Protean is an end to end field service management software for office & desktop engineer workforces.

This project involved taking a long-standing (windows) desktop software from Protean, and developing a standalone web version. This project was not only a translation of desktop to web software, but also an opportunity to question and improve the way the software had been developed over the years.


Process

We began the project by reviewing the existing desktop software application in detail. It was massively complex and highly detailed, requiring a period of examination with the Protean team. Each screen/form and interaction was reviewed to understand how everything ‘clicked’ together.

Once we had this understanding, we could then move onto interviewing users of the software, reviewing feedback collated over the years, and determining which parts of the software worked well, and which didn’t.

The outcome

We developed a detailed interactive prototype that the Protean team could use and give feedback on, and that we could perform user-testing on. We experimented with porting many traditional desktop software patterns to the web – multi-windows, minimising windows etc.

However, without certain affordances that desktop applications allow, these approaches became unfeasible. So we collectively landed on more traditional web software approaches – tabs, accordions, and strong navigation patterns.

After the team was happy and user-testing sessions were positive with the approach we had taken with the prototype, we moved onto delivering higher-fidelity interface design, which was the expected deliverables for the Protean team to develop from.

Credits

Design: Ollie