Dust is a private messaging app with end-to-end encryption that keeps messages anonymous and secure. During my time at Dust, we saw low engagement and retention rates. As the primary UX designer, my role was to redesign the mobile app from the ground up.
To gather data, we launched a survey on the app to learn about the issues our customers faced. Additionally, we conducted a usability test to observe how users interacted with the app. Starting with the onboarding experience, we noticed users struggling to complete the sign-up process, which accounted for an 18% drop-off even before they began using the app.
After collecting all the data, we identified numerous issues that needed to be addressed. We organized and brainstormed which problems should be tackled first in order to launch an MVP product. With differing opinions, we used a priority matrix to facilitate discussions and organize issues based on effort and benefit.
One of the key issues we aimed to fix was the convoluted flow of the existing experience. Through usability testing, we observed users repeatedly getting lost or ending up on the wrong screens. Our goal was to get users to send messages, so we created a high-level user flow to streamline the process. By creating a user flow diagram, we were able to reduce unnecessary steps, such as simplifying the onboarding process and removing feature pages that didn't focus on sending messages.
It was important that we tested each new design with users. In our competitive analysis, we found various navigation placements, each with its own pros and cons. I mocked up the different options and launched qualitative studies to gather user feedback. Through multiple rounds of testing, we narrowed down our options until we found the one that performed best.
Once all the major pain points were addressed, we successfully launched the MVP app. In the first quarter, we saw a 20% increase in downloads and user retention increased by 7x. Feedback showed that users were sending messages much faster than with the previous experience. The work was far from complete, however; our backlog of items excluded from the MVP became the target for our next update.
