Construction planning · Mobile-first product design
Wayloader Plan — Simplifying Planning with Mobile-First UX
Designed an intuitive mobile app to bring site workers into the planning workflow.
- TL;DR
- Role
- Product Designer
- Company
- GagaMuller Group
- Team
- To be confirmed
- Outcome
- Higher field-team adoption in the pilot rollout
the setting
Context
Wayloader Plan is a construction project planning tool for planners and site workers collaborating across complex builds. This project simplified planning workflows, improved visibility across teams and brought the experience into the field through mobile-first design.
I led the design end to end, from early discovery and concept exploration through high-fidelity prototyping and validation.
what was broken
The problem
Wayloader's web-based tool was not built for on-site use. Construction managers relied on WhatsApp, spreadsheets or memory while moving around a site, leading to missed updates, duplicated work and slow progress tracking.
The brief was to bring core desktop functionality into a mobile format, make it fast under pressure and support both online and offline work.
For the business
- Increase field-team adoption
- Improve deliverable-tracking accuracy
- Reduce support tickets caused by project miscommunication
For users
- View and update tasks on the go
- Track changes and progress in real time
- Stay informed without switching tools or chasing updates
what I had to work within
My role & constraints
- Led discovery and UX strategy
- Interviewed planners and site workers
- Designed flows, wireframes and high-fidelity UI
- Built and iterated Figma prototypes
- Partnered with Product Managers and Engineers
- Facilitated usability testing and incorporated feedback
Tools: Figma · Maze
how I got there
Process: discovery & research
I combined interviews with construction planners and site workers, workflow mapping across office-to-site handoffs and a heuristic review of the existing planning experience.
Working with the PM, I mapped use cases against effort and impact. The MVP centred on task list, timeline and map views; create, update and submit actions; and filtering by site, assignee or due date.
Key insights
Site workers needed fast, glanceable access to plans and updates on mobile.
Planners needed clear visibility into progress and field changes.
The handoff between planning and execution—not a missing feature—was the central source of friction.
the call I made
Key decisions
Role-aware structure
Tailored views to planners and site workers without carrying desktop complexity onto a smaller screen.
Mobile-first collaboration
Designed quick updates, checks and communication around the conditions of field work.
Flatten the hierarchy
Grouped tasks by date and project, with four clear areas: Plan, Projects, Tasks and Profile.
Iterate early
Moved from sketches to clickable wireframes and tested hierarchy and language before visual polish.
what I designed
The solution
Timeline view
A Gantt-style plan adapted to mobile with horizontal scrolling.
Task cards
Glanceable status, deadlines and quick actions for use under pressure.
Map view
Project locations overlaid with task data to preserve context.
Offline sync
A visible sync state, manual option, confirmations and fallback errors for unreliable connectivity.
What changed through testing
People were confused by the ‘Review’ status.
Clarified the naming and paired it with more legible iconography.Tasks did not communicate urgency.
Added smart tags such as ‘Due Today’ and supporting colour cues.There was no feedback after syncing.
Introduced confirmation and error fallback states.what I designed
Solution, continued: View Switcher
Plan Mobile originally presented every work item in one card view. This focused feature introduced multiple views so people could shape the interface around the information they needed in the moment.
I led discovery and design through a rapid two-sprint cycle, aligning user evidence with delivery constraints.
One card view made it difficult to find and compare essential task information quickly, affecting engagement and retention.
Users lost context while switching views, while desktop-oriented controls were visually buried and difficult on touch screens.
Team: 2 designers · 5 products · Tools: Google Forms · Figma · Maze
Key insights
People lost task context between views, creating error-prone workflows.
Existing controls lacked visual prominence and a clear affordance.
Touch-screen users struggled with navigation patterns inherited from desktop.
View Switcher
Shows the current view, enables low-tap context switching and surfaces defaults and favourites.
Column preferences
Lets people adjust the information density of table views for the task at hand.
Interaction states
Clear selection, hover and focus states reduce disorientation, with keyboard access for power users.
Adaptive layout
The control scales from desktop to small touch screens without losing capability.
“The view switcher has been a game-changer—it lets me quickly toggle between layouts, making it easier to see task details and progress exactly how I need for the situation.”
Wayloader user
Users completed view toggles 30–50% faster, measured on timed task flows in usability testing.
Navigation confusion reduced substantially in testing.
Mobile users reported better visibility and easier context switching.
The feature was greenlit for development and informed navigation improvements in other modules.
where it's heading
Outcome & impact
Higher field-team adoption in the pilot rollout.
Less admin time through simplified reporting.
Fewer missed tasks and better coordination on large sites.
The designs were validated and approved to inform future collaborative planning features.
looking back
Reflection
The strongest decision was not shrinking the web product. It was rebuilding the hierarchy around what someone needs while standing on site.
Offline-first is a UX problem too
Sync state, errors and fallbacks need to be visible and understandable.
Design with urgency in mind
Site teams are completing actions under pressure, not browsing.
Simple does not mean basic
Removing interface weight required preserving value while reducing friction.