear next step
- One primary action per card
- A way to say “already done”
- The next suggestion as context changes
GOOD DESIGN
MAKES TRADEOFFS.
The strongest direction also had to work within the existing product, technical dependencies, and a quick check-pay behavior.
CONSTRAINTDESIGN RESPONSEWHY IT MATTERS
Limited space & familiar navigation
Embed the question and recommendations in My Money.
Keep financial guidance close to the task people already perform.
Fixed payroll & benefits systems
Use available signals and rules-based rendering.
Make the direction feasible without relying on real-time predictive intelligence.
Brief, task-focused visits
Keep pay first and avoid a mandatory modal journey.
Let associates access pay without first completing personalization.
Different needs & sensitive subject matter
Use self-identified stages and supportive, actionable language.
Make guidance feel relevant while avoiding a one-size-fits-all tone.
R
THE RESULT
04 / WHAT GOT BETTERFROM FINDING TOOLS.
TO FINDING A
STARTING POINT.
The design evolved from a static financial resource feed into a contextual path: understand pay, express a need, and see a relevant action.
DESIGN OUTCOMEBEFORE / THE PROBLEMSame content.
Same content.
Different lives.
- Associates had to work out which tools mattered.
- Guidance was detached from changes in pay.
- Recommendations could repeat completed actions.
- Discovery depended on browsing the available tools.
AFTER / THE DESIGN DIRECTIONA more relevant
A more relevant
way forward.
- Self-identified financial stage informs the experience.
- Payroll events create timely recommendation moments.
- Acknowledgments support progression beyond a suggestion.
- Guidance sits alongside the pay-checking habit.
HOW SUCCESS SHOULD BE MEASURED
The source case study documents the design evolution, but does not provide verified post-launch results. The next validation would measure:
Task protectionPaystub access time and completion
RelevancePersonalization completion and perceived usefulness
Meaningful actionRecommendation-to-enrollment completion
MY TAKEAWAY
Financial guidance becomes more useful when it meets people where they already are.
The biggest shift was connecting the right tool to the right moment—and making that connection understandable.