Product Strategy, UX/UI Design, User Research
Education
2025
Jay, Damian, Estefania, Fabian
IBERO’s mobile app was stuck in the past — outdated, confusing, and largely abandoned by its users. With a 1.45-star rating and frequent complaints, it had become more of a pain point than a helpful tool for students.
The university needed a shift, fast. Not a full reinvention, but a product that actually delivered on what students expect from any basic app today: speed, clarity, and functionality.
We partnered with their internal tech team to rethink the app experience from the ground up — and launch a new version in just 16 weeks.
From day one, we worked shoulder to shoulder with the internal development team. While they had already advanced backend infrastructure, the frontend and user experience needed a complete overhaul.
To move fast and smart, we focused on three things:
Start with what’s there: We reused and adapted their existing design system, even without formal documentation or ownership.
Design for real usage: Instead of chasing flashy features, we prioritized accessibility, clarity, and usability.
Use every data point: We built our decisions around actual user pain. Our research combined:
App Store and Play Store reviews
Internal satisfaction surveys
Complaint box messages
In-depth interviews with students
Hands-on usability testing
What came out of that was an app that’s focused and useful:
💳 Pay multiple university fees — from tuition to services, all in one place
🚍 Reserve a seat on the university bus
🎓 See academic progress clearly
🔔 Receive relevant, well-timed notifications
💼 Top up the digital wallet easily
Early internal feedback has been strong, and most importantly: the app is no longer seen as a burden — it’s finally a tool students can rely on.
Less reinvention, more resolution
The biggest shortcut was knowing when not to start from scratch.
Instead of rebuilding everything, we recognized where solid work already existed — in the backend, in design tokens, in partial UI components — and focused our energy on making it usable, fast, and meaningful for real users.
That meant working closely with tech, keeping scope tight, and always putting usability over novelty.
In the end, we launched something better not by doing more — but by being intentional about doing only what truly mattered.
The new SoyIBERO app launched on time — rebuilt (design and develeopment) in just 6 months without cutting corners on quality.
While the first version is still gathering feedback in production, early signals are promising:
Internal teams are aligned and proud of the result
The user experience is significantly smoother and more intuitive
For the first time in years, students are engaging with the app as a useful part of campus life
Even more important than features or polish, the project proved something critical:
When design and development collaborate from day one, things move faster — and better.