As a Lead Android Product Designer for Xero Go, engaged through Telstra Purple, I shaped the Android strategy for a native mobile app aimed at the UK’s 3.1 million sole traders. Launched at Xerocon London 2022, the app streamlined financial admin for users who had been managing fragmented workflows across multiple tools.
The opportunity
Xero targeted the UK's ~3.1 million sole traders, who found financial management complex and time-consuming, often using three to four apps and spending up to 10 hours monthly on administration. Many saw traditional accounting as irrelevant.
My role
I led the Android design strategy and execution for Xero Go.
I ran user interviews and JTBD research to identify core pain points in expense tracking, invoicing, and financial understanding for sole traders. From there, I developed an Android design strategy with stakeholders, translating complex accounting into mobile workflows using native patterns and clear language.
The team was distributed across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, India, and China, so I set up iterative design and usability testing processes that worked across time zones, including virtual workshops during COVID-19. I also collaborated directly with Google's Android team and OEMs like Samsung and Oppo to optimise Xero Go for UK-prevalent devices, taking advantage of features like biometric authentication and offline sync.
To keep engineering collaboration smooth across the distributed team, I established a design handoff process using Figma with detailed specifications.
Outcomes
Xero Go launched at Xerocon London 2022 with a product built specifically for UK sole traders on Android.
The release generated real-world feedback that shaped subsequent iterations, flexible financial year-end selection, for example, came directly from user input post-launch.
What we learned about sole trader needs through Xero Go eventually fed back into Xero's flagship software when the two products were merged. Leading design across 5 countries also taught me a lot about running distributed design processes effectively.