avatarNishant Panchal

Summary

The text provides a comprehensive framework for conducting app critique interviews, including UX audit aspects and approaches to structure the critique.

Abstract

This article serves as a guide for app critique interviews, covering the process of conducting the interview and offering a flexible framework for critiquing various aspects of an app's design. The UX audit portion of the framework includes user and problem understanding, structure, interaction design, UI design, and additional tips for critiquing an app. The approaches to structure the critique are app-driven, persona or feature-driven, and problem-driven, each offering a different level of focus on specific features, flows, or problems within the app.

Bullet points

  • The article is a guide for app critique interviews.
  • The app critique interview process involves selecting a device, conducting a video call, and choosing an app.
  • The framework consists of UX audit and the approach to structure the critique.
  • UX audit covers user and problem understanding, structure, interaction design, UI design, and other tips.
  • Approaches to structure the critique include app-driven, persona or feature-driven, and problem-driven.
  • App-driven is a generic approach with no prompts, focusing on critiquing various aspects of the app.
  • Persona or feature-driven focuses on discussing features or problems from a specific persona's perspective.
  • Problem-driven is a narrower approach focusing on a specific problem or use case.
  • The article includes examples and references to further resources on app critique.
  • The author acknowledges contributors to the framework and encourages readers to share their own approaches.
  • The article is based on the author's experience interviewing for a product designer role.

App critique framework for product design interviews

This article is a complete guide for your App Critique Interview. First, I will explain the App Critique interview process in brief; and then propose a comprehensive framework to prepare and orchestrate the interview.

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August was over and with that, it was the time of the year to prepare for full-time applications. As a Masters student, I had limited time to reflect on my summer internship before applying for full-time opportunities. While collecting my thoughts and updating my portfolio, I got an interview opportunity with Facebook for the Product Designer role. The interview process was quite standard — Recruiter Screening, Portfolio Review, Past Experience Interview and finally, an App Critique session. From my experience interviewing for internships, I confidently cleared initial rounds, but it was time to face my first App Critique interview.

I started hastily critiquing randomly downloaded apps. No structure. No process. No checklist. This haphazard approach got me into a habit of critiquing apps, but I didn’t learn much overtime. I laid down various UX principles and concepts by spending significant amount of time reading articles online and learn more about App Critique. Unfortunately, I was rejected. As disappointed as I was, I knew that I had to learn from failure and improve iteratively.

“The phoenix must burn to emerge.” — Janet Fitch

Fast forward few months, I consulted with professors, collaborated with industry designers and gathered insights from students who have had experience with app critique interviews. These conversations helped me build a robust framework to prepare for App Critique Interviews. Let’s dive into the process and the framework.

App Critique Interview Process

  • Select Device: Let the recruiter know which mobile device you will be using along with the OS (Android/iOS/Windows).
  • Video Call: This is the most probable mode of communication for App Critique session. The interviewer and the interviewee will be using their own phones for the critique. Feel free to point your mobile screen at the camera and talk about it while referring to a specific component.
  • Select App: In most cases, the App will be selected by the interviewer during the interview. App(s) associated with the company are avoided for critiques. Apps to expect for the critique- Google maps, Apple Maps, Yelp, Uber, Lyft, Amazon, Spotify, Medium.

App Critique Framework

There are two parts to this framework:

  • UX Audit encompasses concepts and technical details you should critique as a designer.
  • The Approach focuses on structure of your critique.

The framework is flexible to fit your design personality. The framework will provide you with all necessary details you should cover in an App Critique, but you as a designer, have complete control over the approach you take to conduct the critique.

1. UX Audit

Design aspects to be included in the critique

1.1 The User & The Problem

No surprises here. As a designer you have to start with the user and the problem the App is trying to solve for them. You should empathize with the user and fall in love with the problem even before you start thinking about the solution the App has implemented. This demonstrates your ability to comprehend problems from user’s perspective and sell the problem.

Ask yourself the following questions —

  • What is the primary problem the App is trying to solve?
  • What is the mission statement of the company that build the App?
  • What was the company’s motivation to build the App?
  • Who is the primary user for the App?
  • Who is the secondary user of the App?
  • What are the other solutions in the market that solve similar problems?
  • What is the core value proposition and what business model does it employ to serve the value?
  • What are the business goals the app is trying to achieve and how effective is their strategy?

Example: https://youtu.be/G_y5TSESDvA?t=405 (Till 7:15)

Other Resources: Define Your Audience, How Might We, The Five Whys.

1.2 Structure

The App selected by the interviewer might or might not be the one you practiced. Thus, taking a couple of minutes to explore the App will help you understand the features, flows and navigation structure of the App. Try to make a mental model of the information architecture, different features and how all features fit together. Also, think about how features relate to business goals.

Ask yourself the following questions —

  • How is the experience of getting started (onboarding screens) or sign in/sign up?
  • Is the purpose of the app clearly conveyed?
  • How is the overall use of space? Is there enough negative space?
  • How does the Information Architecture help users accomplish desired tasks?
  • What is the Navigation Style and why — Hamburger, Tab bar (on the top), Floating button, Tabs (on the bottom)?
  • How does button placement add value to user’s experience? Example — Why is ‘Add’ button in the center of the Navigation Tab?
  • Is the navigation clear or does it suffer from Mystery Meat problem?
  • Does it follow platform guidelines (Material Design or iOS)?
  • How are user goals accomplished by using the different features of the app?
  • What improvements will you make to any of the above?

Example: https://youtu.be/G_y5TSESDvA?t=527 (Till 12:55) & https://youtu.be/G_y5TSESDvA?t=1767 (Till 31:45)

Other Resources: iOS Human Interface Guidelines, Material Design Guidelines.

1.3 Interaction Design

Interacting with different systems is a part of our daily life. Overtime there are repeatable patterns to user’s interaction that become best practices. Knowing these interaction patterns will allow you to convey the interaction efficiency of the app and determine if it will add delight to users’s experience. There are various sub-domains within interaction design that play a role in improving the user experience. It’s ok to not be an expert in all domains but having the vital knowledge of each is desired.

Ask yourself the following questions —

  • Which principle does a feature in the app establish for its users? Example — Trust for Airbnb.
  • Does the app comply with the Interaction Design Laws? If yes, then how? And if not, then why and how does it impact the user’s experience? Example— Hick’s Law & Fitt’s Law.
  • What animations are they using and how do they make you feel? Example— Scroll, Loading, Progress, Transition, etc.
  • Does the animation add meaning to functional design and convey purpose? Example — Navigation, Micro-interactions, Animation curve, etc.
  • What are the gestures required to interact with the app? Do you believe they are the right ones for actions performed in the app? Example— Tap, Pinch, Spread, Long press, 3D Touch, Flick, Swipe, and more.
  • What is the channel of interaction employed by the app and how effective is it? Example — Touch, Voice, Gestures, Device movement, etc.
  • Does the app suffer any interaction problems? If not, why? If yes, how will you improve it? Example — Fat finger syndrome, Thumb range, Accessibility.
  • How do you feel while interacting with the app? Example — Cute illustrations, Funny gifs, Interesting content, Frustrating navigation, Wow factor, Feel smart and efficient, and more.

Example: https://youtu.be/G_y5TSESDvA?t=867 (Till 14:52) & https://youtu.be/G_y5TSESDvA?t=1502 (Till 26:15)

Other Resources: Nielson & Norman Usability Heuristics, Material Design Gestures, iOS Gestures.

1.4 UI Design

UI Design has been a part of the computing industry since 1970s when computers used CRT monitors to display information. Design has matured overtime and still plays a very important role in determining user experience. Visuals form the first touch point for users, and thus, has the potential to drive the user’s opinion about the app and expectations from the app. The visual language of the app is as important as any other aspect we discussed so far.

Ask yourself the following questions —

  • How is the app maintaining design consistency? Example— Platform Standards, Illustrations and icons, Colors, and more.
  • How does the app interface leverage Gestalt Principles to make information better perceivable to the user?
  • What affordances and signifiers are used to set user expectations and guide them to perform an action?
  • How does the typeface of the app compliment visuals, illustrations and other interface components?
  • Does overall typography of the app leverage Visual Hierarchy? Example — Size, Kerning, Tracking, Line Height, Uppercase, etc.
  • Do the colors used in the app aim to provoke specific emotion? Do the colors promote Brand Identity or serve a specific purpose?
  • The color contrast determines content visibility. This not only benefits people with low contrast sensitivity and color blindness, but also enables all users to comprehend content quickly. Example — Research has shown that dark characters on light background are easier to read than vice versa because of iris tightening.

Examples: https://youtu.be/G_y5TSESDvA?t=1081 (Till 24:17)

Other Resources: Color Psychology, Science Behind Fonts

1.5 Other Tips

  • Mention how will you collaborate with other roles in the team for specific tasks. Example — I believe the ‘Add’ button should be on the right. To make an informed decision, I will connect with a researcher to understand usage patterns and analytics.
  • Treat it as a conversation with peer designer. This will keep the conversation casual but design-focused.
  • Just mentioning your observations is not enough. Remember, UX design is all about “intention behind the design”. Be sure to mention the WHY of each point you discuss in the critique.
  • Use correct design terminologies while talking about the design and the interface.
  • Adapt to the interviewers. Interviewers come from different background and specialities. Try to understand and adapt to what interviewer is trying to focus on.
  • DO NOT memorize critiques. Let it flow naturally with enough practice.

2. The Approach

Different approaches to structure your critique

2.1 App Driven

This is a generic approach where there are no prompts to guide the critique. The focus is on providing as much critique as you can on various aspects of the app. This approach is pretty broad since there is no specific flow that you are focusing on. You can go screen-by-screen and critique various aspects of the app.

Questions to expect —

  • What are your thoughts on the homepage?
  • Why are ‘Add’ and ‘Cancel’ buttons in navigation tabbar?
  • Why did Medium recently change their change their Logo and Visual Language? What is the impact?

2.2 Persona or Feature Driven

This approach is narrower than App Driven, however broader than Problem Driven. The focus is to discuss features, problems or flows from a specific persona’s perspective. This will keep your critique anchored in the user but still flexible enough to switch between different features. This approach empowers empathy towards the user and allows you to pitch yourself as a user’s advocate. You will be better able to convey how user driven approach shape the product and design around it.

Questions to expect —

  • Example Task: Which features will an Artist use on Spotify and how do these features achieve business goals for Spotify?
  • Example Task: Go through the flow of creating a playlist on Spotify and share with a friend.
  • Example of Hybrid Task: (1) Analyze the Medium home screen and the options it has. (2) Go through the flow of creating a ‘Series’.

2.3 Problem Driven

In this approach we narrow down the critique session to a specific problem or a use case you or the interviewer wish to investigate. Yes, this can be led by you or the interviewer. This approach works better when you feel the time for the interview is short and you want to present more value by going deep into a workflow rather than discuss different features/flows. This suggestion was shared by Xinyu Li where she used this approach during her App Critique interview.

Questions to expect —

  • Example Task: If you are going to Chicago with friends, how will you plan the restaurants to visit on Yelp?
  • Example Task: You found it difficult to check menu for restaurants on Yelp because<reason(s)> (Go through the flow). This is how I will improve it <Proposed Solution> (Go through the flow).

Share Your Approach

Thank you for reading! Hope The App Critique Framework allows you to conceive and execute your app critique interviews better. However, do not feel limited by the approaches and the design concepts I have stated here. Use the framework, find the best approach that works for you and share in the comments. Contribute the knowledge back to the community!

Some Background Information

Before I conceived this framework, Geunbae “GB” Lee and I presented details of App Critique with examples at IxDA Georgia Tech. This was based on our experience interviewing for Facebook Product Design role. Most examples in the article refer to examples in the video to keep size manageable.

This article wouldn’t have been possible without the support and knowledge of these amazing folks: Tanisha Wagh, Daniel Sagi, Qianwen Dong, and Rachel.

Thank You for reading!

A lot of amazing content is in works. I promise to write more about the Design Strategy, Productivity, and Interviews!

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Product Design
Ux Strategy
Design Critique
Design Framework
UX
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