Field Connect

Field Connect for iPhone transforms how field technicians safely and seamlessly work, out in the field. Now with Apple Watch, field technicians can quickly and safely view job alerts and stay connected, without stopping work.

 
 

The Field Connect app is transforming the way field technicians do their job with powerful, data-driven information right on their iOS device. They can get up-to-the-minute details based on their location to help keep safety top of mind. Personalized training and safety tips are available on demand, empowering field technicians with even more ways to assess and mitigate risk factors.

Challenge#1  Challenging Product Manager who did not believe in "bite sized" apps and strongly pushed towards accomplishing all tasks in one app:

Our Product Manager believed that Field Connect should be the only app that Line Technicians ever use on their job. This was not necessarily the right approach as there were tasks broken into several parts of their work day which demanded various forms and documentations. The solution to this problem was a mini 'Design Thinking' session with our Product Manager where we began by empathizing with our user and charting out the day-in-the-life of a Line Technician, followed by a quick problem definition and ideation exercise. These physical artifacts were always left up in our meeting rooms to ensure that as a team we never deviated from our end goal. 

Challenge#2  End users were attached to their paper driven process and were not so tech savvy:

My solution to this challenge involved building an interactive prototype and asking the users to walk me through their process using the prototype - worked brilliantly as we could clearly identify the gaps and collect feedback while winning the trust of our end users and stakeholders! 

Challenge#3  Brand new internal team with three new junior designers (new to iOS design):

A considerable amount of my time on the project was dedicated to mentoring the new designers, which I thoroughly enjoyed. My strategy was to allow the designers to take the lead on simple user stories while coaching them on the iOS design standards. I also encouraged them to solicit feedback from senior designers in the team before showcasing the designs to our stakeholders. 

 

As seen in the news: 

https://9to5mac.com/2015/03/02/apple-ibm-enterprise-apps/

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2951652/wi-fi/air-canada-national-grid-sign-up-to-use-apple-ibm-mobile-apps.html