STAKEHOLDER ALIGNMENT
The New Mobile Direction
Existing mobile app
The existing app was built as an extension of our web product, tailored specifically for truck drivers. It enabled real-time collaboration and visibility between drivers and carrier companies, helping to automate manual tasks.
THE NEED TO PIVOT
In Fall 2023, Rose Rocket shifted from building a transportation management system specifically for carriers and brokers to focusing on a more flexible platform approach. That meant moving away from trucking-specific use cases and instead designing reusable, extensible components that could be customized and combined to serve any customer segment. This shift gave our go-to-market teams the ability to offer more tailored solutions to both and existing new customers segments, without needing heavy development support.
As the company shifted toward becoming a true platform, we had to ask a critical question: What role does mobile play in this new direction?
Path A
Rework backend - keep driver-only experience
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Lower lift & fast
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No behaviour change
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Does not support scaling customization
Path B
Rebuild app as full mobile version of the platform
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Scalable & supports all customer types
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Aligns with web platform strategy
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Higher upfront investment
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Risk of diluting driver UX
After evaluating both paths—and reviewing 100+ customer requests—it became clear that Path B would better support experience and scalability:
DESIGN CHALLENGE
How do we create a mobile-first version of our platform that’s powerful enough for the business and intuitive enough for the people actually using it on the road?
CREATed SYSTEMS & PATTERNS
Adapting Rose Rocket's Web App Patterns
Mobile patterns & layouts
To design this mobile app, I needed to rethink how our three core platform patterns: boards, records, and widgets would translate to a smaller screen.
I began by researching how other companies translated similar patterns to mobile, then created mid-fidelity layouts to test with product and GTM teams.
After aligning on the final approach, I applied the updated mobile design system to produce high-fidelity patterns and layouts.
I began by researching how other companies translated similar patterns to mobile, then created mid-fidelity layouts to test with product and GTM teams.
After aligning on the final approach, I applied the updated mobile design system to produce high-fidelity patterns and layouts.
Mobile design token set up
Guiding design principles
Embrace native mobile behaviours: Intuitive, mobile-first patterns like vertical scrolling, persistent navigation, and full-screen takeovers to make interactions feel natural and familiar
Reduce cognitive and visual complexity: Simplified dense, multi-column layouts into digestible cards, minimized decision points, and guided users through one clear action at a time
Maintain functional parity, not visual symmetry: Rather than replicate the web experience pixel-for-pixel, I focused on delivering the same core functionality in ways that made sense for mobile—prioritizing clarity, focus, and task completion over consistency for consistency’s sake
Converting table view web pattern to mobile
Rebuilt the core use case
Adapting Rose Rocket's Web App Patterns
Explore a high-impact UX issue we validated through experimentation and rolled out to production.
Jobs to be done
Dispatch to driver
Share trip details with mobile app (what is being moved, what equipment is required)
Status updates
Share information with dispatch about the status of the trip
Collect documentation
As loads are picked up and delivered, share the documentation back to dispatch
DESIGN DECISIONS
Low tech familiarity
Larger font sizes & touchpoints by default to accommodate for fat thumbing in moving environments
Too much scrolling
On average, drivers receive trips with > 10 stops: Make it easier to find next action by auto-scrolling to the suggested next stop & task
Working in their ecosystem
Support easy navigation between other apps that drivers commonly use (maps, weather) via deep links and smooth transitions
New mobile app walkthrough
Validated the new app
Internal Usability testing
5
COMPARATIVE USABILITY TESTS
Comparative usability testing on a set of 5 core tasks with 5 GTM members (Video call w/ prototype walkthrough)
Goal:
Validate the proposed new app’s discoverability and usability is equal or better than the current mobile app
Outcome:
5 /5 users were more successfully able to complete requested tasks on first attempt with proposed new designs
6
INTERNAL USABILITY TESTS
Usability testing of the entire app with 6 GTM members (Workshop style in meeting room)
Goal:
Improve experience faster by uncovering and calibrating on the most important UX gap
Outcome:
A prioritized database of 68 UX, UI, and bug improvements to fix before and after beta release and built confidence amongst GTM of the new app experience to encourage beta user signups
New mobile app usability tests
The Result
Post Launch: The Impact
300
Drivers migrated
Successfully migrated 110 companies & 300 drivers to new mobile app
56 %
Mobile NFRs solved immediately
Automatic inheritance of Platform capabilities immediately solved 56% of the classic NFRs
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Positive customer interviews
Positive qualitative feedback from 3 /3 active companies I spoke to about overall usability and app customization
∞
Access to new customer segments
Config driven architecture supports scaling revenue by serving new customer segments at no / low development cost
Looking ahead
What's Next
While we now have a fully customizable mobile app, there’s still plenty of work ahead to refine the experience:
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Incorporating feedback from beta customers (e.g., better offline data caching)
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Expanding platform support on mobile—things like automations and bulk actions
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Supporting new user roles beyond drivers, like dockworkers and warehouse staff
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Integrating driver-centric features and delightful interactions that make the app feel intuitive and valuable
