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ARGO Navigation (Waze for Boats)

Founder of Argo Nav Jeff Faulk was an avid boater & trained Engineer that was fed up with the navigation options that existed for boaters. In his current work he had also developed a technology for analyzing, updating and estimating bathymetric (ocean depth) data. His goal was to combine the two and create the safest, easiest and cheapest way for boaters to get from point a to b.

Above
Initial sketches for ARGO were done during my first meeting with the client while he told me his ideas.
My Role
Lead UX Design
Product Manager
Partial Owner
2018 - 2026
Unique Challenge
Android devices handle location and gps in different ways leading to varied experince across these devices.
Outcome
4.9 on the app store
4.0 on the play store.
Over 600,000 downloads.
Over 30,000 monthly users.

Process

Argo had a ton of unique design challenges based on technical limitations. It was also critical to provide a fair level of confidence in the information presented which led to other design challenges.

First 3 months

- Market & competetive analysis
- UX / user research & problem defenition
- Prototype & testing
- Feasibility Assessment
- Tide changes & boat safety ranges

1 year functional MVP

- Search & navigation are complex. The best spot to navigate to is not the closest spot on the water.
- Privacy, error reporting, pathfinding
- Drop pins with picture & view other pins
- Connectivity / cell towers phone hardware

On-going

- Firebase for user data
- Business partnerships & promotion
- Friends, messaging, groups
- Logging & sharing trips
- Improved data, map overlays & web app
- Premium version

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First round designs

The first round of designs were tested at local marinas and boating stores.

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Navigation

Navigation is the core the app. Other apps overwhelmed users so we initially focused on simplicity.

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Depth & other details

This page ended up not making to production. The initial idea here was that boaters might not trust the auto-routing & depth data.

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Dropping Pins

The goal was to enable users to inform eachother, on the water, in real time.

Current Product

The app and technology has grown and come a long way.  

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Navigation

The app takes into account your boat details and the tides to auto-route you with the safest path possible. Users can also choose, standard, satellite or NOAA view for their maps.

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Feature Loaded

As Argo grew users asked for more features. It was critical to provide users with control over their experience. Almost everything can be toggled from bouyies and lanes, to the types of pins other users drop.

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Everything is better with friends

Users can add and message friends, and see them on the map. You can also set up groups for your local club, marina or create and manage your own group! The social feed gives you quick updates ono what is happening in your area!

Outcomes

The top Navigation App

No other boating app has ever become the # 1 Navigation app on on the app store, surpassing even Google Maps anf Waze for a time.

Over 600,000 downloads

ARGO keeps growing year over year as users realize it offers the best free and premium experience. Whether you plan in advance or just hop in and go, ARGO is the app for your boating needs!

30,000 monthly active users

While some apps may have more downloads from expensive marketing efforts. ARGO remains the one of the most used boating apps available.

Partnering with the Community

Argo has thousands of partnerships with marinas and marine businesses. Increasing their visibility and bringing the boating / marine community together.

Safety First

ARGO is the safest boat navigation app available. Each route is customized for your boat and also gives a confidence rating based on available data. Dozens of users have reported being saved by hazard pins dropped by other users.

The best depth data

Collecting Bathymetric data is hard and only done in each area every couple years by NOAA or the Army Core of Engineers. ARGO identifies areas lacking data and interpolates depth points based on surrounding area.

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Lessons Learned

When we started development there was less competition in the market. Shortly after launching, other apps started being released arouund the same. Some of these apps had features ARGO did not or had better performance in certain areas. I think this led to some of our features being incomplete as we scrambled to keep up.

Major Challenges

  1. React Native had many pros and cons and was significantly more optimized for iOS than android at the time.
  2. We could design and build for limited connectivity but hit a wall at times.
  3. Storing map data outside of a small cache was a technical nightmare that caused tons of issues for users.

Building software is complex. There is what you know, what you know you dont know, and what you don't know you don't know. There is also what you want to learn, your MVP, and the vision. Keeping all of this balanced and properly communicated with a stakeholder building their first piece of software can be challenging, and can take alot of time, patience, and education. To be honest, at times I took too much of this on myself and should have involved more people and had a balanced team for these discussions.