What is TaskTag?
Tasktag is a task management tool for the construction industry that helps contractors and their sub-contractors turn discussions from their messaging feeds into trackable tasks.
Chat based task management for the construction industry
The team at Tasktag approached Headway with the goal of overhauling the user experience and interface of the Alpha version of their application. They wanted to identify areas of opportunity within their current platform and implement the recommendations. Additionally, they had worked with a branding agency to develop a new logo and overall brand aesthetic that we needed to roll out across the platform.
A key part of my role on this project was training the client's design team on Design Team on Design Systems, and overseeing their day to day workflow in collaboration with the Headway designers.
Evaluating the existing user journey with a UX Audit
Before we could begin to optimize the experience, we first had to understand the current platform. During the first two weeks of the project, we conducted an audit of the existing platform across both web and mobile to determine what aspects of the user flows were great, and what areas left something to be desired. We also did a comprehensive audit of the user interface elements to identify inconsistencies.
At the end of the two weeks, we presented the findings to our stakeholders along with a series of recommendations that we felt would be important to incorporate as we began to overhaul the entire application from end to end. Below is a summary of some of the action items that came out of the audit.
- Ensure optimal color contrast ratios for accessibility.
- Implement an 8px grid for better visual hierarchy.
- Use consistent colors for clear functionality indication.
- Standardize bottom sheet designs for a consistent user experience.
- Improve clarity with descriptive Call to Action (CTA) buttons.
- Create a unified header design throughout the app.
- Add confirmation prompts for actions.
- Optimize content layout in an F pattern for easier reading.
- Consider renaming "schedule" to "tasks" and use tab selection for filtering.
- Maintain consistent patterns for bottom sheets and pop-up menus.
- Clearly identify drill-in screens with headers.
Leveraging A / B Testing Data
Throughout each feature re-design, we heavily leveraged data from A/B Testing to determine which user flow we should roll out. We tested the flows for several key features such as Chat and Project, as well as the Registration and Onboarding flows. In order to test the features, we used User Brain to source testers in the construction industry who were asked to record themselves going through a prototype we created.
During the process, we asked them to speak their thoughts aloud to understand what was intuitive and what was confusing. We also required them to answer a few questions about the overall experience at the end, detailing which flow they preferred and why. We then used this data to iterate on the feedback we received from testers and in many cases, we opted to conduct subsequent user tests to ensure the final flows were effective.
Problem validation through user interviews
Following the UX Audit, we conducted a series of user interviews using a format called Simulated Shopping focused on problem validation and identifying Jobs To Be Done. Our goal was to understand whether the client's assumptions that construction teams struggled with task management, communicating updates, and the organization of information was true or false. We spoke with workers across a variety of roles throughout the construction industry and focused our conversations around understanding their day to day woes, what they've tried to so far, and whether they would consider using another tool. We interviewed a small sample size of 5 participants individually for 60 minutes sessions.
Through this process we were able to validate that construction workers were utilizing their mobile devices as their primary source of communication. We also confirmed that those in project management positions with a primary focus on managing job sites frequently felt overwhelmed by the amount of tools and information they were using to keep track of job sites. Workers unanimously felt inundated with the amount of emails, texts, and calls they received on an hourly basis and struggled to organize all of the updates. We also uncovered that for those who were working directly on-site, the primary method of documentation was taking photos of the job and sending them via text message along with a brief synopsis of the work to their job site owners.
The Results
The new and improved mobile and desktop Tasktag experience shipped in late 2022. By leveraging the UX Audit process and A/B user testing, the team gained clarity on product improvements. In addition to creating a design system with the new brand guidelines, we were able to shorten and improve flows within the product experience to align with patterns the users were familiar with.
