Project brief

Kuriyama of America was in the process of changing suppliers of the line of crimping equipment they sold. Their current crimping mobile app was build and maintained by the current supplier, so Kuriyama needed another solution for a crimping app. Our client was also very frustrated by the current process of updates to the data in the mobile app. It sometimes took weeks to get data updated, putting their customers in danger from incorrect crimping specs.

Skills utilized:

Keep the project running and on-time. Liaison with decision makers.
Conception, web design, and print design
Front-end HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Ionic.

Solution

I initially began by proposing another mobile application, but soon abandoned this due to the problem with data updates. Instead, after conferring with our team of developers, I decided to pitch using a mobile SDK (software development kit) called Ionic Framework.

We chose Ionic for a few reasons – first and foremost, it could be published as a web-based application as well as compiled into a mobile application for both iOS and Android. Second, and also important, we could house the data in a Google Firebase, which allowed us to make a data update, and push it to the live app with immediate results.

Client interviews were then performed to understand additional pain points with the current app as well as requests for new features.

UX design was next. I spent a couple of months working on flows and prototypes, testing with the client, interviewing customers, and making changes. Once the prototypes were approved, I built the final designs. Working with our developers, I built the front-end HTML, CSS, and jQuery, and then passed it onto our lead developer to convert into Ionic. I also did some Ionic work once the core app was built – updating styles and content.

Throughout the process, I kept the user in mind. I often consulted with the client and customers throuhgout the project life cycle, ensuring that the final product was user-centric.

Results

The client was thrilled with the results. The new web app was fast and easy to use. And of course, they were thrilled that data could be updated within a few hours if needed. They ultimately decided that a real mobile app was not needed, since the web app worked so well on mobile devices. Adoption of the new My KuriCrimp web app was fast, with the majority of users of the old app registered on the new web app within a month of launch.

My KuriCrimp