At this time, I was building the first version of a new cross-platform app called Skiwise. I thought I was creating the best experience possible, but

Users preferred the less straightforward UX – and I finally understand why

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2022-06-23 00:00:07

At this time, I was building the first version of a new cross-platform app called Skiwise. I thought I was creating the best experience possible, but as I later learned, straightforward doesn't always equal intuitive.

Skiwise is an app that lets cross-country skiers access crowd-sourced reports on the trail conditions of various ski trails. This lets them decide where to ski on a given day and what skis/wax/clothes to bring with them. You can think of this as essentially "the weather app for cross-country ski trails".

As you can see, the main page contains a list of trails you follow and displays the most recent trail report from each trail. "This is great", I thought at the time, "The info is instantaneous! You can browse the newest trail reports in 2 seconds! There's no friction! People will love this!".

So, I went back to the basics. And there's nothing more basic than watching users interact with your app. But, it wasn't until I put the app in the hands of my Mother that I discovered the problem.