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ARGO Navigation (Waze for Boats)

Founder of Argo Navigation 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, done during my first meeting with the client while he explained the concept.
My Role
Lead UX Design
Product Manager
Partner
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. For example; the best spot to navigate to is usually a dock, which might not be the closest to where you're going.
- Privacy, error reporting, pathfinding
- Drop pins with picture & view other pins
- Connectivity / cell towers phone hardware

On-going

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

The first round of designs were prototyped & 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, was to provide boaters a snapshot of the area around them.

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Dropping Pins

Users loved how Waze gave them real time information and wanted a similar experince.

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 & wanted complete control over their experience. What is visisble on the map, the type of map can be toggled or switched for a truly custom experience.

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Everything is better with friends

Users can add and message friends, see them on the map. and set up groups for your local club, marina or create your own! The social feed gives you quick updates!

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 and Waze for a time.

Partnering with the Community

Argo has thousands of partnerships with marinas and 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. Users frequently report being saved by hazard pins dropped by users.

30,000 monthly active users

Argo focuses on improving it's product to grow. This is why ARGO remains the one of the most used boating apps available.

Over 600,000 downloads

ARGO keeps growing year over year as users realize it offers the best free and premium experience. No matter the situation, ARGO is the app for your boating needs!

The best depth data

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

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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. 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 our team was directed 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. Performance on Android is still an issue.
  3. Storing map data outside of a small cache was a technical nightmare that caused tons of issues. React Native had limitations that would not let us store data on the device with standard tools.

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 know 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.