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GCS Connect Hybrid App

To streamline their internal invoicing & job handling systems for contractors, GCS asked us to develop a hybrid web and mobile app that would be visually appealing and dead simple to use. Interfacing with their internal systems, the app is designed to allow:

Jobs to be allocated to contractors
Improved OHS with hazard identification questions
Increased accountability with detailed job and completion information as well as photos
Recipient Created Tax Invoices to be created automatically.

This reduces the work for subcontractors and allows them to get paid faster, as well as removing much manual and painstaking work for GCS internally.

Naturally, we jumped at the opportunity to develop an application to help streamline internal processes, be simple to pick up and use efficiently and work seamlessly in a mobile or desktop environment.

The app works in areas where mobile internet coverage is minimal by autosaving data in smaller pieces. The app manages users and tracks orders as they go to, and from, subcontractors.

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hybrid apps
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interface design

UX and Interface Design

To function effectively in a web browser and on mobile devices, we wrote the app in HTML5. We mimicked the user experience of native mobile apps by incorporating a side menu, sliding page animation when navigating and a rich, crisp user interface that employed GCS’ keystone colours.

We worked hard on creating a positive user experience with the app, ensuring task lists clear and provided the necessary information quickly. Tasks can be quickly submitted efficiently on-site or from the office, integrating with smartphone cameras.

Task lists display all jobs with relevant maps and summary information on one screen and providing access to additional detail with a single tap or click. Every page has highly visible navigation elements that let you slide back and forth between views, giving the app a kind of natural flow. The app behaves smoothly and the workflow when using it is intuitive and simple.

Challenges

One of the main challenges with developing the user interface, given that this app primarily dealt with the exchange of data, was finding a clean method of displaying all the necessary data.

Behind the scenes

The app was built with the MVC design pattern in mind; how it looked and how it functioned behind the scenes were created to work independently of each other. In this way, we created a system that could be modified slightly to alter the purpose of the app entirely. To combat devices losing power or Internet connectivity when, submissions have an auto-save feature that records progress as the user inputs it. We worked closely with GCS’ internal staff to develop the interface between Connect and their systems.