By Partrick Hussey, UX Designer at Totalmobile
We often get asked what “User Experience” or “UX” design is and what it really means, and for us, we think it’s best to keep things simple: it’s about how easily, efficiently, and enjoyably people can achieve their goals.
But beneath all that, it’s about listening to customers —their frustrations and how they actually use our products every day.
At Totalmobile, UX isn’t an abstract concept. It’s about improving the daily experience for field workers who rely on our software to get their jobs done. With Field First, we wanted every interaction to feel natural, intuitive, and consistent from the first tap to the last task of the day.
A unified experience across every capability
When we started designing the Field First platform, one of the biggest challenges was bringing all our capabilities together under one coherent look and feel. They’d evolved from different brands and design approaches, so creating a consistent, modern interface was essential.
We developed the Tm Design System – our foundation for visual and interactive consistency across the platform. It applies a clean, minimal aesthetic that improves readability, accessibility, and discoverability. High contrast, plenty of white space, and clear visual hierarchy make it easier for customers to scan, act, and focus on what really matters.
Another key principle is Conversational Design, a term coined by designer and author Erika Hall. The idea is that people shouldn’t have to learn how to speak to systems; systems should know how to speak to people. That means reducing jargon, using clear, human language, and designing interactions that feel human, natural and approachable.
Listening to customers, constantly
The best UX starts with empathy. Our approach has always been to partner closely with users and keep an open feedback loop. Through our Totalmobile Ideas Portal, user groups, and ongoing research, we’ve built a strong community who have helped shape the Field First Platform.
From those early conversations, a few clear priorities emerged: users wanted faster access to key areas, simpler ways to handle admin across multiple capabilities, and more visibility of what’s changing in the platform.
The Power Behind the Platform: Field First
At the heart of every Core Solution is Field First, the first platform built entirely for field service management.
Field First connects the entire service lifecycle through one unified ecosystem. It brings together critical capabilities such as Dynamic Scheduling, Job Management, Asset Management, Mobile Working, Workforce Rostering, Field Service Intelligence, and Lone Worker Protection — all underpinned by shared platform data model and a consistent user experience.
Through the Field First Hub, users gain a single-entry point to all each of their licensed and deployed capabilities. This simplifies access, centralises control, and creates a connected experience for planners, technicians, and managers alike. Whether it’s scheduling the day’s work, completing a repair, analysing performance, or ensuring lone worker safety, every action draws on the same foundation of reliable, real-time data.
This unified design is what makes the Core Solutions possible. It transforms isolated functions into connected operations, creating one source of truth across the organisation.
Small details make the biggest impact
Sometimes the smallest design decisions make the biggest difference. In a technically complex environment, it’s easy to focus on new features and forget the little things that really improve quality of life in a meaningful way.
There’s a well-known principle in the UX design world called the ‘aesthetic-usability effect’, which shows that people perceive more visually attractive and pleasing designs as more usable than less attractive ones. So we paid close attention to layout, spacing, and contrast. Tooltips, focus states, and keyboard navigation were all designed to make the platform inclusive and accessible to everyone. Good design often goes unnoticed – and that’s the point!
Making it easy for everyone
We wanted the Field First platform to be just as friendly for first-time users as it is powerful for experienced ones. That meant leaning on familiar, industry-standard design patterns: sidebars, tabs, cards, modals, patterns users already understand and feel comfortable with.
We also applied Object-Oriented UX, which structures information around the real-world objects users work with. This helps align the platform with the user’s mental model, so they don’t have to guess where to find something; it’s right where they expect it to be.
What’s next for UX at Totalmobile
Our job doesn’t stop at launch. We’re continuing to test, refine, and expand the Tm Design System across Field First. Upcoming improvements include platform-wide enhancements like universal search, keyboard shortcuts, and more personalised user journeys.
We’re also building our own UX metrics service – a data-driven way to track how efficiently users complete key tasks, so we can keep improving based on real customer usage.
Of course, we’re also exploring how AI can reshape user experiences across the platform. The shift from command-based to intent-based interaction delivers a more intuitive experience and opens incredible possibilities for all of our customers. Imagine being able to tell the platform what you want to achieve, and it works out the best way to do it with just a click of a button. From auto-filling forms to generating insights from complex data, AI will help field workers spend less time on admin and more time doing what they do best.
The most rewarding part
Being able to create experiences that make our customers’ day easier is what we’re all about. Field First is used by thousands of people across the UK and beyond – in roles that are vital to infrastructure and keeping it running. Knowing that even small improvements in usability can make a tangible difference to their work is incredibly rewarding to us and keeps us striving to deliver excellence to our customers.
And really, that’s what good UX comes down to: making technology feel invisible, so field workers can focus on what matters most.
