Mercado Bitcoin 🇧🇷
Qualitative and Quantitative Process Mapping
UX Research Senior
2021 - 2022
Synopsis
Mercado Bitcoin, also known as MB, stands out as a leading Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange and was a pioneer in achieving unicorn status, with a valuation exceeding $1 billion, in the Latin American financial sector. Joining the MB team, my role was to establish and lead the User Research chapter.
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Upon arrival, I identified a challenging scenario. Despite having an experienced User Experience team of approximately 14 members, there was a significant knowledge gap regarding user research processes and techniques. The company already had a robust product development process led by Product Managers (GPMs) and Product Managers (PMs), but the emphasis was predominantly on delivery, with little attention given to the Discovery phase.
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My initial approach involved in-depth interviews with designers, GPMs, and PMs to map skills, challenges, and needs related to research. I concluded that the challenge wasn't just in the research phase but in the overall process, with a lack of understanding of the Discovery stage. Convincing GPMs and PMs of the importance of this stage was crucial, but the necessary changes faced obstacles in the existing structure and time pressures.
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An unexpected turn occurred when Mercado Bitcoin incorporated a partner company, bringing with it 2 other researchers. We formed a cross-squad research team, centralizing all initiatives related to discovery.
Situation
The company’s decision-making regarding new features and team priorities was largely driven by business needs as dictated by top executives.
However, users were increasingly using app stores (Apple Store and Google Play) to voice their frustrations, resulting in low ratings. Additionally, there was a shortage of developers available to implement improvements.
We needed a system that would better direct upcoming features and fixes based on actual user feedback, thus reducing the focus on app store complaints.
What we did
Our primary objective was to create a system that would enhance the accuracy of decision-making for new features and corrections by leveraging user feedback. This system aimed to empower the UX Research and Design team to proactively address identified user issues and shift the decision-making process from being business-driven to user-centric.​​​
Action
As the leader of the UX Research team, I collaborated with two colleagues to develop a feedback system using Airtable. We designed an in-app feedback feature to capture user sentiments and issues, categorizing feedback in Airtable to identify common pain points. We worked closely with the technical team for smooth integration and implemented a sampling method to manage large volumes of responses, analyzing 10-15% of new entries weekly.
Results
The tool led to a significant improvement in app store ratings, increasing from 2.4 to 4.1, as users utilized the in-app feedback feature instead of app stores. Internally, it provided Product Managers with clear, categorized data on primary user pain points, allowing for more focused and efficient product improvements based on actual user issues.