FX Cashflow Manager

The FX Cashflow Manager is a new product concept developed for the Risk Manager suite, designed to help clients better understand and manage their foreign exchange exposure. The tool provides a consolidated view of projected cashflows alongside existing hedge positions, including those held with external counterparties. By surfacing this information in a single interface, the product aims to help users identify gaps in their hedging strategy and make more informed financial decisions.

Problem

Methodology

My Role

Key Insights

To validate our hypotheses and gather both behavioral and attitudinal insights, we used a mixed-methods approach combining usability testing and surveys.

We conducted live usability testing sessions with three participants using a low-fidelity prototype. These sessions were observed by cross-functional stakeholders, including product managers and designers, allowing the team to directly witness user behavior, points of confusion, and interaction patterns. Follow-up questions during these sessions helped uncover deeper insights into user expectations and mental models.

In parallel, we distributed a survey to a broader group of users, resulting in 23 total responses. The survey captured:

  • Demographic and professional background information.

  • Current workflows for managing cashflows and hedging.

  • Feedback on the prototype through both quantitative ratings and open-ended responses.

This combination of moderated and unmoderated research allowed us to balance depth of insight with broader validation.

I contributed across the full research and discovery lifecycle:

  • Led the product discovery session and facilitated alignment on research goals.

  • Defined the research approach, combining usability testing with survey methodology.

  • Recruited participants for both live testing sessions and survey distribution.

  • Synthesized qualitative and quantitative data into actionable insights.

  • Presented findings and strategic recommendations to stakeholders.

The research validated our core hypothesis: there is a strong need for a tool like the FX Cashflow Manager.

Users responded positively to the concept, particularly after they became familiar with the interface and interactions. Once understood, the value of consolidating cashflow forecasts and hedge data into a single view became clear.

Several important patterns emerged:

  • Many clients rely heavily on Excel to track cashflows and hedging activity, often using it as a central source of truth despite its limitations.

  • Existing workflows are fragmented, requiring users to manually reconcile data across systems and communicate with dealers to take action.

  • Users are not lacking tools, but rather lack integration between them.

  • There is a clear demand for a more streamlined, all-in-one solution that reduces manual effort and improves visibility.

Notably, we identified that clients were using spreadsheets to replicate a portion of the functionality the Cashflow Manager aims to provide. This highlighted a strong opportunity to replace partial, manual workflows with a more robust and purpose-built solution.

Findings

The findings confirmed that the FX Cashflow Manager addresses a meaningful gap in the current user experience. By centralizing cashflow forecasting and hedge management, the product has the potential to significantly reduce operational complexity and improve decision-making.

The research also informed key design considerations, including simplifying onboarding, improving interaction clarity, and ensuring that critical financial data is both accessible and actionable.

Ultimately, this work helped establish confidence in the product direction and provided a clear, research-backed foundation for continued design and development. It also reinforced the importance of designing for flexibility and integration, ensuring the solution aligns with the real-world workflows of finance professionals.

Managing FX risk is a complex and highly manual process for many organizations. Clients often rely on spreadsheets, fragmented systems, and external communication with dealers to track cashflows and hedging positions. This lack of integration creates inefficiencies, limits visibility, and increases the likelihood of underhedged or overhedged positions.

We hypothesized that a centralized tool capable of combining cashflow forecasting with real-time hedge visibility would significantly improve how clients manage FX risk. However, given the complexity of financial workflows and variability across organizations, it was critical to validate whether this solution aligned with real user needs.

Research Goals

Working closely with product management, we defined a learning agenda to guide our discovery efforts. The research focused on understanding both user behavior and domain-specific requirements:

  • Identify the most intuitive user journey for inputting and managing cashflow forecasts.

  • Understand where and how businesses currently store and track cashflow data (e.g., general ledger, external systems, or spreadsheets).

  • Explore how CFOs and Controllers actively manage FX risk, including tools, processes, and decision-making patterns.

  • Determine what types of market data are most valuable to users and at which points in their workflow they are needed.

  • Define the key metrics and visualizations required to effectively monitor an “on-the-books” hedge portfolio.