Roadmapping and execution of a Lifestyle and Utility App

The UXArmy team...is willing to go the extra mile, putting in extra hours to make sure our app is on schedule, despite [our] crazy timeline, and giving advice to us. That’s why we signed on a longer-term project basis.

Situation

A rival company had been first to market with its mobile app, opening up a lead in competitive advantage. To regain primacy, this global paint company wanted to create a tool to convert prospects and increase engagement of its painting service. The app’s release had become the CEO’s #1 priority, making pressure intense and urgency high.

Without clear user insights and UX strategy, however, the team was basing the app’s design and development stages on guesswork. Early user testing had gone poorly, and the marketing team panicked. Confusion mounted internally and costs spiraled ever higher. Communication difficulties and delays added pressure.

To add complications, the client and its current software vendor lacked a shared understanding about user preferences and expectations. The product was meeting specs but falling far short on user expectations.

To achieve success through this turmoil, the client tapped UXArmy’s team to guide UX strategy and partner with them on all aspects of product design, development, and implementation

Services used by client:

• Translation of user insights to UX strategy, UX design
• User validation of concept and product: tester recruitment and qualitative research
• Agile development and software development

How did UXArmy do it?

Great design and compelling user experience puts users first.To begin, UXArmy conducted collaborative working sessions with the client to identify and highlight UX blind spots in the development process. We focused on areas that needed to integrate the user's voice more strongly. We also conducted expert reviews of the Apps currently available in this domain to assess the competitive landscape and user expectations.

Here, our team had a compressed timeline to formulate winning strategy, establish vision, and iterate development.

To validate the concept and product, UXArmy conducted qualitative user research. Recruiting testers that matched the paint brand’s target audience, the UXArmy team tested the brand’s app as well as two competitors’ apps.

Research findings uncovered users’ preferences for creating and sharing and helped prioritize key features. The UXArmy team then translated these insights to action, rapidly iterating significantly stronger, more user-centric product design.

During development, the client learned of its competitor’s plan to launch a major online features-based advertising campaign. To counter the plan, we incorporated key features that would dilute differentiation--and the message’s effectiveness.

Based on the technology and design trends, we also prepared a feature and execution roadmap to vault the client ahead of the competition and keep that position in years to come.