Did you know that Nacew, a highly specialised UI/UX company headquartered in Kosovo and lead by Kosovars, has helped redesign a product serving more than 17 million active users? It has collaborated closely with an international government to create a groundbreaking all-in-one public superapp. This application offers an array of services effectively transforming into a comprehensive online platform that caters to various aspects of personal and commercial life, including public services, healthcare, religion, travel, education, family, and events. Furthermore, the app seamlessly integrates with various platforms and ecosystems, allowing third parties to develop and distribute their applications within the app.

Challenges & solutions

Designing applications used by millions of users presents a unique set of challenges due to the scale and diversity of the user base. The app of this scale that affects millions of inhabitants of a country and is directly related to healthcare and wellbeing of them presented the team with a lot of key elements that they have to have in mind during the design process: thorough understanding of user behaviour, prioritisation of solutions, accessibility, designing for iOS/Android at the same time, organisation of work and implementation.

Understanding users behaviours 

People are different, you can’t know all people’s  behaviours. It’s important to understand the importance of analysing everyone’s behaviour during the usability testing so that we can get as many insights as possible. And gathering insights from millions of people is no easy task! In our case, we interviewed as much as we could, created surveys, focused on real-time observations and created usability tests. This particular challenge is planned to be overcome by using web and app analytics, creating click heatmaps, and mapping user journeys.

Prioritising solutions

When there are millions of users, everyone needs different stuff within an app, each user wants a different feature that he or she deems that is crucial to them. You always have to rely on data to see which feature is being used the most, that's the one that you should show first to your users. This is what we did, we prioritised based on usage data and on the above-mentioned methods of feedback gathering, both quantitative and qualitative. Cognitive and psychological principles, is another source of truth where we have relied to prioritise the design system and user experience.

Accessibility to users with impairments

UI needs to be accessible, needs to fit everybody’s eyes so that as many people can use it. The team had to make sure that  the app is accessible to users with disabilities, complying with accessibility standards like WCAG. Also, another important element to be considered was testing and designing for various assistive technologies and user needs.

Designing for iOS and Android, separately!

It’s very important to understand and not underestimate the fact that users have different behaviours based on what phone they use. Our design systems are highly detailed based on iOS Human interface guidelines and Google Material.io. A detailed design system is needed for both iOS and Android in order for the developers to be able to develop components as we wish them to look like. It is crucial to understand developer’s challenges, that’s why we were always there with them to help in achieving the best together.

Huge team of designers, organisation of work

You can't design a big product with a single UI/UX Designer, but to have more, you have to be organised in terms of work. Yeah, it helps when you use platforms like FIgma, but it is just the tool, not the whole system of components that get the work done. We had a very diverse team in terms of skills so that everyone can do their best expertise. Moreover, the work was being done globally and through various time zones and cultures, and this added an extra burden to the already hectic cooperation.

The design process

Discover & Define

In this phase, the primary objective is to understand the problem thoroughly and define clear objectives for the design process.This stage was all about understanding the problem, the users, and the context in which the design will exist. Designers have gathered information and insights through various research methods, such as user interviews, surveys, competitor analysis, and market research. The end goal? A well-defined and focused problem statement, and a solid understanding of who the users are, what their needs are, and what the design solution needs to achieve.

Concept & Validate

In this phase, you aim to create and validate initial design concepts so that you can continue with a solution in mind. In this stage, our team created initial concepts and prototypes for the user interface or experience, structure and organise content to create information architecture, wireframes and prototypes. During the validation phase, the team observed real users interacting with the prototype, gathered feedback and created an idea on the changes and improvements that need to be made in the design of the app.

Iterate & Design

In this phase, the team  iterated the initial design concepts based on feedback and further refined the design through multiple cycles of iteration and refinement. Quantitative and qualitative feedback received from various sources is thoroughly analysed. Based on this analysis, the team has made incremental changes and refinements to UI/UX, created new designs for iOS and prototypes, by adjusting the layout, colours, typography, navigation, and other design elements to address the identified issues. Then, user testing with real users again! This process is a cyclical process, it creates a feedback loop, until the final desirable product has been designed.

Deliver & Scale

In this phase in the process,  the focus shifted from creating design concepts and prototypes to actually building the production designs which includes design for iOS and Android, along with animations for different interactions within the app. The design concepts and prototypes that were designed before were translated into actual code and the user interface is built. Design Systems are built separately and completed during this period as the developers continue developing all the components and ensuring that the product functions as intended.

Measure & improve

Measuring and improving the product  is an ongoing process and is integrated into the entire product development lifecycle. Continuous refinement based on user feedback and data analysis that come from the ground is crucial for creating a successful and user-friendly UI/UX.Results are measured via a system for ongoing monitoring and feedback collection to ensure that the design remains user-centred. Work is never finished and our designers aim to continually enhance the user experience based on user feedback, changing technology, and evolving business goals. Therefore, you might see "improvement" occurring throughout the entire design lifecycle and not as a distinct stage.

Conclusion

Collaboration stands as the pivotal element within the UI/UX design process, serving as the conduit for translating the design vision into a tangible, user-interactable product. Effective teamwork between designers, business analysts, developers, QA teams, and various stakeholders is imperative to secure a triumphant product launch and sustained refinement. Nacew, an up-and-coming enterprise originating from the compact locale of Kosovo, has impressively partnered with prominent tech industry leaders, pushing the boundaries of what can rightfully be lauded as an award-winning and groundbreaking UI/UX design! Stay tuned for more to come!

NOTE: The name of the application and the customer are not disclosed for confidentiality reasons. Full disclosure might take place during next year.