At Ohmyhome, we recently launched a new iOS application for our DIY users to buy, sell and rent their properties.
Now, this new app isn’t just a patch update but a complete overhaul of our iOS app.
It features graphical updates like a new landing page with our top services on display and, more importantly, a new robust engineering framework that allows us to scale the application easily.
Ohmyhome is constantly looking for ways to simplify property transactions for our users. We were also gearing up for regional expansion making easy scalability a priority. However, that meant moving away from some of our app’s architecture and software.
With those goals in mind, we discussed, deliberated, and debated, before finally deciding to take a built-from-scratch approach.
It was a difficult decision but ultimately, we went with what would not only result in a better app for our users but also give our developers an opportunity to design a clean coding architecture.
Also Read: Singapore’s proptech marketplace Ohmyhome raises US$2.9M to expand into Malaysia, Thailand
The overhaul was a herculean task. It was painful to have to throw away everything familiar about the app and re-build it from ground-zero. But we succeeded in our endeavours and gained precious experience on how to revamp our app.
Here are some of the key learnings that I would like to share with the community.
Break it down
We categorised the essential features of our app and then broke those features down into further smaller sets. We then prioritised working on the features our users found most useful based on analytic data collected from the existing app.
For example, a single listing on our app represents a node in a complex network of interconnected features and sub-features. By cataloguing all the features and sub-features that engage a particular node, we are then able to zoom in on discrete sub-features, such as location and more readily identify areas of improvement.
Create multiple mock-ups
Some of you might be tempted to jump right into coding. Don’t do that. You might end up wasting hours building something utterly different from what your team envisions.
Instead, take the time to create different mock-ups of the new app to see which feels better. Designers at Ohmyhome went back to the drawing board and churned out multiple versions of landing tabs, empty state illustrations, and icons for all the different sections in the app.
Also Read: Importance of UI/UX design interaction and why it will matter for your business
This helped us explore what looks and feels best, which is important for a seamless UI and enhances the overall UX. It also allowed us to see what we want the final product to be even before we begin redevelopment.
Once we settled on the final mock-up, we began our code sprints and never looked back.
Consistency is key
From an engineering standpoint, one of the main reasons for an overhaul was that the app was in urgent need of fine-tuning as it had passed through different developers across multiple phases.
Being a lean team in a fast-paced startup environment, we had to make a lot of inelegant hacks to get our features ready in the fastest way possible for our users, which led us to a stage where our code was a haphazard mix of UIKit and Texture written in different styles.
This hindered our ability to scale the app quickly. Furthermore, some of our codes followed Android-driven UI/UX which takes longer to write.
When we began rebuilding the application, we decided to stick with only Texture for all UI across the app along with a framework built by the amazing team at Instagram called IGListKit.
Later, Apple proved that our decision was a step in the right direction when they launched SwiftUI at DubDub-DC (or WWDC for those not familiar with nerd-speak), which follows code-driven, stack-based semantics. We also stayed away from Storyboards.
Also Read: From Cantopop to commissions: Ohmyhome wants to change Singapore’s public housing game
Maintaining a consistent programming language for our app greatly enhanced our ability to identify and fix problems and at the same time allows for scalability and the flexibility to adapt to changes in the future.
Iterate, iterate, iterate
All of our engineering efforts went through multiple designs, programming, and product iterations in parallel to rigorous Quality Analysis (QA) and internal testing before we make new features available to our users.
We also consulted our customer service team, who are the most familiar with users’ wants and needs, on how to refine and tweak the product.
Our team of techies seized every opportunity to gain insight into our user’s concerns and thought processes, especially when it came to simplifying the user experience. We leveraged existing resources within Ohmyhome, for instance when our colleagues hosted seminars educating our users in Singapore about property transactions, we made sure to collect data on what users wanted in our app.
Also Read: 8 things to consider when choosing a mobile app development platform
We were also fortunate that our product owners welcomed feedback on our existing app and interactive mock-ups, which helped our design team to constantly refine the UX based on how our users were using the app.
The organisational structure of Ohmyhome was conducive to the process of iterating on the app design and it emphasised how important it was to identify and facilitate avenues of feedback and incorporating that into our process of iteration.
After many tribulations, the new app is now ready to take in changes and challenges that come with global expansion.
One aspect we are particularly proud of is the improvement of app performance. Not all countries have the same internet speed as Singapore and it was a challenge to make the app robust enough to adapt to a wide range of connection speeds.
Now that we have crossed the finish line, we are incredibly happy to share our labour of love with all our users in Malaysia and Singapore.
For those of you curious about how the final app looks like:
To sum up, I’ll leave you with a quote that encapsulated our ethos as we built the new app.
“You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing and falling over.” — Richard Branson
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