Viewpoint Teams: Mobile App Navigation
Project Overview
Problem to Solve
The Teams Mobile App had a cumbersome navigation. A user had to go through several landing pages to navigate to a specific section. The hamburger menu wasn’t used effectively. My goal was reduce the number of taps needed to get from one screen to another. This was my first mobile app project.
Process
I was very new at Viewpoint so I had to learn the product. I was also very new to mobile apps so I did plenty of research. I learned about the “magic thumb zone,” an area on the lower portion of the phone where navigation should be placed. I also explored how the hamburger menu could be more effectively used. Lastly, I was able to speak with a few users who explained their concerns about the existing navigation.
Bottom Favorites Navigation in Magic Thumb Zone
Results
I focused on the hamburger menu. I divided the menu into global and project based options. By adding the project based options this allowed the user to go to a single place to navigate inside a project. The original design had a bottom navigation, I repurposed it to be a favorites area streamlining the taps.
I did a series of usability tests to verify my theories. I did some via Zoom, I did some in person at Viewpoint’s yearly conference. Most importantly, I traveled to Nashville to a construction site and did a field study. The test was simple, perform a series of navigation tasks in the original design then do the same tasks in the new design and collect feedback.
Test Elements
Business Impact
A streamlined and more effective navigation made the Teams app more efficient for users. This reduced training time and customer support calls. It also improved user’s perception of Viewpoint.
Client
Viewpoint
Services
- Information Architecture
- User Experience Design
Tools
- Sketch
- InVision
Test Elements
Navigation Improvements
Hamburger Menu
The updated hamburger had links to every section of the app. The sections were either global (Notifications, Assigned to Me, Settings, etc) or project based (Submittals, RFIs, Issues, etc). This made it easier to move from section to section.
Update Notification
We wanted to users to know about the navigation changes and the ability to set their favorites. After 2-3 weeks of email warnings, when the new navigation went live users were greeted by this roadblock. It took users to the navigation favorites set up or allowed users to escape by hitting close. If a user did not set up favorites they would be reminded 2 more times over the next week before the roadblock would no longer appear.
Updated Home Page
Home page view with new favorites set up.
Set Navigation Favorites: Step 1
When a user first arrives at the favorites set up they have the ability to select the stars on the right or drag and drop the navigation options into the target area.
