Destiny Companion v2 Android

Role: UX and UI Design

Responsible for the User experience design, feature design, and UI design for the Companion Tablet Update
 

Lead: David Sinclair

PROBLEM:

The Destiny Companion had no existing footprint on any tablet device

Proposed Solution:

Design a Native Tablet Experience

The first solution we went after was a full design for all tablets, including iOS. This involved scoping for work, looking at navigation options, and designing in feature versions to roll out as we completed them.

NEW PROBLEM 1:

The features had become so intertwined that the app could not be shipped without a complete feature load. 

New Problem 2:

Android had just launched their new Material Design update, and with it a whole new set of rules and paradigms for app design. This meant that the apps had to be designed and built differently to live in their respective ecosystems and act natively. 

Navigation was the biggest issue between the two systems.

Solution:

Feeling like we had a better idea of how the Android Tablet system was working, we decided to focus on creating designs for that only.

We also decided to make one install for both mobile and tablet, essentially getting an update to mobile for 'free' because we were working on tablet.

MILESTONE 1:

The project started out as a waterfall of design to development. We were operating with no real timeframe on the project. The developers needed weeks to set up new frameworks, as we were throwing out a lot of old work.

Designs were being created and reviewed, but seldom implemented correctly, if at all. Pill-up of design debt became an issue and the developers felt like they would never catch up.

It was determined a new approach was needed and all members involved were invited to three 4 hour (or more) long design scrums and we would continue this until a cohesive plan and design emerged.

Yay.

Milestone 2:

What came out of those meetings, reviews and designs was a well understood scope, a clear direction, and an execution path.

We took a brand new, simpler, and more user friendly approach to all the interactions and major features of the app. 

This meant, like the iOS changes I had made, moving the most used interactions and features up and presented them in a much more simple design. Again, we pulled the "gear management" from the "details view" and made it highly accessible. 

These new feature shifts and designs landed us a 4.3 rating in the app store (still current rating).

Conclusion:

Overall the update took more time than it probably needed to take, but for the people involved in the revamp, it was critical we hit the walls we did. We learned how to work better, improve our process, and were able to deliver a better, improved product.