TYPE
Mobile App
redesign
CONTRIBUTION
UI/UX Design
Research
Prototyping
Logo Design
COLLABORATORS
James Boyer - Development
Stephen Berkson - Co-founder
Roger Anderson - Co-founder
TIME FRAME
10 weeks
01 - Establishing the baseline
Before jumping in, I familiarized myself with the app in its current state to suss out the most glaring UX issues.
What I did:
Map existing flows
Scrub app store reviews
Conduct a heuristic evaluation
Many of the heuristic violations pointed to a lack of consistency & standards in design throughout the app. There were also many areas that hindered the efficiency of the user experience, particularly in regards to users jumping between the app & website to complete task flows or locate help documentation.
02 - Stakeholder input
I facilitated conversations with both co-founders to understand the most pressing issues around user retention, & pinpoint who their current audience is vs who they'd like their audience to be going forward. We aligned on the top areas for improvement:
01 - Prioritize AI summaries & transcripts over audio content to…
Appeal to a younger audience's tendency to scan info
02 - Integrate an onboarding flow to…
Encourage new users to engage key features without being obtrusive
03 - Improve the overall navigational experience to…
Reduce the number of monthly help tickets & cancellation requests
03 - Finding our place in the telecoms market
The telecommunications market, & more specifically the spam-blocking niche, was totally new to me. To learn more about where the client fit into this market, I conducted a competitive analysis of 3 similar products- TrueCaller, Number Shield, & Robokiller.
TrueCaller & Robokiller differentiated themselves from Captain's Log through clean UI, while TrueCaller & Number Shield offer screening assistants that prevent spam calls from reaching users entirely. Captain's Log, however, stood out by allowing users to customize their answering bots & offering competitive pricing.
04 - Going to the source
Naturally I was eager to interview current users as the authorities on the app's experience, but stakeholders could only access them through their help portal. Despite many requests, only 2 users responded weeks later.
Both users were highly satisfied with playing back entertaining sound bites of frustrated telemarketers interacting with their bots, but offered little constructive feedback. While positive, this was not in line with the stakeholders' reports of high monthly help tickets & cancellation requests.
04.1 - …Finding a new source
Since the client aimed to attract younger users while retaining their older base, I pivoted to interviewing 6 participants (ages 29-65) with varying experience using any spam-filtering telecom services to understand their how they deal with spam calls & what would motivate them to use a product like Captain's Log.
Users like having transcripts available to cross-check with recordings
They want flexibility & control over which calls to block
They would find it helpful to receive summaries after spam calls are filtered, to stay in the know without having to answer annoying calls
Fear of missing important "unrecognized" calls by blocking too much
Confusing & disorganized UI in the current apps they use
Cost is a barrier to entry
05 - Keeping empathy at the core
While these findings were clear, I still didn't have a complete picture of who our app's new audience could be. Using the patterns uncovered through our conversations I created empathy maps for 2 personas, Cath & Russ.
06 - Prioritizing features
With numerous feature ideas circulating, I facilitated a virtual workshop with both co-founders & their developer to inventory existing features & evaluate new concepts. I emphasized that all redesign features should address user needs from my research, & we discussed technical feasibility, which eliminated several ideas & helped define our design scope. Since users can apply spam protection to multiple phone lines under one account, it was crucial to clarify which features are account-specific vs line-specific.
View feature prioritization doc
07- Evaluating & restructuring the architecture
Before jumping into redesigning the app's architecture, I conducted a tree test of the existing app with 10 participants to hone in on problem areas. Results showed there was confusion in finding the Block/Safe contact lists (Task 1) & filters for the call log (Task 4).
View information architecture
Results:
08- Redesigning the IA
The previous 3-tab architecture was not balanced, made apparent in the Settings tab's deeply nested pages of somewhat unrelated content. Following conventional navigational patterns, I designed a new IA around 4 main tabs.
Important updates
Contacts
New addition; gives users control in managing callers considered "Safe" or "Spam"
Settings
Reimagined to house phone line-specific information
Account
Repurposed from the previous "Help" tab; houses account-specific features, & gives users multi-lateral access to edit phone line details
09 - Validating IA updates
Tree testing this new IA by having 10 other participants complete the same 5 tasks yielded positive results.
The new IA simplified navigating Safe/Spam lists and call log filtering, but increased confusion around finding registered phone lines. 30% of participants expected this under the Contacts tab, suggesting potential task wording issues.
>> Where would you go to see all the phone lines registered to be screened under your account?
Users may have interpreted "Phone lines" as contacts in their Safe/Spam lists. Though uncertain due to unmoderated testing constraints, stakeholders chose not to relocate Phone Line Details within the IA.
10 - Mapping key journeys
Next, I created user flows for the Onboarding & Safe/Spam List features to align with & guide the developer.
11 - Early testing to validate Settings & Calls tab
After a first round of sketching, I conducted user testing with 8 participants to determine if the Settings & Calls tabs were logically organized & matched users’ mental models. Each participant carried out 3 unmoderated tasks, & answered 2 follow-up questions.
Parameters:
Task 1: Where would you go to see what level of spam protection is set for your phone line currently?
Task 2: Where would you go to update your voicemail greeting for Safe Callers on your phone line?
Task 3: Where would you go to listen to a recording of a call you received?
Tasks 2 & 3 were successful (>50% participants took same path to arrive at correct destination)
75% participants rated the difficulty of navigating the app as "Easy" or "Very Easy"
“Everything felt very straightforward. It's a new app so I was unfamiliar at first but it was simple to figure out where everything is.”
Participants frequently tapped the "Spam protection on" toggle when trying to review protection levels
Participants were split on whether 'Phone Line Info' belonged under Settings vs Account tabs
Settings: Participants tapped disabled areas before realizing they needed to select a phone line first
"It was unclear whether the level of protection I'd signed up for would be found under Settings, or be tied to my account."
12 - Refreshing the interface
While improving navigation was the top priority for user retention, the app's outdated visual aesthetic also needed attention. I emphasized to stakeholders how a polished interface builds user trust, affecting retention & satisfaction. They were open to a complete overhaul, with one caveat: I had to preserve the existing pirate imagery to maintain a bit of humor in the app.
13 - Building foundations for a design system
To promote consistency across Captain's Log, I created a design library with accessible colors, typography, graphics, & reusable components for implementation in this app & potentially their web platform in the future. This is a work in progress; future additions will include guidelines for use & screen templates following atomic design principles.
14 - Testing in high fidelity
To validate design decisions up to this point, I conducted moderated remote usability testing with 5 participants to ensure they could easily access & understand the information on Calls, Contacts, & Settings tabs.
Parameters:
Task 1: You’re checking your call log & see the latest missed call from an unrecognized number is labeled “likely a scam”. How would you add this number to your Spam list?
Task 2: How would you set up a new rule in your contacts list that would classify all incoming phone numbers starting with '1317' as a "Safe" number?
Task 3: Where would you go to find out more information about the specific level of spam protection set for James’s phone line?
Tasks 1 & 3 were successes (>60% participants rated the tasks as "Easy" or "Very Easy")
All participants struggled with finding the "New Pattern" button on Task 2, describing it as "buried" or "hidden".
Participants without prior experience with products like this needed more guidance & context, saying they would like to have an onboarding tour of the app
Participants' mental models around what info belongs in Settings vs Account was still split evenly, even after knowing this product has account- & line-specific settings
View full report
15 - Back to the drawing board
Based on the findings above, I prioritized 2 revisions:
View the next project: