- Mobile app development
- Customer Journey Mapping
- Icon design
- User interface design
We were initially approached by Dennis, a professional within the construction industry, who had identified a gap in the construction market. His vision was for an all new app that would simultaneously speed up productivity on construction sites by allowing workers to order the delivery of materials via their phone, and increase health and safety as the app would naturally encourage users to comply with industry rules and regulations.
Not all workers on a construction site have forklift licences, they can’t go and simply pick up the resources they need for themselves; they need someone else to do it for them. It’s currently an arduous process, where workers have to track down a forklift driver to get materials for them, and that driver might be in the middle of doing five other things for five other people.
This new app would raise each request as a task, that would be posed to each forklift driver on site. From there, a driver would choose whether or not they wanted to accept the task, and the resources would get delivered. Each user would go on a different journey within the app depending on their job role, and so each different user experience would need to be considered and mapped out accordingly.
The name “Site Oppo” was chosen for the app, an ode to Dennis’ time in the army, where “oppo” is used to refer to a partner or friend. With the app’s name and a detailed map of how the unique user journeys would work, we got to work laying the app's foundations.
The Challenge
Whilst it wasn’t a challenge unique to this project, this was set to be the first app we had ever made that wasn’t based on a pre-existing brand, let alone a pre existing eCommerce store. This was truly built from scratch. However, we knew how talented each of the members of our development team were, and knew that this was just another notch they could add to their collective belt.
Secondly, we would be entirely removed from the eCommerce world that we flourish in, meaning that the app would be reliant on functionalities that we would have to put in place, rather than the end goal of getting people to purchase products. It was certainly a new challenge for us to tackle, especially because there were a lot of functionalities unique to each of the different user journeys that each needed to be considered. So, not only did we need to ensure that each functionality worked as planned, but that they were easy for a first time user to wrap their heads around too. After all, this app was meant to act as a proof of concept that could be built upon, so it needed to be easy to use first and foremost.
- Mobile app development
- Icon design
- User interface deisgn
The Solution
The new Site Oppo mobile app was built using a combination of web-based and mobile-based code. This meant that the admin portal, which would be controlled by the “Site Oppo” team, could be controlled from within the app itself.
This admin portal would allow the “Site Oppo” team to manage the app’s data behind the scenes, and was essential in the creation, deletion, editability, and giving the team the overall insight of all users, developments, and sites. This allowed the “Site Oppo” team to have full control over the app externally and allowed site managers to have control over their individual developments, sites, and the users who have been registered on the portal; both workers and forklift drivers.
Through our development process, we were able to allow for local data storage on an individual user’s device and create an innovative user interface. This user interface not only allowed for an easy user journey when creating, editing, deleting, and completing tasks, but also enabled users to view the specific details of the site that they’re a part of, including the site managers, maps, documents, addresses, and so on. Plus, it allowed users to view their individual task logs and edit personal info. Furthermore, if a site manager had registered multiple sites, this UI allowed each user to switch between the multiple sites, giving them a complete view of the task list registered to each site if necessary.
Finally, the app needed to look polished. In fact, Dennis and the Site Oppo team did have a brand suite in place for us to build off of. This included the brand logo, colours, and some graphical devices too. From this, our design team set off on the task of expanding this suite, including creating some user-journey-aiding icons, ensuring that the app had everything it would need to go live.
The Outcome
As expected, our development team was able to rise to this new, non-eCommerce-based challenge and deliver a stunning finished product in the form of the Site Oppo app.
The Site Oppo team have already seen some pickup of the app and we can’t wait to see what’s next in store for them in the future with this innovative project.
Want us to build a mobile app for your business? Contact us.
Every great relationship starts with a conversation. We’d love to talk with you about your next project and answer any questions you might have about Shopify. But be warned… once we get talking about this stuff, it’s hard to shut us up!
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