Tiago Macena

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Desktop

Mobile

Biometric verification ecosystem

End-to-end redesign of a complete legacy biometric identification system.

The Operational Arm: Taking the Ecosystem to the Field

While the back-office focused on auditing and management on Desktop, the field operation dealt with a much harsher reality. The challenge was to take the same complex biometric identification engine and adapt it for agents who needed to validate identities in seconds, often operating their phone with one hand, under the sun and under pressure.

Role

Product Designer

User research, Interaction, Visual Design, prototyping, validation, metrics & testing

January 2024 - 2026

Figma

Biometric verification ecosystem

Mobile adaptation of the biometric identification system for field agents, focused on speed, ergonomics and error prevention.

(Due to NDA, frameworks such as As Is, CSD Matrix and desk research will be hidden)

The operational arm: taking the ecosystem to the field

While the back-office used Desktop for auditing and management, the field operation faced a much harsher context. The challenge was to adapt the same biometric identification engine for agents who needed to validate identities in seconds, often with their phone in one hand, under the sun and under pressure.

Role

Product Designer

User research, Interaction, Visual Design, prototyping, validation, metrics & testing

January 2024 - 2026

Figma

UI translation: from tables to cards

Architecture and product engineering decisions

Architecture decision

The volume of data that fit in a Desktop table was unfeasible on mobile. I turned the check rows into expandable cards, applying progressive disclosure.

Focus on the essentials

At the start of the flow, I prioritized the citizen's photo, biometric status and the main action. Technical metadata relevant only for auditing was removed from the field view.

Ergonomics and physical constraints

Speeding up the flow steps through design

Understanding the user's pain

Since movement on the street caused a high biometric rejection rate, I applied the error x recovery principle: high-contrast visual guidance on the camera screen ensures correct framing before the image is sent to the server.

Touch targets e thumb zone

Capture and validation buttons were sized and positioned within thumb reach, avoiding accidental taps during quick approaches.

Touch Targets e Thumb zone

Capture and validation buttons were sized and positioned within easy thumb reach, avoiding accidental taps during quick approaches.

Understanding the user's pain

Since movement on the street caused a high biometric rejection rate, I adapted the Error x Recovery principle. I added high-contrast visual guidance on the camera screen to ensure correct framing before the image is sent to the server.

Impact at the endpoint

Field efficiency

Task time in the field dropped from 4 minutes to 1 minute and 30 seconds (a reduction of about 62%), making approaches faster and less exposed.

Commercial scalability

The new usability standard and the reduction in errors unlocked the platform's growth, which went from a pilot with 10 users to more than 1,500 active licenses.

Learnings

What did I take away for my work?

This project reinforced for me that, in high-criticality products, simplicity doesn't mean removing information, but knowing how to prioritize it.

It was also an important experience to understand how different audiences can interpret the same information in different ways, and how the Product Designer's role is to turn that complexity into a clear, predictable and reliable experience.