Project 2

Implementing In-App Ratings to Boost User Satisfaction

Overview

I designed and implemented an in-app ratings feature to collect user feedback and improve visibility of user satisfaction on app stores. This project increased ratings and reviews, providing valuable insights for further app improvements.

The Challenge

When I first started working at d6, there was very little data available on the d6 communicator app’s performance and the app had limited user feedback, making it difficult to gauge user satisfaction or identify areas for improvement. This lack of input also led to a poor app store ratings, which negatively impacted user trust and downloads.

Goals and Success Metrics

Goals

  • Collect feedback directly within the app.

  • Encourage satisfied users to leave positive reviews on the app store.

  • Reduce negative feedback by addressing issues internally before users post on external platforms.

Success Metrics

  • Number of ratings submitted in-app.

  • Increase in app store rating.

  • Qualitative insights collected from users.

My Role

I led the end-to-end design of the in-app ratings feature, collaborating with developers, product managers, and customer support teams.

My Approach

Research

  • Conduct competitor analysis to understand how similar apps implemented ratings prompts effectively.

  • Review user pain points to determine the best timing for prompting ratings.

UI Design

  • Designed a non-intrusive, accessible ratings prompt

Ideation and Wireframing

  • Explore flow designs for prompting users without disrupting their experience.

  • Wireframe concepts and validate them with internal stakeholders.

Launch and Monitoring

  • Collaborate with developers to implement the feature and track performance through analytics.

  • Monitor the ratings and user behaviour post-launch to gather insights.

The Solution

Key Features Designed

Contextual Timing: The in app rating will appear as the 2nd message in the messages list. After a user has dismissed it three times, it will stop asking the user to rate the app for three months. After that time, it will reappear, prompting a user to rate the app again.

Two-Step Feedback Flow:

  • Step 1: User Responds with a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

  • Step 2: For users that give a thumbs up, encourage them to leave a review on the app store. For users that give a thumbs down, direct them to an in-app feedback form to address concerns privately.

Impact and Outcomes

Introduced an in-app feedback mechanism, resulting in a 25% increase in user-submitted ratings within the first month. We could see that 90% were positive ratings and 10% were negative ratings

App store ratings improved significantly (from 2.9 to currently 4.7)

Reduced the volume of public negative feedback by capturing constructive input directly within the app.

Reflections

A thumbs up/thumbs down system proved more effective as it simplified decision-making for users. It allowed us to quickly capture their sentiment and focus on pinpointing specific frustrations for actionable feedback.