Mobile only feature set

Background

This was a proof of concept showing how a complex web-based app might take a subset of features and allow mobile users to do tax law research. Since the research tool had editorial notes as well as user notes, product owners asked us to solve what that might look like as the business worked toward appealing to younger users, raised on fast web searches.

This demo was not a final product, but a sketch to show proof of concept. Product owners and stakeholders wanted the ability to quickly search a given screen, the document currently being read and the app as a whole.

Goals and materials

Objectives and Tools

• Show how a mobile version of a very complex enterprise grade app could be adapted without losing key features
• Show other functionality that might appeal to younger tax associates who do so much of their work on a mobile device
• Create a down and dirty tappable prototype to demonstrate basic functionality, but it must show flagged content and how that would be handled

Challenges

• Create realistic personae to help inform the happy path and edge case flows
• Consider the environments where such an app might be used such as subway, bus, carpool, lunch break
• Leverage the deep editorial well of content

Outcome

This exploration began as an off-handed comment from a product owner. We weren't officially sanctioned and there were no feature specs other than he mentioned they'd been thinking about how a mobile research assistant might work, but due to the complexity of the desktop app, wasn't sure it was even possible. I wanted to prove to him that a mobile research assistant app could work and access the main product with a mobile-friendly UI. The design could allow in-depth reading of annotations, notes, and other flagged content. The "EFF" flags in the images above are tappable and when tapped, reveal an overlay with the text of the flag. If the text were longer than the screen, the text could be scrollable. Ideally, being able to highlight and annotate on the go would be added and those notes would appear as flags as well. There were times where an associate might flag something for a partner or need to make notes to the team with questions or comments.

I wanted to keep going, but there was a bunch of technical debt to be reduced before they would even be able to consider something like this.

Prototype