Fresh coat of paint
I recently worked on a visual overhaul for our web app, and I thought it was a great opportunity to bring this new identity over to the mobile app too. The idea is to have a consistent design language across different devices and make the experience more modern. To make this happen, I created a new design system specifically built for mobile apps. This gave me valuable insights into the differences between designing for mobile and desktop, as there are certain things like minimum touchpoint sizes that I would not have to consider while designing for desktop apps.
Size doesn’t matter
The initial mobile adaptation of MvSOC faced a lot of techinical limitations due to using an outdated framework – this resulted in a lot of challenges porting functionality from the desktop app to the mobile app. To address these issues, we decided to start from scratch and reimagined the vSOC modules specifically for mobile devices. We took the time to identify the quintessential features for each module of D3 vSOC through research with our users. Our goal was to ensure that this time, all the important functionalities from the desktop app are faithfully carried over to the mobile platform, even on a smaller footprint.
New Upgrades
After conducting feedback sessions and on-site observations with our clients, we discovered that their workflow for handling dispatch events was fragmented, relying on multiple third-party apps for communication. Multiple officers are sometimes assigned to a single dispatch, and they have to juggle between different apps to have group chats, multimedia sharing, and access to dispatch information. In response, our new design focuses on streamlining the communication processes by improving our built-in chat to cover their needs in a time-sensitive dispatch event.
Shortcuts
Handy shortcut to the chat function and attachments on the dispatch list. Officers can finally access relevant information quickly!
BOLO
We also developed a special Be On the Lookout (BOLO) module that allows officers to quickly refer to a database of suspicious entities in the park. To make things even smoother, we added scrollable previews on the main screen to provide fast access to critical information (this was tested extensively to ensure it does not interfere with normal scrolling).
Stickied Alert
Additionally, our sticked alert feature enables dispatchers to instantly notify all on-duty officers and grab their attention when there's an emergency.
No discrimination, all love
User experience should be the same regardless of whether you're using an iPhone or an Android device. That's why we decided to build the application using React Native, a technology that allows us to create a unified experience across different mobile platforms. Throughout the development process, I closely collaborated with our engineering team to make sure that the features I designed are feasible within the limitations of React Native. We made it a point to avoid anything that would require separate native apps, so the core experience remains consistent for everyone.
This feature is expected to be released in Q1 of 2024.