Tami4 App (Strauss Water)
A project at Studio SalantID
ROLE: UX Designer & Project Manager
Strauss Water aspires to become an integral part of people's lives through the Internet of Things (IoT). The Tami4 App is one of their initial steps towards achieving this goal. In March 2023, Strauss Water launched a new app, on which I had the privilege of working as both a UX designer and a project manager.
When I commenced work on the app in August 2022, a significant portion of the screens had already been completed. However, we received some rejections from the Development team, which necessitated alterations to certain features and the creation of new screens to address edge cases. Collaborating closely with the product manager and designer, I ensured that the solution was implemented in a manner that was both rapid and easy to program.
Issues
When I began working on the project, I quickly realized the difficulties of collaborating with numerous team members who were employing five distinct communication tools. These included Miro, which was utilized to create the storyboard, an Excel file to send both the English and Hebrew versions to the copyrighters, XD for the design process, Zeplin to communicate the design to the Development team, and Jira to track the system's evolution, open tasks and report bugs
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The majority of my colleagues expressed their dissatisfaction with two key aspects of our work process.
1. It was difficult to identify where a particular task was stuck, as effective communication amongst all team members was lacking.
2. Using multiple tools was time-consuming and restrictive, as it was not possible to easily transfer components from one system to another.
Old Way
For instance, if the designer received a change request for the copyright text in the Excel file, he would need to modify the text in XD, replace the old screen with the new one on Zeplin, notify the Development team of the change on Jira, and finally update the corresponding screen on Miro to ensure the storyboard was also updated.
Solutions
After conducting a thorough market analysis and consulting with all relevant colleagues, I formulated a comprehensive proposal for the product manager. In this proposal, I suggested the use of only two tools that would fulfill all our needs. Specifically, I recommended that we continue using Jira to manage tasks and bugs, while transitioning to Figma as our primary design tool. Figma would enable us to seamlessly communicate with copyrighters, storyboard our designs, and effortlessly transfer all our designs to the Development team.
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Figma is an exceptional tool that offers numerous benefits, particularly when it comes to communication among all team members working on the same project. It also saves valuable time and effort, as it streamlines the process of making changes to screens.
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New Way
​For instance, we could receive new text from copyrighters as comments, make necessary changes to the screen (while maintaining appropriate process controls), and the storyboard would automatically update. The Development team could quickly access all the pertinent information they needed, as we would leave a comment with a specific tag for the relevant developer.
Process
We initiated the process by presenting a small demonstration to the product manager and seeking his approval. Once the proposal was approved, the designer and I commenced importing all the screens from XD to Figma, as well as importing the storyboard from Miro. In response to a request, we established two separate pages- one for the Hebrew version and the other for the English version.
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After the necessary infrastructure was in place, we conducted individual sessions with all team members to provide them with an overview of how to work with Figma according to their specific needs. I served as the primary point of contact for questions and concerns, and after a few weeks of dedicated effort, the entire team became fully integrated with the new system.
Storyboard with all error states for the pairing process
Conclusions
The entire process took about a month, and I felt proud of my ability to influence change in the way so many people worked. Not only did the new system revolutionize the way the different teams worked together, but it also enhanced communication between team members. Communication became more cordial, composed, and coherent.
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In conclusion, the shift to a new system resulted in cost savings for the company (since we were using only one tool), facilitated better communication among different teams, and ultimately contributed to the timely launch of the product.