CSA Mobile | Lucrecia Camiletti

Animated recording of the CSA Mobile home screen in use

Paper prototype phone screens laid out on a table during a testing session with a child

Role

I joined the company to lead and oversee the kids' experience across the different products, making sure they all connected smoothly.

For the mobile app, I was tasked with turning it from a book companion into the main hub of the entire immersive world, connecting all the products under the Children's Spy Agency. This meant carrying out user research, concept development, creating interactive prototypes, user testing, QA.

I was excited to be leading the kids' experience alongside a great team but working closely with the CEO (also the writer) and the creative associate to maintain in-world consistency.

A development workshop scene from the CSA Mobile Game project

A note on development

Having just joined the existing development team, it was important to run a series of initial workshops to understand decisions the team had already made, align everyone, and shape the game's vision together through ideation.

The most important stakeholders were the kids themselves, whose user testing sessions helped shape the right balance of mystery, challenges and fart sounds.

Connecting the app to the other products was particularly challenging, as UK law prohibits advertising directly to children. This meant we couldn't directly promote the Spy Pack or the immersive experience within the app, so we focused instead on raising awareness with parents through the commerce and email journey.

The app was released in two stages. An MVP after two months of development gave us early insight into performance and engagement, while the second release, timed alongside the book's launch, was very positively received.

CSA Spy Hub diagram, showing the app connected to the Agent Asha book, TV series, museum kiosk and other Children's Spy Agency touchpoints

The Children's Spy Agency has a strict no-adult policy (staff excepted, of course). But they're willing to make an exception, just this once, to show you some of the app's key features. Lucky you.