The document discusses common design failures in mobile applications and their impacts on user retention, highlighting that a significant number of users abandon apps shortly after downloading them. It emphasizes the importance of building products that solve real problems and delight users rather than merely fulfilling functional needs. Additionally, it outlines strategic and tactical failures that lead to user drop-off, such as poor app design and requiring users to adopt new behaviors.

1. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
of downloaded apps are
opened just one time
of an app’s users are
lost after one month
22%
62%
Sources: http://www.localytics.com/blog
http://blog.flurry.com/

2. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Mariya Yao (@thinkmariya)
Founder & Creative Director, Xanadu
Simple & Lovable Products for Mobile & Web
Common Mobile Design Fails (And How To Fix Them!)

3. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Awareness
App Store Search
Download
Open
Registration
Key Action
Retention
Major dropoff
Major dropoff

4. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Awareness
App Store Search
Download
Open
Registration
Key Action
Retention
Strategic FAIL
Tactical FAIL

5. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Awareness
App Store Search
Download
Open
Registration
Key Action
Retention
Built the
wrong product
Built the
product wrong

6. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
STRATEGIC FAILS
How to Build the Wrong Product
Miss the forest for the trees
Solve a nuisance instead of a problem
Miscalculate your addressable market
Make a product no one LOVES
Require users to adopt new behaviors

7. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Source: http://www.visionmobile.com/blog/2013/01/report-developer-economics-2013-key-insights/
Which mobile strategies make money?

8. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
CREATING REPLACINGvs.

9. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Check In Explore
2009 2012

10. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Source: Mobile Access 2010 http://www.pewinternet.org
of people use
their phones to
take photos
May 2010 Pre-Instagram
76%

11. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
10x BETTER
Awesome Photos Instant Sharing Love and Adoration
vs

12. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
PROBLEM or NUISANCE?
Are you solving a

13. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Recognize and acknowledge
Passively or actively search
for solutions
Will pay for incremental
improvements
Will put in the effort to make
a change
Problem
VS
Nuisance
Accept or tolerate
Not consciously looking for
improvement
Not willing to spend money
Not willing to break habits
Can be 10% better Must be 10x better

14. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Are enough people
interested in your product?

15. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Are you loved or just liked?

16. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Would you recommend us
to your friends?
How would you feel if you
couldn’t use our product?

17. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Sources: http://www.startup-marketing.com/using-survey-io/
How would you feel if you
couldn’t use our product?
1. Very disappointed
2. Somewhat disappointed
3. Not disappointed
4. I no longer use it

18. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
How would you feel if you
couldn’t use our product?
1. Very disappointed
2. Somewhat disappointed
3. Not disappointed
4. I no longer use it
Sources: http://www.startup-marketing.com/using-survey-io/

19. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
How would you feel if you
couldn’t use our product?
1. Very disappointed
2. Somewhat disappointed
3. Not disappointed
4. I no longer use it
Sources: http://www.startup-marketing.com/using-survey-io/

20. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
How would you feel if you
couldn’t use our product?
1. Very disappointed
2. Somewhat disappointed
3. Not disappointed
4. I no longer use it
Sources: http://www.startup-marketing.com/using-survey-io/

21. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Very Disappointed
40%
Sources: http://www.startup-marketing.com/using-survey-io/

22. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
STRATEGIC FAILS
How to Build the Wrong Product
Miss the forest for the trees
Solve a nuisance instead of a problem
Miscalculate your addressable market
Make a product no one LOVES
Create instead of replace behaviors

23. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Awareness
App Store Search
Download
Open
Registration
Key Action
Retention
Major
dropoff

24. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
TACTICAL FAILS
How to Build the Product Wrong
Take before you give

25. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013

26. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013

27. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013

28. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013

29. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013

30. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013

31. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013

32. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013

33. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
TACTICAL FAILS
How to Build the Product Wrong
Take before you give
Make people do extra work

34. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Uber Sidecarvs.

35. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013

36. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013

37. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013

38. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Every extra field on mobile
is a possibility for error
Asks for name and
password twice
Error leads to frustration
which leads to dropoff

39. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
$12 MILLION
Source: http://www.geekosystem.com/expedia-12-million-field-delete/
a year due to an extra form field
Expedia lost

40. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
TACTICAL FAILS
How to Build the Product Wrong
Take before you give
Make people do extra work
Tell instead of show

41. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013

42. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
13 screens to teach you
how to use a calendar
...really?

43. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Fantastical uses a 3-page interactive tutorial

44. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013

45. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013

46. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
TACTICAL FAILS
How to Build the Product Wrong
Take before you give
Make people do extra work
Tell instead of show

47. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Awareness
App Store Search
Download
Open
Registration
Key Action
Retention
Strategic FAIL
Tactical FAIL

48. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
Awareness
App Store Search
Download
Open
Registration
Key Action
Retention
Built the
right product
Built the
product right

49. 05/2013 MARIYA YAO COMMON MOBILE DESIGN FAILS MODEVUX 2013
What are your favorite mobile design FAILS?
mariya@xanadumobile.com
@thinkmariya