UX Case Studies
Revitalizing Autotask LiveMobile
Transforming a legacy IT management app into a modern, user-centered mobile experience, enhancing usability, aligning with real-world business workflows, and driving adoption among executive and technician users by delivering targeted functionality that complements the core Autotask PSA platform.
The Challenge
A Legacy App Failing Users
By 2018, Autotask LiveMobile had fallen behind market demands. Despite serving IT Managed Service Providers who needed mobile access to critical business functions, the app suffered from low adoption rates and minimal feature updates.
As the MSP market evolved toward mobile-first operations, customer requests for improvements poured in. The legacy product simply wasn't meeting user needs, creating friction in daily workflows and hampering business efficiency.
Low Market Priority
Minimal updates due to perceived lack of demand
Poor Adoption
Users abandoning the app for desktop alternatives
Feature Gaps
Growing requests for mobile-specific functionality
Project Goals & My Role
Mission
Deliver a modern, streamlined PSA mobile experience that enables users to improve efficiency and meet client SLAs
Success Metrics
  • Increased user adoption rates
  • Improved workflow efficiency
  • Enhanced user satisfaction scores
  • Reduced time-to-task completion
Lead Product Designer
As the lead product designer, I owned the complete design process from strategy to delivery. My responsibilities spanned product definition, user research, design system management, and cross-functional collaboration.
01
Strategy & Research
Heuristic evaluation and user research
02
Design & Prototyping
UX/UI design and interactive prototypes
03
System & Delivery
Design system management and requirements
Research & Discovery

Understanding the Current State
I began with a comprehensive heuristic evaluation of the legacy app to identify critical usability issues and improvement opportunities. This systematic review revealed fundamental problems with information architecture, visual design, and user flows.
Legacy Menu
Cluttered navigation with poor visual hierarchy
Task Management
Complex workflows that didn't match user mental models
Detail Views
Information overload with unclear messaging

Future State Recommendations
UI Modernization
Establish clean, responsive design patterns and typography systems
Workflow Alignment
Redesign user flows to match real-world business processes
Information Architecture
Restructure data visibility and navigation hierarchy
Competitive Analysis
I conducted a thorough competitive analysis to understand industry standards for mobile PSA applications and identify opportunities for differentiation.
40%
Had No Mobile App
Significant market opportunity
60%
Limited Features
Minimal functionality in existing apps
70%
Single Platform
iOS or Android only, not both

Key Insight: No definitive product leader existed in the mobile PSA space, presenting a clear opportunity to establish market leadership through superior design and comprehensive functionality.
User Personas & Needs
Through user research, I identified two primary personas whose needs would drive our design decisions and feature prioritization.
Executive
Motivations: Growing the business, cultivating client relationships, promoting accountability
Typical Tasks
  • Meeting with current & prospective clients
  • Evaluating business efficiency and profitability
  • Tracking daily work and resource utilization
Critical Need
Business visibility and remote operation capabilities
Service Technician
Motivations: Accurately tracking time, documenting completed tasks, working efficiently
Typical Tasks
  • Working assigned service tickets
  • Communicating progress updates
  • Traveling to client sites
Critical Need
Multitasking capabilities and automated time tracking
Feature Strategy & Planning
Based on user research and customer feedback, I developed a strategic feature roadmap addressing core user needs across three development phases.
Priority Features Identified
  • Documentation management and global search
  • Sales opportunity management
  • Expense report management with receipt capture
  • Work list prioritization and recent items access
Project Phase Planning
1
Phase 1: Modern UI Foundation
Establish native look and feel, cross-platform compatibility, and improved navigation patterns
2
Phase 2: Executive Dashboard
User-configurable dashboards for business visibility, analysis, and reporting capabilities
3
Phase 3: Technician Tools
Automated time tracking, service ticket management, and enhanced multitasking features
Design Evolution & Prototyping
The app designs evolved through multiple iterations, each building on user feedback and technical constraints to arrive at the optimal solution.
Legacy version
Original, out-dated version of the app with its clunky interface & inconsistent user experience
Proof of Concept
Functional prototypes to test and validate critical user journeys and technical integrations
Alpha Version
Refined visual design with improved information hierarchy
Final Design
Production-ready interface with native OS integration

Design System Development
To ensure consistency across teams and platforms, I built a comprehensive Figma design system that became the foundation for all mobile design work.
Final Solution & Key Features
The redesigned Autotask LiveMobile delivered a modern, native experience optimized for both executive oversight and technician productivity.
Native Experience
Biometric login, smooth transitions, and OS-specific design patterns
Enhanced Usability
Instant access to key multitasking functionality via new Work list feature
Executive Dashboards
Customizable, drill-down capable views of business metrics
Impact & Results
While the redesigned Autotask LiveMobile app was not ultimately released due to a company acquisition, the project delivered substantial value: a robust design system that became a successful model for consistency, and significant performance improvements that set a new standard for the application.
Considerable Performance Improvement
Achieved noticeably improved wait times and faster load times during internal development and testing phases.
Design System as Proof of Concept
The developed design system successfully served as a model for efficient project management and promoting consistency across applications.
Task Efficiency
Reduced time to complete for core workflows by 70% during testing.
Key Takeaways
User-Centered Design Works
Deep persona research and iterative testing drove meaningful improvements in adoption and satisfaction
Design Systems Scale Impact
A comprehensive design system ensured consistency and accelerated development across teams
Phased Delivery Reduces Risk
Strategic rollout allowed for continuous validation and refinement based on real user feedback
Joe Lawrie
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