The wait is over: Cochl.Sense Notification app is finally here!
Finally, Cochl.Sense Notification app is available on Google Play Store. This is a remarkable moment for Cochl! From now on, our users can monitor the project dashboard and check diverse useful insights much faster and more handy on mobile. The app itself is interesting, but also we want to highlight the journey of the birth of the Cochl.Sense Notification app and the people behind it.
Today, we will talk about the mobile app release story with our app developer Quentin and the UX/UI designer Jieun. These two people are so different — from the country they were born in, their mother tongue, and even their roles. What makes them work together perfectly? You can find the answer while reading this interview.
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Q. Hello :) First of all, thank you for participating in the interview! Can you please introduce yourself?
Quentin: Hi, my name is Quentin from France. I’m working as a mobile developer at Cochl.
Jieun: Hi, I’m Jieun, Korean, and working as a UX/UI designer.
Q. Congratulations! Many people are eager to see our mobile app, and the Android version is released. Formerly, people could check the project dashboard only on the web. Now it changed due to our mobile app. What leads you to make the app?
Jieun: Previously, people could check detected sound only through the web dashboard. As I’m currently working as a UX/UI designer, I have to care about user experience. What if users can remotely check the results without staying in front of the computer? It dramatically improves usability. That idea just popped up in my head. What’s more, the business team delivered some cases when they participated in external events or managed the booth at the event. Many visitors have shown their curiosity regarding the existence of a mobile version of our product. So I drew the screens of the mobile app by myself.
Quentin: I joined Cochl last year, and we started working together from scratch in the second half of 2022. I am confident to say the app reflects our priorities and goals.
Q. Oh, tell me more about the app. What kind of function does the app include? Is there anything that you care about the most?
Quentin: In my case, I considered a lot about the convenience of users. The core function is that users can monitor the dashboard project they created on the web on mobile. Before the mobile version existed, users needed to log in to the website to check the results and manage the dashboard. In the app, you can get push notifications when the sound tag you preset is detected. You will now stay up-to-date from anywhere.
Jieun: I focused on delivering the information to users accurately. On the mobile app, users can get project summaries in detail. For example, users can measure the detected sound results of specific dates so they can compare the result of this week and last week. Moreover, if they have an Edge SDK project, they can manage the devices they own and check the insights of each device one by one. Abundant insights will help users when they make a decision and these functions will let more users use our app.
Q. Is there any tips for using the Cochl.Sense Notification app?
Quentin: Sure, you will unlock a secret feature by giving us 5 stars on the Google Play Store ! Kidding, of course. We try our best to make the app intuitive and easy to use, without the need for a tutorial. However, note that Cochl.Sense Notification app is intended to be used by people familiar with the web dashboard.
Jieun: The main function of the mobile app is monitoring the project you create on the web, so please use the web dashboard first and then use the app dashboard. In this way, you can experience the convenience of the mobile app more! Making flawless UX flow was the key to giving a seamless experience to our users. We kept asking ourselves which information should come first or what kinds of information are essential to our users.
Q. It seems like there are no shortcuts for making an app. Could you tell me more about the steps involved in the development process?
Quentin: Basically, we spent a huge amount of time planning. We had to consider every aspect of the app, and it is far from editing an existing codebase. We spent almost equal amounts of time and resources on planning and execution. Each and every part of the development was shared and reviewed in weekly meetings, from the early designs to the final QA. One could say it was a kind of a Mobius strip.
Jieun: We had a biweekly meeting and it took at least more than 2 hours. While We prioritized things, we wanted to highlight our main function so that the design became simple and natural. I referred to many references to elaborate on the design and combed the app by internal QAs.
Quentin: While we probably all felt pressure, I can say I learned a lot, and I enjoyed it. One of the most intense parts was definitely the making of our Quality Assurance. We conducted our first QA on the beta, before repeating the process on production and granting access to the whole team. Overall, I’m really satisfied with the QA documentation we made together. It may not be flawless but we took up the challenge !
Jieun: Yes! Regarding feedback we received during the QA, everybody mentioned the level of completion of our QA docs. Also, there were no major issues or bugs. What a relief!
Q. This was a brand-new challenge for you guys. I guess there are many lessons&learns in this project. Was there anything that you found difficult or uncomfortable ?
Jieun: Well, in my case, I had to make a very new thing from the beginning with the developer. Even more, the developer is a French guy and all the communication should be in English. I might be the only junior designer who has this kind of experience. I’m sure that it is a very rare case. Honestly, in our first meeting, I had to explain the intention of making the app and the final design of the app that I imagined for Quentin. The content itself was simple but I couldn’t say it in English. I couldn’t open my mouth and kept saying sorry to him. At that time, it was a bit of pressure on me. Now I feel more confident about speaking in English. Maybe, Quentin is the only one who can interpret what I’m saying in English.
Quentin: I knew that one of my weaknesses was architecture. I had to focus on this and did my best to plan and build a sustainable codebase. Many things were to consider. For example, we had to work in parallel with the back-end team, we had to provide them with the data needed to design the API. While this may seem simple, we had to consider the future updates and features and make sure they could easily be implemented. As a one-member team, it was a real challenge to deliver a robust app. I learned a lot, improved a lot, and I am extremely proud of what we accomplished.
Q. For future updates, can you tell me the upcoming updates? Is it a top secret?
Quentin: Of course! The iOS update should come out soon. We developed the iOS version and the Android version together but there are a few more steps to publish the app on the App Store. Releasing the Android app first is a good way, I believe, to get early feedback from users.
Jieun: Yes, I’m an iOS user so I’m still waiting for our app to be released to the market. People can get push notifications of detected sounds on our app, and we are trying to make a ‘sharing’ function for detected sounds. For example, if someone owns a store and (s)he is at home. The Cochl.Sense (s)he installed in the store detected glass_break sounds, and they got the push notification. In that case, the store owner can check the situation and decide what to do next.
Quentin: A few things that we know are missing should come along. For instance, users should have feedback when copying text or when an error occurs. We’re working on it !
Jieun: Overall design improvements are on the list too.
Q. Best team members forever! Could you share your thoughts about each other?
Jieun: I learned that planning and designing the best within the scope of development and implementation is one of the competencies that a designer should have. I also realized that more and more communication with developers naturally leads to the optimal experience for users. If you have limited resources, communication is the solution. Personally, overcoming language barriers, communicating, and collaborating are the biggest assets I learned from this project. I haven’t worked with many developers, but Quentin is very meticulous and has a good eye for design. I was able to work very happily as a designer with him because he filled a deficiency.
Quentin: As Jieun mentioned, the fundamental of collaboration is communication. We met biweekly and needed to share our thoughts and insights in English. I think we both enjoyed those times and have a good synergy. Jieun is not just a designer, she is really giving her best to improve the product and solve issues that come her way.
Q. Are there any goals for the app release?
Quentin: Of course the more the better! I did not think about it but having a lot of users will only highlight parts to be improved, this would be good!
Jieun: Me too. Having meaningful feedback from users. If you are an ‘Enterprise plan’ user, then the mobile app will relieve your work a lot. Your feedback can make our app become much better.
You can find out more information about this new app release on our documentation page. We combed the app internally but there still could be a few undiscovered bugs. If you find out anything, please email us at contact@cochl.ai.
🏠 Homepage: https://cochl.ai
🏠 Dashboard: https://dashboard.cochl.ai
