Conversion of an existing desktop app to a mobile scenario

Description

Everywhere in the world, smartphones are becoming more successful in professional life. According to a forecast by the American IT market, researcher International Data Corporation (IDC), the market for smartphones and tablets is expected to develop strongly in the current year[1]. It was important for The customer to be able to offer services adapted to the new needs and habits of each of its customers.
Indeed, the customer already has a digital customer service called ExpertDesk, but only available on the computer.
In order to improve the flexibility of their customer service, the customer has set itself the objective of acquiring a mobile version for the digital customer service mentioned above, so that it can offer a fast solution adapted to the current needs of its customers. The new mobile service will have to be available for customers wishing to use a smartphone as a work tool to continue their tasks even if their computers are out of reach.
 
[1] https://de.statista.com/infografik/776/prognose-absatz-internetfaehige-geraete/
  accessed on 23.07.2017
 
 

General Information

Business Need: Everywhere in the world, smartphones are becoming more successful in professional life. According to a forecast by the American IT market, researcher International Data Corporation (IDC), the market for smartphones and tablets is expected to develop strongly in the current year[1]. It was important for The customer to be able to offer services adapted to the new needs and habits of each of its customers.
Indeed, the customer already has a digital customer service called ExpertDesk, but only available on the computer.
In order to improve the flexibility of their customer service, the customer has set itself the objective of acquiring a mobile version for the digital customer service mentioned above, so that it can offer a fast solution adapted to the current needs of its customers. The new mobile service will have to be available for customers wishing to use a smartphone as a work tool to continue their tasks even if their computers are out of reach.
 
[1] https://de.statista.com/infografik/776/prognose-absatz-internetfaehige-geraete/
  accessed on 23.07.2017
 
 

Solution: After understanding the requirements of the client, Mansystems was able to create mock-ups of each interface of the mobile application that should be built. In order to be able to offer a quality product to its customer, the interface’s mock-ups will have to comply with certain criteria of the so-called Part 110 Design principles of the EN ISO 9241 series of standards "Ergonomics of human-system interaction" in its 2000 version. These include for example: the adequacy of the task, immediate feedback, self-description, consistency, errors management, etc. The mobile application will have to be modern, approved by the customer and accepted by their customers.
The Mendix App Platform, widgets and modules available in the Mendix App Store, such as: HTML-Snippet, ForgotPassword, Floating Action Button and many others were needed to provide a better user experience by the realisation of the mobile application.
These modules and widgets have allowed us to design modern ergonomic interfaces necessary for an easy integration of the mobile application in the professional life of its future users.
In addition, the great flexibility of ExpertDesk features made it possible to accelerate the development process and the logic of the new mobile application. This is how the features of the desktop version of ExpertDesk were used as a basis for the implementation of the new mobile application's features. It was therefore possible to restructure and adapt all features of the desktop version of ExpertDesk for the new mobile one, while maintaining consistency between the two versions.
To rapidly deliver the new mobile Application, Mansystems leveraged the Mendix App Platform. By collaborating across the customer’s business department, Mansystems built a solution which met all EveryWare’s expectations. Mendix’s model-driven development capabilities made it easy to graphically design and structure the new mobile version of ExpertDesk, much faster in comparison to programming.

Results: Mansystems presented the Mendix platform to the customer and described all advantages of the rapid development platform, such as speed, less resources and the possibility to adjust new requirements and changes directly.
The customer decided to go with Mansystems because of our expertise, experience and very good performance.
Mansystems presented the ExpertDesk software which is a data driven software. It needs usage data as well as configuration data in order to use specific functions. Together with the customer, we collected all required data to adjust the software to the customer’s specific needs. The tool can be used easily and intuitively.
After implementing all requirements of the customer, the customer had one single platform the internal employees as well as the external customers could use as a ticketing tool. The customer now does not have to cope with every single request via email, but can use the new helpdesk system to process all request tickets.

Mansystems was also able to deliver a mobile version of the helpdesk solution. It is now possible to use all the features of the developed desktop version in a mobile version when the user wants to use the app on the way.

After testing the new solution, it is now possible to use all the features of the desktop version in the new mobile one. The graphical design of the mobile application is modern and easy to use.
the customer can now offer a tailor-made service to its customers. All the features required by the Mansystems’s customer are now available on a mobile platform. These features include:

- Create, delete or cancel a Ticket,
- propose, accept or reject a solution to a ticket, etc…

Thanks to the platform Mendix App and ExpertDesk the customer will be able to offer its customers a fast and efficient solution. The new mobile application will increase the productivity, flexibility and satisfaction of all its users.