From Good to Great: How a UX Audit Can Transform Your App

Written by: Laura Pilili and Bruna Dannenhauer

Introduction

Picture yourself as a prosperous company, poised to release a new application. You’re convinced that your revolutionary concept will lead to considerable profits. You initiate the app development and design a prototype, but something seems amiss. Initial tests show that users have difficulty navigating or become lost within the app’s structure.

At White Prompt, we regularly engage with clients who have extraordinary ideas they aspire to convert into thriving products. Some clients already possess a minimum viable product (MVP) and aim to enrich it with more features. However, when a client’s product doesn’t deliver the expected outcomes, it’s essential to uncover the root problem.

We leverage a variety of tools and strategies at White Prompt to evaluate a client’s product and highlight areas that require enhancement. One such tool is a UX audit, a thorough review of a product’s user experience. It assists us in identifying problem areas and proposing improvements.

A UX audit provides essential insights into a product’s performance from the user’s viewpoint. With these insights, we can partner with the client to formulate a plan for implementing the suggested changes.

So, what precisely is a UX audit?

A UX audit is an assessment of a product’s user experience. It involves inspecting various elements of your digital product to understand its performance and areas that need improvement. We evaluate the usability, accessibility, and overall efficiency of the product from the perspective of its target users. The aim of a UX audit is to identify areas where the product may not satisfy user needs and expectations, and offer recommendations for enhancement.

Before we kick off a design process or an audit, we need to grasp the business and its objectives, the client’s expectations, and the user’s requirements. We begin with a discovery phase, where we address these factors to align with the client’s expectations.

?? A common approach is to conduct a heuristic evaluation. This involves a detailed examination based on usability principles that assist us in identifying problems and improvements. These principles can help us detect issues like navigation challenges and inadequate information architecture. We also consider UX best practices and industry standards to ensure the product complies with them.

Depending on the project, we may employ various methods to support our analysis. For instance, we may use customer care data, conversion metrics, sales data, or even traffic to measure engagement. We can also use tools like heat mapping to visualize where users are clicking and scrolling on your site, or eye tracking tools to observe where users are focusing on the page. Software applications like Google Analytics, Hotjar, or Crazy Egg can assist us in collecting and analyzing data.

Real-life example:

We once collaborated with a client who had an app with a previous prototype. We identified significant opportunities for improvement as it didn’t coincide with much of what we discovered.

After our initial interviews, we analyzed the prototype and the client’s goals and compared them with industry trends, good UX patterns, heuristic analysis, and other details for the deadline. We compiled a list of enhancements the app needed to achieve the client’s goals. This initial step won us the client and allowed us to start a deeper pattern and good UX.

However, we encountered another hurdle: the aesthetics provided by an external Branding company. They had a strong brand orientation and required an app that adhered to strict brand guidelines. The brand was in development and almost ready, so they divided the work. White Prompt was responsible for the development, information architecture, wireframes, user experience, and adapting the UI according to the Brand guidelines. We did not define the UI guidelines.

When we received the UI guidelines, we instantly realized they probably wouldn’t be effective. Not because of their aesthetics, but because the guidelines didn’t consider accessibility, grid, heuristic principles, app structure, or potential development issues. We highlighted all these points in the UX Audit report.

Despite our recommendations, the customer chose to proceed with the same UI guidelines. We did our best, but we always made it clear that it might not be the optimal approach due to the issues listed above.

Before launching the app, we conducted a user testing session. The team eagerly awaited feedback on their project. Due to legal issues, the test group had to be selective, restrictive, and operate within a closed environment. They first focused on building the app and then tested it later. Unfortunately, the results were not as anticipated. The UI did not meet the project’s standards, which was disappointing for everyone. The team revisited the UX audit report to identify how to improve the gaps.

After careful planning and consideration of the feedback from the user testing group, the team made significant improvements to the UI, resulting in a much better user experience. The process was challenging, but it led to a better product that aligned with the team’s goals and objectives.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a UX Audit is a vital process for evaluating the success and impact of your digital product. Understanding your users’ behavior and pain points can enhance your product and increase its success. A UX Audit can provide valuable insights that inform your product development decisions and ensure your product continues to meet your users’ needs.

Want to take your app to the next level? Get in touch for a UX Audit and start boosting user satisfaction today!