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1. document purpose

This document defines the MVP scope for Zeus’s Plans feature. The MVP is intentionally smaller than the full Plans target-state BRD. Its job is to prove the core product loop, communicate product intent, and give stakeholders a concrete view of what the final experience is evolving toward. This MVP should be strong enough to present as a credible proof of concept, while staying narrow enough to build and validate quickly.

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2. MVP objective

The MVP must prove five things:
  • Zeus can turn monthly income into a recommended plan, not just a static budget.
  • Users can understand and activate the plan with minimal setup effort.
  • Users can see how current spending affects goals and safe-to-spend.
  • Users can use a simple daily safe-to-spend signal to stay aligned with the monthly plan.
  • Zeus can intervene once the user starts drifting off plan.
  • The experience hints at the future adaptive planning system without requiring the full target-state feature set.

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3. target users and MVP assumptions

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Primary MVP users

SegmentWhy included in MVP
Guided starterMost likely to benefit from a simple recommendation-driven setup
Goal-driven stabilizerNeeds a clear monthly plan and basic course correction

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MVP assumptions

  • Single user account
  • Single currency
  • Stable monthly income or manually entered expected monthly income
  • One active plan per monthly cycle
  • One primary savings goal
  • Existing transaction data is available through synced or manually entered transactions
  • User confirms fixed expenses during setup instead of relying on full automation

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Explicitly deferred from MVP

The variable-income planner segment is important for the final product, but it is not part of the initial MVP. Supporting irregular income requires different safety-margin logic, more dynamic pacing, and more edge-case handling than this first version should carry.

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4. end-to-end MVP journey

The MVP should demonstrate this full loop: 
User enters or confirms monthly income
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        v
Zeus recommends a monthly allocation
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        v
User accepts or adjusts the plan
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        v
User sees safe-to-spend, daily guidance, and goal progress during the month
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        v
Zeus warns when spending pace or goal pacing drifts
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        v
User accepts a simple rebalance or keeps current plan
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        v
Month-end summary shows planned vs actual and next-cycle improvement
This is the minimum loop required to communicate the target-state direction.

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5. business requirements

The business requirements below are written in a simple Given / As / When / Then format so product, design, and engineering can align on expected behavior.

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BR-1 income-triggered plan creation

  • Given the user has entered expected monthly income, fixed expenses, and one savings goal
  • As a user who wants guidance without building a budget manually
  • When I start the planning flow or refresh my monthly plan
  • Then Zeus generates a recommended allocation across fixed expenses, essential spending, goal contribution, and safe-to-spend discretionary money

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BR-2 fast review and activation

  • Given Zeus has generated a recommendation
  • As a user who wants both guidance and control
  • When I review the plan
  • Then I can accept it immediately or adjust the allocation with simple controls and see the impact before activation

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BR-3 visible in-month progress

  • Given I have an active monthly plan
  • As a user trying to stay on track during the month
  • When I open Plans after transactions occur
  • Then I can see remaining safe-to-spend, a daily safe-to-spend guide, goal contribution progress, and whether I am on track, ahead, or at risk

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BR-4 daily reinforcement

  • Given I have an active monthly plan
  • As a user who benefits from frequent reinforcement
  • When I remain within healthy daily spending conditions
  • Then Zeus shows a daily on-track streak that reflects planning discipline rather than app activity

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BR-5 daily transaction reminder

  • Given I may forget to record daily spending
  • As a user who wants my plan status to stay accurate with low effort
  • When my chosen reminder time is reached each day
  • Then Zeus reminds me to input or confirm that day’s transactions

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BR-6 early warning and rebalance

  • Given my spending pace or goal pace materially drifts from plan
  • As a user who needs help before the month is lost
  • When Zeus detects a threshold breach
  • Then Zeus shows a clear warning with one recommended corrective action that I can accept or dismiss

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BR-7 month-end reflection

  • Given the monthly cycle is complete
  • As a user building a repeatable habit
  • When I review my plan outcome
  • Then Zeus shows planned versus actual results and suggests one improvement for the next cycle

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6. MVP feature requirements

The MVP should include only the capabilities required to prove the core planning loop.

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6.1 plan setup and recommendation

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Requirement

The system must allow the user to create a monthly plan using:
  • Expected monthly income
  • Fixed monthly expenses
  • One primary savings goal
  • A simple lifestyle preference or planning mode
The system must return a recommendation that includes:
  • Fixed expenses amount
  • Essential variable spending amount
  • Goal contribution amount
  • Safe-to-spend discretionary amount
  • A short explanation of why the recommendation is reasonable

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MVP business rule

The recommendation should follow this order:
  1. Cover fixed expenses first.
  2. Reserve a realistic essential spending allowance.
  3. Fund one primary goal if money remains.
  4. Assign the rest to safe-to-spend discretionary room.

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MVP proof point

This proves Zeus can convert financial inputs into an opinionated monthly plan rather than just displaying raw numbers.

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6.2 plan review and adjustment

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Requirement

The user must be able to:
  • Accept the recommendation in one primary action
  • Adjust key allocation amounts before activation
  • See updated goal pace and safe-to-spend after each change

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MVP business rule

If user adjustments weaken the plan, the system must show a lightweight warning, but still allow the user to continue.

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MVP proof point

This proves the product balances automation with user control, which is central to the final-state design.

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6.3 active plan dashboard

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Requirement

After activation, the user must see a simple plan summary that includes:
  • Total planned income
  • Remaining safe-to-spend
  • Daily safe-to-spend guidance based on remaining discretionary room and remaining days
  • Goal target for the month
  • Amount contributed so far
  • Daily on-track streak
  • Current plan status: on track, watch, or at risk

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MVP business rule

The dashboard must be understandable at a glance and should not require users to inspect categories or raw transactions to know where they stand.

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MVP proof point

This proves Plans is a living control layer, not a one-time setup flow.

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6.4 daily guidance and streak

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Requirement

The MVP must translate the monthly plan into a simple daily guide. The system must:
  • Calculate a daily safe-to-spend number from remaining discretionary room and remaining days in the cycle
  • Update that number as spending happens
  • Show a daily on-track streak when the user ends the day within healthy plan conditions

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MVP business rule

The daily guide is directional, not a rigid daily budget. It should help users make better day-level decisions without making the experience feel punitive or overly precise. A day should count toward the streak when:
  • discretionary spending remains within expected pace for that point in the month
  • goal pacing is not materially behind threshold
  • there is no unresolved high-risk warning on the active plan

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MVP proof point

This proves Zeus can connect a monthly plan to day-to-day behavior in a way that feels actionable and motivating.

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6.5 daily transaction input reminder

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Requirement

The MVP must support one simple daily reminder that prompts the user to log or confirm transactions at a fixed time. The system must:
  • Allow the user to enable or disable the reminder
  • Allow the user to set one preferred daily reminder time
  • Send a reminder to input or confirm that day’s transactions
  • Provide a direct path from the reminder into transaction input or review

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MVP business rule

This reminder is operational, not conversational. Its purpose is to improve plan accuracy and keep daily guidance current, not to become a general coaching channel.

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MVP proof point

This proves Zeus can support the daily planning loop by helping users keep transaction data current.

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6.6 basic warning and rebalance prompt

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Requirement

The MVP must support at least one basic intervention flow. Recommended triggers for MVP:
  • Discretionary spending exceeds 110% of expected pace
  • The user consumes 80% of safe-to-spend before 70% of the month has passed
  • Goal contribution is projected to finish below 85% of monthly target
When triggered, the system must:
  • Explain what changed
  • State why it matters this month
  • Recommend one corrective action
  • Allow the user to accept or dismiss

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MVP business rule

The first version should favor clarity over sophistication. One good warning pattern is better than several shallow ones.

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MVP proof point

This proves Zeus can behave proactively, which is one of the most important signals of the target state.

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6.7 month-end summary

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Requirement

At the end of the cycle, the user must be able to review:
  • Planned vs actual discretionary spend
  • Planned vs actual goal contribution
  • Whether the plan was completed successfully
  • One recommended adjustment for the next month

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MVP proof point

This closes the loop and demonstrates that Plans can become a recurring habit, not a single-use feature.

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7. in scope

The following items are in scope for MVP:
  • Monthly plan creation for stable-income users
  • One primary savings goal
  • Recommended allocation across four buckets:
    • Fixed expenses
    • Essential variable spending
    • Goal contribution
    • Safe-to-spend discretionary
  • One-screen review and adjustment before activation
  • Active plan dashboard with current month status
  • Daily safe-to-spend guidance
  • One daily on-track streak tied to planning behavior
  • One fixed-time daily transaction input reminder
  • Basic spend pacing and goal pacing logic
  • One warning and one rebalance recommendation pattern
  • Month-end summary for plan performance
  • Plain-language AI explanation for recommendation and warning cards

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8. out of scope

The following items are out of scope for MVP:
  • Variable-income planning logic
  • Multiple simultaneous goals with prioritization logic
  • Automatic goal reprioritization
  • Advanced adaptive learning from repeated accepts or rejects
  • Transaction-level time-equivalent and opportunity-cost insights
  • Missions, rewards, points, levels, and complex gamification systems
  • Daily coaching flows or multiple high-frequency prompt types
  • Household or shared planning
  • Tax planning, investment advice, lending, or credit decisions
  • Human advisor escalation
  • Full conversational chat interface for planning

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9. user acceptance criteria

The MVP is acceptable for presentation and pilot validation when the following criteria are true.

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End-to-end acceptance criteria

  • A user can create a monthly plan from input to activation without external explanation.
  • A user can accept the recommended plan in one primary action.
  • A user can adjust the plan and understand the trade-off before confirming.
  • A user can tell, within a few seconds, how much is safe to spend this month, how much is safe to spend today, and whether the goal is on track.
  • A user can understand why a daily on-track streak increased or broke.
  • A user can receive one fixed-time daily reminder to input or confirm transactions.
  • A user receives at least one meaningful warning before month-end when plan drift occurs.
  • A user can complete the full monthly loop from plan creation to month-end review.

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Feature-level acceptance criteria

FeatureAcceptance criteria
Plan recommendationRecommendation appears immediately after required inputs and shows all four allocation buckets with amount and rationale
Plan adjustmentUser can change at least the goal and discretionary allocation and see updated impact before saving
Active dashboardDashboard shows monthly safe-to-spend, daily safe-to-spend, goal progress, streak state, and current status without requiring navigation to raw transactions
Daily guidance and streakDaily guide updates as spending happens and the streak reflects financial behavior rather than app usage
Daily transaction reminderUser can set one reminder time, receive one daily prompt, and open transaction input or confirmation from that prompt
Warning promptWarning includes current issue, suggested action, and a clear accept or dismiss path
Month-end summarySummary shows planned vs actual results and one concrete suggestion for the next cycle

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10. how this MVP demonstrates the target state

The MVP should not include the full target-state capability set, but it must make the destination obvious.
Target-state intentHow the MVP signals it
AI-first planningRecommendation is generated by Zeus, not manually assembled by the user
Adaptive planningA warning and rebalance flow shows the plan can react to behavior, not stay static
Goal-linked money decisionsGoal contribution and safe-to-spend are visible in the same plan
Daily behavioral reinforcementDaily safe-to-spend and a daily on-track streak connect the monthly plan to everyday choices
Lightweight habit supportA fixed-time transaction reminder helps users maintain accurate daily tracking without needing a larger coaching system
Low-friction interaction modelAccept, adjust, and rebalance actions happen through direct UI controls
Recurring habit loopMonth-end summary suggests that planning becomes a repeated cycle

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11. release recommendation

This MVP should be presented as a proof of concept for the Plans operating model, not as the finished adaptive planning system. If stakeholders can see the following during a demo, the MVP has done its job:
  • Zeus can create a recommendation that feels useful and opinionated
  • The user can activate the plan quickly
  • The product can show current plan health during the month
  • Zeus can intervene when the user starts drifting
  • The path from MVP to the full Plans target-state BRD is clear