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by Execute

This app is useful. It’s easier to access than the web schedule.

Although the functionality is limited (hard to scroll, slow response, can’t search by location) it’s actually one of the best conference apps since most conference apps are horrible.

However, the app has many, many ads. Every time you launch, there’s a non -skippable ad. My device is a bit old (6S) and this takes 5 seconds. It’s the same ad for Showtime. I’m already a subscriber. You can’t turn this off. It takes 5 seconds to load and tap “skip ad.”

When you’re browsing the schedule, there’s a non-skippable banner ad with 15-20% of the screen. Again for showtime. With the other navigation wrapper, this means you can only see 3-4 items and scrolling is jerky. This means when you swipe you go past where you want.

This conference is paid. I understand trying to get some ad revenue, but it’s worsening your user experience. Comically, there are dozens of sessions with great designers about design. There’s probably some SXSW employee weeping at having to sacrifice design principles for the release of this app.

I would prefer just a giant pdf and text search (not available).

Oh yeah, the capacity feature is neat, but not very accurate or useful. Although I don’t think this is a flaw in the app. Likely the data capture and estimate.

by Neps

...is this App.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great when it works - up to the minute information about the schedule, suggestions about what conferences to attend, up to the minute line “status”

But it frustrating to use a frustrating amount of the time, specially for a conference that is supposed to be for interactives, I’d expect better execution!

Scrolling the list is constantly wonky, going into a detail page and then back to the list you loose your place, or events show up multiple times - creating an infinite scroll affect.

If you’re playing audio in the app, the layering makes some of it unusable.

When loading detail pages sometimes it crashes out within the app and the detail page goes away and returns me back to the start of the app, loosing my place and forcing me to search again.

The express pass is a nice idea, but I only got it to work once after being there for a week and trying at 9am the day prior as instructed.

Easier filtering would be nice - maybe some way to scan the “hotter” discussions than the weaker ones. You’re often deciding between a dozen sessions at the same time that you want to attend - would be great if there was a way to compare them with some metadata to help aid in decision making

by Jemma Radick

1. The red/yellow/green indicators don’t help. The event staff controlling the door/line for each session should really be able to manually change the indicator to yellow & red based on the line ups they are seeing before a session starts. If I see a green indicator 20min before a session and run across downtown to get there only to find there is a line up equal to double the room capacity - that’s a serious failure in communication. If the door staff had changed it to red when they knew the rooms capacity was lined up in the hall, then I would know it wasn’t worth hustling across town to try and make it.

2. The location services really need to include maps inside each building showing where the rooms are. And it also needs step by step navigation / direction so the people can quickly find the rooms they are seeking.