Analyzing existing solutions and exploring improvements is a key skill for anybody working in product. However, it's easy to set a wrong emphasis in a design critique, or be too brief or too verbose. This article is an end-to-end case study of how I structure and explore the analysis of an an iOS app.
This article lines out (potential) shortcomings in Red Planet’s iPhone app and my suggestions on how to improve them. I focus this critique on where the app could do better providing user- and business value, UX pitfalls and best practices for travel apps. I used Red Planet's publicly available iOS app, downloaded from the Apple AppStore, for this critique. Red Planet is a South-East Asian hotel chain whose focus seems to be Gen Z and Millennial leisure travelers who are budget-conscious but have high expectations towards cleanliness, convenience and tech-savviness. For Red Planet’s website, see redplanet.com.