Case study: Redesigning an app to rival a powerful new competitor
The challenge
I led a complete redesign of a leading taxi company's flagship mobile app, working collaboratively with two product managers and with close attention from the C-suite. The key challenge was to rival the threat of a powerful new competitor shaking up the market, whilst appealing to a younger, more tech-savvy demographic.
Phase 1 - Understanding the problem
The first step was to get an understanding of the problem space, conducting a competitive review, meeting with stakeholders, and surveying existing sources from around the organisation.
Putting standout examples and best in class experiences from the competitive review up on the walls served as a reminder throughout the project to keep asking 'How can we do it better?'.
We were able to make use of some previous research and a set of personas that had already been created, as well as a lot of knowledge and expertise in the heads of the existing teams! An examination of analytics data from the existing app helped to build a picture of key issues and areas to focus on as well as an understanding of user habits, though it was important not to allow what had existed previously to constrain our thinking going forwards.
Phase 2 - Defining a vision
Early discussions with the technical team helped to get a sense of what would be possible and the key constraints. I worked with the product owners to craft a vision, exploring the key journeys and overall structure.
Quick-fire sketching allowed for rapid exploration of different routes in order to establish a clear direction.
Mapping out screens on the wall as a flow helped to clearly illustrate the key journeys as we developed them, which was particularly useful when presenting to the business stakeholders.
Phase 3 - Iteratively designing a solution
I iteratively increased the fidelity of the sketches, also giving consideration to Android/iPhone variations. Creating Marvel prototypes allowed us to demo the experience and bring it to life, while two focus groups and accompanying interviews allowed us to test and validate assumptions.
To maximise efficiency and allow us to progress rapidly, I worked closely with the support of a junior designer as we tested and evolved sketches directly into visuals.
As the project moved into production, and until the end of my engagement, I collaborated with the technical team and wider business stakeholders to help ensure that what was created was aligned with the original vision and to tweak and perfect the experience as necessary.
Outcome
An increase in booking conversion of 15%, just weeks after launch.