How a UX review can make an app even better

Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to take a look from the outside! Our UX specialists are not only at the forefront of app development in-house, but can also make existing apps even better with little tips. For the MyFive app we were allowed to carry out such a UX review.

An app that connects people: that’s the MyFive app from the Walter Robert Corti Foundation. MyFive provides refugees with five local residents who support them in their everyday lives. Be it shopping, going for a walk in the region or dealing with administrative issues. Why five? Because the responsibility of the volunteers is well distributed and does not rest on one contact person alone. As we all know, we are stronger together.

We at Bitforge were recently able to carry out a UX review for this great project. Our lead UX designer Maria studied the app and came up with practical tips and suggestions for improvement. One of the key points: “For existing projects, it’s always important to take the customer’s needs into account,” says Maria. It’s not just the budget that plays a role here, but also the framework conditions and business objectives. Sometimes even minimal adjustments can have a significant impact and make a noticeable difference for users.

We always focus on the benefits of features. With MyFive, for example, all local volunteers and all refugees with a profile are displayed when the app is launched. However, no interaction is possible. This irritates users more than it actually helps. One of our suggestions was to only display these profiles if the people in question can also be contacted.

We also suggested focusing more on clear explanations during the onboarding process so that the app’s mechanisms are really clear. The better the users are taken by the hand and guided through the onboarding process, the more adept they will be at using the app – and the more fun it will be!

A review can also correct minor defects, such as an unsuitable choice of color, too large or small spacing, ambiguities in operation and inconsistencies in the user logic.

Although this order was an expert review, we never ignored the target groups. As with our own app projects, we proceed according to the principles of collaborative UX design, which always focuses on the target group. How will the app be used and by whom? What are the needs and stumbling blocks? We are extremely successful with this approach and regularly win awards for our apps.

For us, this also means getting the client on board. We therefore don’t simply deliver our results as a factsheet, but discuss the possible adjustments in a joint workshop. “It’s important for us to be able to address different topics individually,” says Maria. In workshops, this is optimally possible in dialog with all participants.

It was also a success for the app team, as Simon Münger from MyFive confirms: “As expected, the UX review workshop at Bitforge with Maria Timonen was professional, creative and exciting. The discussions in the workshop confirmed that we are on the right track. More importantly, however, we received many good tips and inputs, some of which we will implement in the near future.”

Such a UX review is worthwhile for anyone who has published their app and would like an outside perspective. Our UX specialists know all the tricks to raise the user experience to a higher level and keep it consistent throughout the entire app. Whether for small apps or large projects – our offer is always tailored to individual needs and our proposals are always adapted to the budget and objective.