Case Study
Arabia Cars Mobile App UX/UI Audit
Overview
Arabia Cars is a Qatar-based startup aiming to be the leading platform for buying, selling, and servicing cars. With the mobile app already live, the founder noticed low engagement, task abandonment in seller flows, and user confusion in the marketplace.
I was brought in to uncover the root causes of these problems, document them with evidence, and deliver a prioritized, actionable roadmap for improvements. The audit needed to balance user experience, business viability, and technical feasibility so the development team could move quickly.
Goals:
Identify usability and UI issues across all primary flows (New User, Buyer, Seller)
Prioritize issues based on severity and business impact
Deliver clear, actionable recommendations the team could implement immediately
Client
Arabia Cars - Qatar
Role
Lead UX Researcher | Auditor
Responsibilities
Heuristic Evaluation
UX/UI Audit
Timeline
1 Week (July 31 - August 7, 2025)
Deliverables
Full UX Audit Report, Prioritized Key Insights Report, Annotated Figma File
The Challenge
Fixing broken flows and boosting user confidence in a high-stakes marketplace.
The app’s initial release had functionality in place — but poor clarity, broken features, and inconsistent design patterns were eroding trust and reducing conversion. My task was to:
Heuristic Evaluation
Audit all primary user flows (New User, Buyer, Seller) using Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics
Prioritized Insights & Recommendations
Provide clear, prioritized insights that aligned with business goals, and recommendations for immediate implementation
Stakeholder Alignment
Starting with the business lens to ensure UX fixes drive the right outcomes.
I began by meeting with the founder to understand:
Business goals & monetization model
Target user types (buyers, sellers, service providers)
Known user pain points/friction areas
This step ensured that my audit wouldn't just identify usability problems, but would also target issues blocking core business outcomes like seller listings and buyer transactions.
problem to solve
Engagement and conversions are being undercut by unclear language, inactive or broken steps (filters, buttons, “coming soon” features), and inconsistent patterns across New User, Buyer, and Seller flows. We need clear guidance, consistent behavior, and immediate feedback to rebuild trust and reduce drop-off.
Heuristic Evaluation & Flow Mapping
Evaluating every tap, swipe, and scroll through a usability lens.
Using Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics as my framework, I:
mapped each primary flow
New User, Buyer, Seller — from entry point to task completion.
tested flows end-to-end
noting where users might hesitate, abandon, or feel uncertain.
captured evidence
annotated screenshots in Figma showing the exact UI, interaction, or copy issue.
What I looked for:
Visibility of system status: Did users get immediate, clear feedback?
Match between system and real-world language: Was terminology intuitive?
Error prevention: Could users progress before completing required steps?
Consistency and standards: Were patterns repeated logically?
services screen
Zoom
Wirecutter
Google Maps
Google search
This phase revealed critical inconsistencies: prematurely active buttons, vague field labels, broken filters, and inactive features with no “Coming Soon” indicators — all high trust-breakers in a transactional platform.
how might we
How might we make listing and buying a car on Arabia Cars feel trustworthy and effortless, from discovery to deal, so users complete every critical step with confidence?
Detailed Documentation in Figma
Turning findings into an interactive, developer-friendly knowledge base.
Rather than producing a static list of issues, I built a clickable Figma file with:
showing exact problem locations
Annotated Screenshots
color-coded: high, medium, low
Priority Labels
Clarify training logic, personalization, and terminology
Platform Confusion
written in plain, actionable language
Prioritized Recommendations
This format allowed the development team to jump directly from the report to the affected screen in Figma, reducing interpretation time and aligning everyone visually on the problem.
prioritized issues
Prioritization for Action
From 100+ findings to six core themes for faster, focused execution.
High Priority — Immediate Business Impact
Inconsistent Feedback & System Status: Users left uncertain whether actions succeeded.
Unclear Labels, Button Logic & Navigation: Premature button activation and vague terminology caused drop-offs.
Incomplete or Unpolished Features:Broken filters and inactive features undermined trust.
Medium Priority — Conversion & Engagement Enhancers
Lack of Guidance, Personalization & Encouragement: No onboarding or prompts for next steps.
Poor Visual Hierarchy & Layout Misalignment: Misaligned elements and low contrast slowed task completion.
Low Priority — Brand Polish
Terminology, Tone, & Language Inconsistencies: Mixed formal/informal tone reduced professionalism.
MAPPING INSIGHTS TO USER TYPES
We tie each priority theme to real tasks across our core users—New Users, Buyers, and Sellers—so fixes target moments that matter (e.g., listing a car, searching & filtering, messaging, checkout) and drive measurable conversion.
Key Recommendations
Seven key opportunities emerged from the audit to improve trust, clarity, and engagement across the buyer, seller, and service flows. Each opportunity tied to real user pain points and business goals to create a faster, more reliable marketplace experience.
JTBD fRamework
From Themes to Jobs-to-Be-Done
User quotes and synthesis led to Jobs-to-Be-Done that directly influenced RunDot 2.0’s priorities.
Improve feedback & system status
Insight: New users, especially first-time sellers, felt uncertain if their actions (like submitting listings or service requests) were successful.
Recommendation: Add clear toast messages and progress indicators (e.g., “Listing submitted for review”) with success and error states to confirm completion and build trust.
CLARIFY LABELS & BUTTON BEHAVIOR
Insight: Users often mis-tapped or abandoned tasks due to vague button labels (“Next,” “Save,” “Post”) and premature activations.
Recommendation: Audit all button logic and label hierarchy. Use clear, action-oriented language (e.g., “Publish Listing,” “Add Photos”) and disable inactive buttons until required fields are complete.
HIDE OR FLAG INACTIVE FEATURES
Insight: Broken or “Coming Soon” features (filters, wishlist, notifications) created confusion and reduced credibility.
Recommendation: Disable inactive UI elements, apply “Coming Soon” tags, and include brief tooltips to set expectations without blocking the user journey.
Standardize UI components
Insight: Repeated design inconsistencies (different button styles, spacing, and alignment) made the platform feel unpolished and difficult to navigate.
Recommendation: Implement a unified design system with standardized spacing, button hierarchy, and input field states across buyer, seller, and service flows.
LOCALIZE & SIMPLIFY LANGUAGE
Insight: Mixed Arabic/English phrasing and overly technical car terms caused confusion among users.
Recommendation: Introduce localized copywriting guidelines ensuring all content is clear, consistent, and translated natively rather than literally. Prioritize plain-language phrasing for global comprehension.
REDUCE VISUAL CLUTTER & WHITESPACE GAPS
Insight: Uneven spacing, small hit areas, and dense sections in listing forms made scanning and completing tasks harder on mobile.
Recommendation: Re-evaluate visual hierarchy and spacing, use grouping, larger tap zones, and collapsible sections for long forms to improve readability and speed.
PERSONALIZE DASHBOARDS & CONTEXTUAL PROMPTS
Insight: Sellers wanted reminders for expiring listings, while buyers wanted notifications for price drops or similar cars.
Recommendation: Introduce contextual nudges and personalized dashboards showing key actions (“Your listing will expire in 2 days,” “New cars similar to your search”) to drive re-engagement.
UX Roadmap
The Outcome
From scattered complaints to a unified UX improvement roadmap.
By the end of the audit, Arabia Cars had:
A prioritized UX roadmap
connecting issues directly to business impact
developer & design-ready recommendations
no ambiguity, immediate implementation possible
all user flows mapped out
personalizing navigation & features to specific users
A repeatable evaluation framework
to use for future design reviews
handoff
Deliverables
Everything the team needed to move from problem to solution without pause.
Full UX Audit Report
Detailed, screen-by-screen findings & solutions
Prioritized Key Insights Report
Condensed, business-focused summary and high-level insights & recommendations
Figma Website Audit File
Annotated, clickable design file with issues & recommendations
Figma Mobile App Audit File
Annotated, clickable design file with issues & recommendations