FieldRoutes Mobile App

an iOS and Android re-design and re-write to replace three legacy apps

Before the Product Team was hired, the product vision was handled by the CTO (co-founder) and the Engineering Team. From 2010 until 2020 when this project kicked off, the engineering team have been maintaining and building features for three mobile apps that are focused on two functions: sales and service. Issues Identified:

Frustrating User Experience

Tech stack for apps is severely outdated

Maintenance for three applications

Really poor stability and reliability

Failing ADA Compliance for all text and buttons

User experience was never a consideration

Time to complete any task is very high

No support for commercial structures/buildings

Incredibly poor app store ratings, <2.0

Research was completed using on-site ride-alongs with service technicians and door-to-door sales reps, video calls with their field managers, and in-person c-suite sessions. Key Findings

Stability and reliability were questioned all the time

“Newer” app (PestRoutes app) increased time to complete by 1.5-2x

Text was difficult to read when outside in the sunshine

Required input types are not clear to users

Users used all three apps to complete daily tasks

Unfriendly user messaging

Create and use a Design System

Brand new build in React Native

Massive launch with iterative feature enhancements

Through an audit of the existing three apps, we were able to identify over 200 data points for users that were spread over eight tabs in an appointment. We were able to reorganize all of that info into more intelligent options spread across three tabs. From there, we wireframed, gathered feedback, re-worked the user journey and workflow, and got to a great place before a single line of code was written.

When it was decided to launch a brand new app, we recognized the opportunity to build a brand new design system for the mobile app with a focus on usability and ADA Compliance. It was decided to focus on building, testing, iterating core components (text hierarchy, buttons, input fields) before building full UIs. This allowed the engineering team to focus on the usability of the interactive components, and when the full interfaces were designed later, it was an easy build. The design system helped speed up the time to design and build. It also helped immensely in the everyday vernacular, “just swap that field to a ‘read-only’ state instead of ‘disabled’.”

Small agile triad team of PM/UX/Dev(2x)

Getting real world data for usability

Speaking with all levels of customers

Building the design system from the start

Time investment on interaction design

Backend hurdles to build with any velocity

Having to rewrite the app twice

Testing not as thorough as we desired