Skill Enhancement in Design and Development and Improved Convenience for App Users Through Support for the In-House Development of the "Hirogin App."

Comprehensive support with dedicated designers and engineers fully committed to assisting the young team members at The Hiroshima Bank

The Hiroshima Bank, Ltd. provides a wide range of services, primarily financial services, in its core local four prefectures (Hiroshima, Okayama, Yamaguchi, and Ehime), centered around Hiroshima. Monstarlab provided ongoing support to The Hiroshima Bank, Ltd., which was aiming to internalize its development structure for the "Hirogin App," to strengthen its development capabilities. While conveying UX/UI design and development know-how to the bank's young team members, Monstarlab developed additional features and released the Defined Contribution Pension (401k/iDeCo) functionality in November 2023.

Challenges:

As customer touchpoints shift towards digital channels with the changing times, the "Hirogin App" also faced increasing demands for more flexible and rapid updates. However, The Hiroshima Bank, Ltd. had primarily outsourced modifications and development to external vendors, leading to challenges in responding agilely to customer requests.

Therefore, The Hiroshima Bank, Ltd. decided to shift towards in-house development with the aim of strengthening its internal development structure. To achieve this, they sought a strong partner with extensive skills and experience.

Solutions:

Monstarlab assigned members with extensive experience in finance, design, and development to the in-house team formed by young members of The Hiroshima Bank, Ltd. At the beginning of the project, they provided lectures on the fundamentals of UX/UI design and development.

From the middle of the project, they worked together to create additional features, progressing through user experience design and screen design using user story maps and other tools.

Particularly in this project, since the goal was to add a mini-app to the existing Hirogin App, they proceeded with development while giving extra consideration to design and operability to ensure a sense of unity within the app.

Results:

In November 2023, the Defined Contribution Pension (401k/iDeCo) feature was successfully released as an addition to the "Hirogin App."

Following the release, it has reportedly been well-received by both customers and bank staff, who have commented on its increased convenience.

Furthermore, having established a track record through in-house development and with the improved skills of the young team members at The Hiroshima Bank, Ltd., a new project aimed at adding further features is already underway.

Monstarlab will continue to work closely with our clients, contributing to problem-solving through digital solutions.