ERP Mobile Inbox
Untethering Enterprise workflows for field workers
Project Name: ERP Mobile Inbox
My Role: Senior Product Designer (Design Lead)
Company: QAD
Duration: 10 months
Team: Product Manager, 1 Engineers, Stakeholders
Basics
ERP Mobile Inbox
A lightweight mobile version of our ERP Inbox so technicians and sales managers can perform essential timely tasks on the go.
What Changed, and Why It Mattered
The Problem
Maintenance Technicians, Sales Managers, and Support Managers are rarely at their desks. By restricting approvals to the web interface, critical supply chain decisions were being delayed by hours or days, causing bottlenecks in production. We needed to untether these workflows.
What I delivered
The QAD Mobile Inbox feature was designed as a streamlined mobile form factor that allows customers to carry out all of the same Inbox functions as the Web application but on the mobile app.
Case Studies / Restricted Party Screening
Siobhan Duran
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Portfolio
My Responsibilities
Research
Desktop tool audit, comparative UX analysis
Liaison
Engineering, Product Management, Sales
Design
Flows, wireframes, high-fidelity prototypes, usability testing
Define
intuitively adjusting desktop workflows for the mobile experience
Understanding User Roles · Red Routes Diagrams · Storyboards
Research & Strategy
Mobile Inbox users would be technicians out in the field repairing equipment.
Roles
Maintenance Technician
The Maintenance Technician
Role: Equipment Reliability & Repair
Process: Plan to Perform
Context & Environment
Primary Location: The Production/Plant Floor (High percentage of time spent here).
Device Usage: Mobile access is critical as they are rarely at a desk; they work with tools, hoists, and machinery.
Mental Model: focused on "MTBF" (Mean Time Between Failures)—needs to fix things fast to control downtime.
Mobile Inbox Goals
Real-time Awareness: Needs immediate alerts on equipment downtime or availability issues while walking the floor.
Workflow Efficiency: Needs to report labor and sign off on maintenance tasks without returning to a computer terminal.
Key Inbox Tasks
Approvals/Sign-offs: Signing off on completed maintenance or closing work orders.
Alerts: Receiving automatic notifications regarding machine shutdowns or potential production delays.
Coordination: Communicating with Planning & Scheduling teams regarding unanticipated maintenance.
Mobile Inbox users would be technicians out in the field repairing equipment.
Roles
The Customer Support Manager
The Customer Support Manager
Role: Service & Support Lead
Process: Quote to Cash (Q2C)
Context & Environment
Primary Location: Office/Call Center, but frequently remote visiting high-profile customers.
Device Usage: Desktop for deep analysis; Smartphone/Tablet for monitoring metrics and escalations while traveling.
Mental Model: Needs a "360-degree view" of the customer to handle escalations instantly.
Mobile Inbox Goals
Unhook from the Desk: Needs to operate an "unattended system" that alerts them only when issues arise so they can travel without bottlenecks.
Speed: Ensure critical support issues are resolved within agreed service levels (SLA) even when out of the office.
Key Inbox Tasks
Approvals: Reviewing and approving Service Quotes and Contracts.
Exceptions: Receiving notifications for escalated calls or warranty cost overruns.
Monitoring: Checking "Orders Shipped on Time" (OTIF) and backlog metrics via mobile dashboards.
Red Routes Analysis - Customer Support Manager
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Red Routes Analysis - Maintenance Tech
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Understanding User Flows
Understanding User Flows
Mockups
Design Solutions
Mobile Inbox Designs
Inbox Icon
A lot of thought had to be put into the best location and interaction for this Inbox trigger.
Mobile Tasks
The Mobile Tasks screen is where Field Engineers, Customer Success Managers and others can review their Purchase Orders, accept their Service Orders and get moving to their next destination.
Mobile Notifications
Notifications show a lot of non urgent information that can be drilled into by clicking on the notification.
In the Mobile Inbox, the user can quickly peruse their Tasks, drill into the underlying details, and then complete their approvals on the fly.
Untethered Actions
Approval Flow