Intro & Objectives
Leading end-to-end user research of mobile app experience, a pioneering UXR project.
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Apply behavioral architecture framework to translate user behavior into actionable insights.
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Supports an existing project involving navigation.
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Collaboration with design, product, & development teams.
The research aimed to evaluate the mobile app navigation experience, focusing on workflow efficiency, user interactions, app structure, personas, and the factors that drive user engagement and repeat usage.
Key findings highlight unexpected user behavior & usage patterns, navigation habits, and workflow bottlenecks that inform design decisions.
Desk Research
User Testing
Data Synthesis
Analytics & Interviews
Mobile-Team
Workshop
Live Screen
Sharing
Hosting Mobile-Team in Sessions
Key Questions
What drives repeat usage of the app?
What will boost engagement ?
What factors influence users to prefer the app over the web experience?
How do users navigate the app? How many steps / Clicks?
Are workflows intuitive, efficient, and quick (time saving)?
Methodology
Pre-Research
Team Workshop
Alignment on goals,
focus & key questions.
Recruitment
Company's research community (prior survey & analytics)
Participants
Field-based, mobile-first end users (Europe & US)
Method
In-depth interviews & users testing (live screen sharing).
Analytics review.
Collaboration
Design, product & mobile developers teams joined sessions
Data Synthesis
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User Personas: Detailed user profiles → different global-user types and behaviors.
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This analysis applies Behavior Architecture to understand how users navigate the system naturally and how their behavior structures tools usage.
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Qualitative - Thematic Analysis: End-to-end qualitative analysis; AI support (Dovetail) → validate coverage & surface additional themes.
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Quantitative - Analytics Review: App analytics → validate & align qualitative findings with usage data.
Key Findings & Insights
Bottom Navigation Limitations
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Only three tools were exposed (not necessarily most central / frequently used);
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Other key tools were hidden under “More” tab > adding an extra hierarchy level & navigation steps >> Image A: Hirarchichal Task Analysis
👤 User Quote: "There are certain people like project managers or engineers, that seems to have struggled with navigatin… they don't understand the first looks of it; Where X and where is Y ?' - I have to guide them through – that they need to go to the "More" section..."
Gateway Tool Behavior & Usage Patterns
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Analytics: analytics show high engagement within tools, but entry via the navigation bar remains low → indicating users rely on alternative product flows rather than the primary navigation.
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Interviews: Users frequently bypassed direct entries, using a central gateway tool instead.
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User Testing: Surprising navigation pattern → users naturally relied on the gateway to access other tools.
Inconsistent Button Placement & Functionality
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Buttons were inconsistently placed/designed and behaved differently across screens.
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Users missed key features, relying on visual habits and automatic patterns (recognition over recall) instead of actively searching.
User Context | Interaction | Speed & Task Switching
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User interviews: Mobile users interact quickly; often apps-switching; shifting workflows via web after work.
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User-Testing: Multi-step tasks are bypassed (e.g., accessing camera) → lost or undocumented data.
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Persona Insights: Fast access to key functions/ workflows; often bypass slow tasks (e.g., quick doodles on photos outside the app) → attention loss & cognitive load ⇒ reduced efficiency ⇄ reduced app usage.
👤 User Quote: "It's too hard to try and navigate when you're walking on a construction site and trying to walk and have a conversation at the same time…”
Persona Analysis Example
A Day in the Field – User Personas in Action
These personas represent mobile users who work or interact on-site, relying on the app to manage tasks, reference drawings, and document progress directly from the field.
Kim, Project Engineer
📍 Main location: Office
🚜 Current project: Multifamily building (US based)
⚙️ Usage: Few hours per week
📱 Main device: iPhone & iPad
🛠️ Tools in use on app: 2
📚 Common use case: Conducts site walks with clients, communicates with subcontractors, logs issues, and reviews plans on the go.
⚠️ Pain points: Long sync times that prevent effective use on site; Creating a file in the app requires too many steps.
Tom, Project Manager
📍 Main location: Mostly office
🚜 Current project: Construction project - University (US based)
📱 Main device: iPad & Android
🛠️ Tools in use on app: 3
📊 Usage patterns: Documentation, markups, tags & comments, forms completion.
📚 Common use case: Before project
completion, Tom uses tools to ensure all project items are complete and nothing is missing.
Matt, Superintendent
📍 Main location: Field & office
🚜 Current project: High school remodeling
⚙️ Usage: Daily, primarily on-site
📱 Main device: iPad
🛠️ Tools in use on app: Almost all
📊 Usage patterns: Frequently pulls specifications; publishes notes
📚 Common use case: Uses the app in the field to manage files efficiently during renovations. Regularly takes photos and references building drawings to adjust building layouts during the early stages of the project.
General Impact
Highkited key usability & usage pain points and challenges
Influenced roadmap decisions ad provided actionable strategic insights
Informed an ongoing project and translated into excecution following research wrap-up
