Context
When I joined RenoRun in 2019 as the first designer, my first project was to improve the app experience. At the time, the app was designed by one of their first engineers.
Strategy
As a rule: Redesigns should always include the feedback and insights from end-users. Especially when you have an existing user base. However the reality of early stage startups allows the bending of rules.
The app was riddled with low hanging fruit. So much so that I felt confident we could make considerable advancements to the user experience by simply leveraging my direct experience, and knowledge of best practices and industry standards.
Besides, having users "test" the app would only confirm how bad it was – which we already wholeheartedly knew. In other words: We needed to standardize before we could optimize.
The Process
- Audit — Recoding my reactions and thoughts as I went through the app.
- Catalogue & Rank — Writing out all issues found throughout the experience and rating each by severity.
- Prioritize — Together with the Product Manager and Engineers, deciding what to tackle first.
- Improve — Start improving the user experience! (Design & Development)
Audit
I began with a basic usability audit. Pulling from my direct experience, best practices and industry standards. Having also examined the apps of a dozen e-commerce companies.
Colour coding any issues in yellow, and general thoughts/ideas in blue.
Catalogue & Rank
Using Airtable, I transcribed all issues and details into a list.
Outcome
This process gave the team and I direction on what should be fixed, and in what order. Resulting in a much cleaner and standard user experience. Unfortunately this cannot be confirmed by data, but taking a look at before and after should be certainty enough.
