The document outlines Brainly's process for rebuilding their mobile apps to achieve success. It discusses establishing a new team, setting metrics to validate hypotheses, and continually improving the apps. Through this process, Brainly saw significant year-over-year growth in key metrics like user base, questions posted, answers posted, weekly retention, and search usage. The approach emphasized establishing the right environment, testing features through the scientific method, and focusing on simplicity and personalization over unnecessary complexity.

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ROMAN BARZYCZAK
Head of Mobile at Brainly

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BRAINLY CASE STUDY
How we rebuilt our apps and
achieved success

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1. Brainly
2. Environment (Best practices)
3. Build it (Case Study)
AGENDA

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MOBILE APPS AS A NEW PILLAR
OF GROWTH

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MAKE ENVIRONMENT

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MOST PRODUCTS START
WITH A PLAN
Things are changing so quickly, that any
MBA-style business plan is guaranteed
to be flawed in some important way.

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THE PLAN IS FLUID
You can have a plan, but keep in mind
that it will probably change a lot.

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BEST PLANS CAN FAIL

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FIRST BUILD THE TEAM, AND THEN
TEAM-BUILD THE PRODUCT
Product FirstPeople First

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AGILE IS NOT ENOUGH ANYMORE
Unknow
Technology Solution
Waterfall Agile
Lean start-up
+ Agile
Know
Unknow
Business
Requirements

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DESIGNER/DEVELOPER
WALL VS AGILE UX
Design Development
Design
Build

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TEST DRIVEN BUSINESS
LEARN
MEASURE
DESIGN
Ideas
ProductData

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SET METRICS

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THE SIMPLEST RULE
If it won’t change
how you behave, it’s a
bad metric.

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FIND ACTIONABLE METRICS
% of people who return the following week
Ask question
Use search
Answer question

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LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITY
0%
2,5%
5%
7,5%
10%
Answer question Ask question Use search

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KNOW YOUR USERS
„I open this application
and do nothing..”
Unlogged 65.98% Adept 28.17%
Explorer 5.09%
Devoted 0.77%
„I created an account but I don’t
know what I should do now”
„I am here just to search and
I have searched more than 3 times”
„I am addicted to this application and
I have added more than 10 answers and
have asked lots of questions”

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VALIDATE IT

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Increased weekly retention
by about 50%
HYPOTHESIS
Search for unlogged users should increase our retention
VS

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BRAVO

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New part
of application
Old part
of application
Old application
PROBLEM
In both cases, users get the old application after logging in/creating an account

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DEVELOPERS FIGHTING
WITH LEGACY CODE

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USERS WHO CREATED
AN ACCOUNT

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BUILD MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT
Minimum + Viable
Good products for startups to build
Minimum Viable
Crappy Products
nobody wants to use
Products built by companies
better-financed than you

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NEW SIMPLE APP

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IMPROVE IT

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Add Facebook button
Goal: increase the number of newly created accounts
We decreased the no. of created
accounts by about 10%
VS

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Redesign the „Ask question” button
Goal: increase the number of added questions
Increased the no. of added questions by
about 65% by changing the button
VS

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Users can change their avatar
Goal: increase the number of added answers
Increased the no. of added answers
by about 40% by this feature
VS

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OUR FINDINGS
Effectiveness
Simplicity Don’t like Facebook Personalization

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CURRENT APP

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SECRET SOURCE
Make environment Set metrics Validate it Improve it

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BRAINLY MOBILE IN NUMBERS
NEW TEAM
5 developers
1 graphics designer
new Android app
new iOS app
1 year
100 % YOY user
base growth
140 % YOY
posted questions
125 % YOY
posted answers
60 A/B feature tests
in last 6 months
Increased weekly
retention by about
80% YOY
weekly retention
320 % YOY
used search

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SUCCESS?

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THANK YOU
E-mail: roman.barzyczak@brainly.com
Twitter: @roman_barzyczak