Just like books, UX case studies tell a story. These stories are valuable for anyone looking to create a product that look and functions well. Inside you can find mistakes and insights your development team can use in the design of your project.
Here you’ll learn what makes a great case study and be able to check out a few we’ve found useful.
What makes a great UX case study
Not all UX case studies are the same. Some are created by UX/UI designers who are vague about what they did during the project. Others ask for your information before giving you the whole thing!
There are a couple of points every good UX design case study should hit.
Touches on the 5 planes of UX
Strategy - Here you try to hit the sweet spot between user needs and your business’s objectives. Poor strategy will sink a project from the start. This means a well-defined strategy is essential.
Scope - Scope is broken into two categories; functional specs and content requirements. Having a clear scope prevents scope creep. Which avoids you from creating a product that doesn’t fit the consumer's needs.
Structure - Structure is the scope given form. This comprises interaction design and the “call and response” of the page. And Information architecture; the placing of information on pages of your product.
Skeleton - Skeleton looks at the entire system together. Interface and navigation design must allow users to move fluidly through the content.
Surface - The visual design of the product must be congruent with the company theme and the expectations of the user.
How deep UX case studies will go into each individual UX plane will vary. If a UX team goes into a project halfway through they won’t have much to do with strategy. Other times the UX team will be around since conception. Either way is okay. You can still draw value from the select portion of the info.
Gives you insight into the design thinking process
From their use of design thinking you should be able to answer some of these questions:
How did the team connect and understand the end user? What is the specific problem that this team looked to solve? How is the product design different to the ones before it? Do the prototypes and wireframes give you an idea of how the product would work? How often was user research conducted? Was it thorough enough?
Take a look at the UX case studies below. See if you can spot the UX planes and answer some of the questions.
1. Musician’s Toolkit
Musician’s Toolkit is an interactive music education platform. An emphasis on letting students learn at their own pace along with the biggest names in music guiding them made Musician’s Toolkit promising. However, they struck a wrong cord early in development. Musician’s toolkit brought the UX professionals DevSquad on after an outsourcing stint in addition to an internal hire disappointed.
Project goal: Put the development back on track and create a product with sound infrastructure
Outcome: A fully rebuilt app in 3 months; seamless front end and API connected back end.
What you can learn from this UX case study: Knowing when to shift in development is necessary for product success.
2. Xeropan
UX Studio is a globally recognized UI/UX design firm. With their extensive knowledge they helped Xeropan, a language learning app fix an customer perception problem that alienated potential users.
Project goal: Turn this incredibly useful but misrepresented app into one that invites everyone to come and learn.
Outcome: After working with UX studio, Xeropan saw a 3% increase in day 1 retention along with a 5% decrease in trial cancellations on IOS platforms.
What you can learn from this UX case study: Product representation is huge. Design choices can either attract or repulse users.
3. WindowMaster
A self-described “experience innovation company”, Designit helps businesses reimagine their UX and UI. Here they helped WindowMaster, a natural ventilation company, work towards net zero buildings in the Bay Area. WindowMaster was looking to build an app that allowed both tenant and building managers to take control of the indoor environment.
Project goal: Create an easy-to-understand IoT for WindowMaster’s indoor ventilation technology.
Outcome: Prototype that gives tenants more control and a dashboard for Landlords and facility managers.
What you can learn from this UX case study: If your product services multiple clientele, it’s not always about making one product. It could be multiple products run by a single system.
4. Drivably
Drivably helps used car dealers buy inventory faster and at greater profit margins. After many months and a runway of money burned through. Drivably gave up developing their app internally, handing the reins over to DevSquad, a fully scalable dev team. DevSquad did an audit of their design process so far and found they were using technology that was hampering development.
Project goal: Put the project development into high gear and cross the finish line.
Outcome: Now in Laravel, the product went to market in 45 days. With Drivably planning to gather user data and put in more resources with DevSquad’s help.
What you can learn from this UX case study: Building with a poorly run team handicaps your project.
5. Ikea
During Covid, Ikea looked to Work & Co to create their first e-commerce mobile app.
Project goal: Modernize and transform their business digitally.
Outcome: Ikea saw a 60% increase in online sales in 2020. Along with a 4.8-star rating(up from 2.8).
What you can learn from this UX case study: Being at the top doesn’t allow you to be complacent. Innovating either becomes a lesson or a boon for your company.
6. Lanebreak
When Peloton wanted to explore how they could create more variation in their customers biking sessions. Together with the help of Ustwo design studio, they looked towards gaming. Thus Lanebreak was born.
Project goal: Create a rewarding workout experience by controlling two key variables: speed and resistance.
Outcome: 500,000 members tried Lanebreak in the first month.
What you can learn from this UX case study: Integrating new features for your products, keeps you consistently at the forefront of the consumer’s mind.
7. NORPC
New Orleans Regional Planning Commission(NORPC) is a board of local officials and citizens who represent the area in areas such as transportation and the environment. With the need to have all manner of documents not just public record but assessable. They wanted a new, intuitive website.
Project goal: Create a new NORPC site that was informative, helpful, and organized for public use.
Outcome: A website with a resource library allowing it to be easily updated with cloud-based object storage, and includes a host of accessibility features to conform with WCAG 2.0 AA standards.
What you can learn from this UX case study: Content not formatted with user experience in mind, might as well not be there at all.
8. Easy Tracks
When Bobby Jones thought of Easy Tracks he had no idea how essentially “karaoke for musicians” would be done. Having worked on video games as a music composer he knew how much software development could cost—especially groundbreaking software. DevSquad was there to alleviate his concerns and walk him through their meticulous process.
Project goal: Build a completely new type of instrument-learning app.
Outcome: Average rating on the Apple app store is 4.5 stars. Easy Tracks is currently working with DevSquad for a coupon tracking system.
What you can learn from this UX case study: You often feel before you know when a project is going smoothly. And vice versa.
9. BAZZ
Bazz is a hands-free driving app that allows users to listen to their text messages and reply in a variety of ways. Including a ready made-message and audio recording. Bazz hit two major potholes; incorrect app usage and high churn between installation and active users.
Project goal: Examine why people aren't using the app correctly, and why there's a wide gap between the number of installs and the number of active users.
Outcome: The redesign resulted in an increase in the number of users who completed the onboarding and tutorial stages. The gap between installs and active users also dropped dramatically.
What you can learn from this UX case study: Less is more. Challenging your company to explain your app functionality simply can alleviate so many headaches
10. PS
PS is a luxury private terminal serving commercial flights out of LAX. What sets them apart is the white glove service that goes the extra mile. Users comprising both travelers and travel agents get stress-free security, high-class amenities before and after flights and much more. With a growing clientele, PS wanted to update its web experience.
Project goal: Improve the growth potential of the application.
Outcome: An intuitive web experience. Complete with brand-consistent graphic design and new self-service features allowing for scalability.
What you can learn from this UX case study: Changing with the times doesn’t mean you have to give up your brand image.
11. Nexar
Nexar’s AI-assisted dashcams act as witnesses in a traffic accidents. Saving users millions of dollars a year by showing what really happened. They are complete with multi-lane navigation and one-click insurance assistance. With backing from investors such as Alibaba and Mosiac, Nexar knew they had to exceed expectations. They brought Humbleteam in to supplement the internal team.
Project goal: Help finalize Nexar’s app design and functionality.
Outcome: 4.5 stars on the app store along with 96 million dollars in venture capital raised.
What you can learn from this UX case study: Bringing in an external team doesn't have to be only for emergencies. Sometimes you just need backup on a UX project.
12. PepsiCo
With the intent of helping create a healthier world. PepsiCo asked Method to create a first-of-its-kind touchless kiosk. Usability testing was done in both a lab environment and a KFC in Poland. The final iteration, built in the Unity engine and plugged into an existing kiosk form factor, resulted in only 15% of customers reporting a learning curve.
Project goal: Create a touchless Kiosk that was intuitive to use.
Outcome: The kiosk sold more food and equal beverages to its touch counterpart. 75% of users said they would recommend it to a friend and 85% said they would reuse it.
What you can learn from this UX case study: When introducing new functionality or products to customers. Make sure it isn’t completely alien. Having some familiarity with the previous tech can go a long way.
13. Aldentyfy
Aldentyfy was built for one purpose only. Circumvent the long procedure of manual identification of prostatic implants. Here, doctors take a picture of a patient's X-ray. AI then cross-references it with a crowdsourced database to come up with the most probable manufacturer. The surgery members then verify the information.
Project goal: Save precious time in the identification of prosthetic implants
Outcome: A HIPPA-compliant app and process from top to bottom. Saving time and making the process more efficient.
What you can learn from this UX case study: When a great idea meets a great execution. Something amazing happens.
14. Novalume
Novalume is a green lighting solution for smart cities. They partnered with The Gradient because of project demands. 1)Front office of City Lighting departments 2)Back office: map-based solution for admins 3) Android application for city workers
Project goal: streamline the process of installation and maintenance of lighting systems
Outcome: Adoption by 5 cities globally with an average of 53% energy reduction
What you can learn from this UX case study: When possible don’t try to segment your product. When you have to, put extra work into the inter-functionality.
15. MoreHands Maid Service
MoreHands Maid Service is a family-run business that found itself struggling as it scaled into different regions of Texas. Slide UX’s design team came in to create a brand identity. Merging what made them successful in the past and how they saw themselves being successful in the future.
Project goal: Create a customized pricing workflow to better inform customers and reduce costs.
Outcome: Hyperlocal landing page strategy coupled with custom pricing workflow for each region.
What you can learn from this UX case study: Putting in the correct systems allows for smooth scalability.
