“We want to create a learning app that’s exciting and fun to use” — Paraphrasing the brief for this project.

I was approached by an Australian startup with the task of creating an overhauled v2 of their existing app.

Product review.

In my experience, time after time, what helps me hit the ground running on an existing product is a product review where I audit the app.

A product audit of the existing app before I started work on it.

I’m candid with my feedback. Respect is paramount, but so is honest feedback. If I think something needs improving, I let the client know. And I accept the same in return once I start designing and presenting for feedback.

Here I’m reviewing the App Store page, not just the app. All customer touch points are important and need to be carefully thought about.

Nothing is off limits when it’s product review time. On this project, I reviewed all customer touch points.

• Reviewing the existing app.

• Checking for consistency in experience and tone of voice in emails.

• Visibility on search engines and messaging used in SEO meta tags.

• App Store page visibility, and quality of first impression.

Design Sprint workshop.

Next up, I send my review to the client and schedule the workshop. This is the most important meeting in the project. In this case, a 5-hour marathon at The Cluster co-working space in Melbourne.

Innovation can often be a no-frills affair. In this case it definitely wasn’t. The Cluster co-working space with its million dollar view.

I facilitated the design sprint using Miro — my beloved Miro, enabler of remote design workshops.

Miro is my tool of choice for workshops. It’s a “whiteboard in the cloud” and after a little help getting everyone set up, it works extremely well.

Regarding the design sprint, I don’t follow the Google Ventures design sprint methodology religiously. I use it as a foundation, but have my own way of doing design sprints, and always customise it to the client and project at hand. I can't show the details of the design sprint as they contain some sensitive business logic and product roadmap ideation.

Prototype.

This is where I shine. My competitive advantage is being able to “wow” the client in the 5-7 days, by not just facilitating the design sprint, but also starting work on an eye-catching and exciting prototype that paints a picture of what’s to come.