Tyler Fearns - ForRent.com Android App Redesign

Android App Redesign

ForRent.com had spent most of its development initiatives building and improving on their web experience. Although they had an Android app it had long been forgotten and was performing poorly. So, the task given to me was to redesign a new version of the ForRent.com Android app that not only looked good but performed just as well.

During the project I wore many hats. I was brought onto the project as the lead project manager and was given a portion of the bandwidth of a small development team. With limited resources I helped create the designs and prototypes alongside the Android designer. The previous app didn’t have any documentation or defined metrics so I also organized these documents early on.

Research

I worked with managers to find out what the must-have features would be. I then littered my phone with any related apps so I could understand how users are using similar apps.

Sketch

Now that I understood the path I would test I started sketching out the app in whole. After completing the series of sketches I’d meet with key stakeholders, other designers, and developers to gathers feedback and reiterate.

Design

Once everyone was happy with a set of sketches I started getting them onto a computer. I worked closely with another designer to set design standards and create a cohesive and unique Android experience.

Prototype

After Designs were created I began testing them. Getting this prototype into users hands and learning from how they interacted with it provided valuable feedback that allowed us to improve on our designs before spending any money on development efforts.

Develop

Once the app was designed and tested we moved over to development. I was in charge of leading the project through the development phase to ensure that the final product would still meet stakeholder expectations.

Refine & Improve

Whilst we were still caught in the hype of the launch I was keeping a close eye on how our users were interacting with the app and measuring against our success metrics. We would continue to refine what we had and add improvements to keep our users engaged.

In the first month after release we saw a 74% increase in conversions compared to the previous app. Although the team and I were excited about the starting success of the app the work wasn’t over. Next I would lead the charge in evolving the product to continue to meet user expectation and to improve their experience within the app. I highly valued the user input we were getting from the google play store, app feedback forms and user testing and adjusted our efforts accordingly. This lead to a 70% increase in daily active users from the apps first release.