T-Life

⭐️ 4.8 App Store Rating | 40M+ Users | iOS - Android 

Company:  T-Mobile
Duration:  March 2022 - September 2023
Team:  SyncUP Product Team
My Role:  Principal Product Designer

Case Study: Unifying App Ecosystems

A UX-led approach to error coverage, flow consolidation, and feature integration for a seamless customer experience.

Overview

Early UX Foundations for a Unified Product Ecosystem

Before my departure from T-Mobile, I contributed to a major cross-functional initiative aimed at unifying the company’s many product ecosystems into a single seamless experience. In short: the goal was to merge several standalone apps into one cohesive platform.

During the early phases of this transformation, I contributed to shaping the initial UX strategy. My focus was on UX discovery—mapping complex user flows across the SyncUP product lines, identifying logic gaps, and documenting edge cases. The UI design and visual treatments for T-Life were handled by other very talented designers, with whom I collaborated on the backend UX to align features and flows as the project took shape.

Although I left before the final release, my early UX work helped inform the user flows now reflected in the live product, as part of a broader collaborative effort.

The Problem

Driving adoption and elevating the user experience through continuous innovation.

T-Mobile’s digital products were originally designed as separate, highly functional experiences. Each app had its own onboarding, platform logic, and unique features—especially when paired with IoT-connected hardware.

This separation created operational complexity for users. For example, someone trying to check on their child, their car, and their belongings would need to juggle three different apps. The growing need for a unified platform became clear.

The early UX challenge centered on merging logic from multiple standalone apps into one unified ecosystem. The visual above shows public-facing apps involved in this broader initiative. I directly contributed to design work for Tracker, Pets, and Kids. Other apps are included solely to illustrate the scope of system-wide integration. Public app screenshots of splash screens are shown for illustrative purposes only.

Cross-Team Collaboration

T-Mobile’s all-in-one app was a joint effort between several design teams. I was part of the SyncUP Product Team, focused on integrating Tracker, Drive and Kids features into the broader T-Life experience. While teams like Account Management, Home Internet, Tuesdays and Scam Shield addressed their respective areas, our team worked to unify key user flows across the IoT connected products.

The visual below shows a high-level view of how cross-functional collaboration supported system-wide integration.

SyncUP Everything, Everywhere, All the Time

Each of the SyncUP apps focused on supporting its own IoT device with unique operational needs and subject focuses. For example:

• TRACKER let users monitor multiple items — keys, bags, cars, pets — often many subjects per user.
• KIDS focused on child location and safety — a critical, high-priority experience.
• DRIVE provided car location and additional features. 

My Role

Early UX Flow Strategy, System Integration, and Cross-App Planning

As a Principal Product Designer at the time, I collaborated closely with other lead designers across multiple app teams. Together, we helped establish the early UX for what would evolve into the unified T-Life application. My core responsibilities included:

• Mapping and consolidating flows across SyncUP apps into one modular system.
• Documenting error logic and edge cases to smooth out the user experience.
• Partnering with designers across app teams to align on UX patterns.

Goals & Constraints

Ambitious Cross-App Collaborations

Goals:

• Create a seamless UX that merges formerly independent products.
• Ensure user onboarding feels cohesive and intuitive.
• Future-proof UX by accounting for potential error scenarios.

Constraints:

• Existing product teams had different experience requirements and priorities.
• Backend limitations made ideal flows difficult to implement.
• Tight timelines due to product launch goals.

Action

Strategic Systems UX thinking.

My focus during this phase included:

• Mapping, merging, and restructuring independent UX flows into one unified experience.
• Cross-checking updates with Principal Designers and Product Managers to ensure alignment.
• Building detailed early user flows and mapping platform logic based on specific dev needs.
• Defining error states to safeguard a consistent and smooth user experience.

By embedding myself in cross-functional collaboration, I helped ensure SyncUP product experiences merged cleanly into the broader T-Life ecosystem—maintaining cohesion, clarity, and UX continuity. This project was a standout example of cross-team collaboration with brilliant designers and highly knowledgeable developers.

An Early Foundation

Below is an early flow I created while collaborating closely with other SyncUP product designers to combine all the IoT products into one map. This early attempt served as a foundation to combine the the various T-Mobile IoT Products map with the other popular apps.

Early Exploratory User Logic

As part of the early design process, I created an early user flow exploration to see how various public-facing T-Mobile apps could be unified as part of a single user journey, while checking user information and IoT connected device experiences. I mapped early logical thinking of the UX requirements while ensuring abstraction from any internal systems. The goal was simply to establish an early general overview of the all-in-one experience.

This user flow is a high-level conceptual overview of the app experience, referencing only publicly available T-Mobile applications and generalized product logic. All visuals are intentionally abstracted and contain no confidential information, internal code, proprietary UI, or sensitive system details.

A Unified Home for All SyncUP Devices

This screen was designed to bring all SyncUP devices into one centralized experience. Designers from each product team (Kids, Tracker, Drive) collaborated on the drawer layout and global filters to ensure clarity across categories:

• People displayed SyncUP Kids watches
• Things included Tracker and Drive devices
• Places showed saved locations like Home or Work

Behind the scenes, I supported efforts to plan and resolve error scenarios and edge cases across all SyncUP devices. Collaborating with designers on the various error failures regarding missing data and location inaccuracies. 

Error Scenarios & Edge Cases 

One of my core contributions during early T-Life planning (back when the project was still under a different codename) was leading robust error scenario design across IoT-connected products—specifically through my role on the SyncUP Tracker team.

At the time, the TRACKER product team had the most comprehensive edge case strategy among all SyncUP verticals. Due to TRACKER design teams detailed error handling,  I led detailed planning around device sync issues, API call failures, connectivity drops, and user state mismatches for the new product. I also collaborated with fellow SyncUP product designers (from KIDS & DRIVE teams) to unify and stress-test error handling as we merged into one app experience.

Beyond product-specific logic, I reviewed broader system failure points including:

• Platform-level service errors
• Map and location-based logic breaks
• Account authentication issues
• Catch-all fallback experiences for unexpected failures

This work required close collaboration across product, mobile, and platform engineering teams to ensure we weren’t just designing ideal flows—we were designing for reality.

Understanding Error Experience Planning

As part of my UX responsibilities, I mapped and reviewed a wide range of potential failure scenarios related to connected IoT SyncUP devices. These included device location not loading, sync interruptions, and battery drain events. Each error was analyzed for root causes and user-facing impact to ensure helpful, actionable responses. 

Below is a high level example overview of error scenario design thinking. The idea was to uncover different scenarios, all possible causes and the user impact that results from that. Once that was clear solutions would be crafted after.

Disclaimer:
T-Mobile and T-Life logos and app visuals are the property of their respective owners. This case study showcases my personal design contributions during the early phases of the T-Life app project. All trademarks and product images are used for informational and portfolio purposes only.

What I Learned 

Behind The Screen

Working on T-Life’s early UX strategy taught me the challenge—of designing for scale. When you're merging multiple apps, collaborating with designers and teams across different products, and backend systems, it takes alot to craft a working solution where all fit into one ecosystem. I learned how essential it is to advocate for consistent patterns while respecting the unique needs of each product team. It’s a delicate dance between structure and flexibility.

This project also reinforced a bigger lesson: even if you're not there for the final launch, your work can still contribute to the outcome. I didn’t design the UI. I wasn’t there for the final polish. But the groundwork of the UX I helped to design, ensured a smooth product experience.

On a more human note—when it was time to part ways, I drove to T-Mobile HQ, the very campus I used to walk every day, and personally returned my old MacBook. Like saying goodbye to a reliable teammate, the laptop went back home—and I moved on to the next chapter.

"...Elevates the team over his own spotlight...."

Kevin — Director of Product, T-Mobile
September 19, 2023

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