Development of Custom Mobile App for an Oklahoma based Oil and Gas Equipment Manufacturer
An Oil & Gas pipelines and safety equipment manufacturer based in Oklahoma City wanted a custom mobile app for their organization. The app aimed to boost employee engagement and promote an open culture. New employees would be able to complete onboarding formalities using the app and reach out to departments and people within the organization using a simple search feature for acquaintance and help. The app would be a source of notifications for latest developments and announcements in the company, including a system to alert them about on-premise and weather-related emergencies. A specialized ‘art feature’ would give all employees the functionality to participate in an art identification game with a point-based system to engage them as a fun activity.
The Challenge
The client’s idea of a single mobile tool to serve many purposes while maintaining the simplicity of use was a significant challenge.
Intuitive Design: As the employee demographic was spread across white collar and blue collar roles, the app had to be easy to use. Integrating all the features with the least possible touchpoints required the best UX design and software code optimization. The definition of the ‘normal’ varied across roles.
Dynamic Sync: Employees would use the app to schedule meetings in specific locations on the company premises. The design for such a system would require the real-time updating of in-app data with Microsoft apps as well as the rest of the ICT infrastructure on site.
Image recognition: With hundreds of art-works on site, the app needed to be fast and precise in identifying those, with varying degree of environment variables. Light, camera quality, orientation, resolution, movement etc. Posed challenges in accurate identification of the subject.
Job Notifications: The client sought a differentiated space for job notifications. This data feed would facilitate quick referrals by enabling employees to share the job opportunity with their contacts.
Our Solution
Nalashaa’s team of mobile app development wizards began the development process with an ideation phase. We equipped the client’s mobile app with the following core functionalities:
Dashboard: Upon opening the app, users would get access to a home page comprising a consolidated view of company events, meeting schedules, announcements, and the points they have earned in the ‘art game.’ The simple but detailed dashboard would assist users in staying up-to-date with the latest happenings in their organization.
Announcements Feature: Different kinds of announcements were presented to the employees in an intuitive way. Some of these were:
- Job posting
- Meeting schedules
- Company events
- Safety notifications
- On-premise food trucks and vendor offers
Art: All app users could be a part of an integrated microgame that would allow them to point their cellphone camera to learn about a particular art piece on the premises . We gamified the experience to stir up engagement levels.
Find Location: All employees could access a smart scheduler that would show them the meeting rooms' locations and their booking schedules. This feature was developed to ease co-ordination between employees to share organizational resources efficiently.
Contacts: A groups-based organization of all the employees helped new employees to find the right point of contact quickly. Identification of relevant employees in case of an exception or emergency was also made easier. With accessibility, the engagement across employees grew promoting an open culture.
How We Made a Difference
Cross platform app for iOS and Android
Integration with a CMS to help non-technical staff manage the solution
Integration with the existing authentication mechanism simplified onboarding process
Technology Stack
- Android Studio
- Drupal Content Management
- React JS
- Ionic V X
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