Job Cost Redesign
A multi-phase engagement that began with Dexter & Chaney's first-ever iPad application — a field-service POC so well received it awarded us the full Spectrum ERP redesign. As lead designer, I facilitated two rounds of contextual inquiry research with veteran Spectrum users, prototype authoring, and remote usability testing with both customers and internal Dexter & Chaney staff, driving a clearer navigation paradigm and a path to reposition Spectrum as a modern, SaaS-ready construction ERP.
Before the ERP redesign, there was an iPad
Our first engagement with Dexter & Chaney was a mobile-first proof of concept — Spectrum Mobile Solutions, the very first iPad application D&C had ever shipped. Field technicians were still running their days off paper work orders, with delayed job completions, inventory drift, and little visibility into the daily schedule.
The POC replaced the paper trail with real-time work order dashboards, truck inventory management, location-based job routing, and integrated timekeeping that synced cleanly between field and office. Two rounds of UX research with field techs validated the direction — participants called it "a lot easier to navigate." That win is what awarded us the full Spectrum ERP / Job Cost redesign documented below.
Won
POC Outcome
6
Field Tech Participants
Phase 2
ERP Redesign Awarded
Explore the validated Axure prototype
Jobs, Contracts, Financials, and Changes flows — the same prototype tested with 8 customers and 6 internal participants.
8
Customer Interviews
7
Stakeholder Interviews
14
Usability Participants
4.1
Avg. Design Rating / 5
- Reposition Spectrum as a SaaS, cloud-based platform for the construction market
- Repackage Project Management as a stand-alone product to drive new customer acquisition
- Reduce training overhead to compete with Procore and Timberline on time-to-value
- Modernize the UI without disrupting 10+ year veteran power-users
- Replace the tab/info-bar paradigm with a clearer, role-aware navigation model
- Surface a useful default data state on search (no more blank screens)
- Simplify complex correction workflows like post-invoice phase code changes
- Establish a pattern library to keep the redesigned Job Cost module consistent
Where Spectrum's power-users were getting stuck
Eight one-hour remote screen-shared interviews with Spectrum users in accounting roles, plus seven phone interviews with Dexter & Chaney stakeholders. All participants were veteran users — most had been on the platform for 10+ years.
Customers
- Adolfson & Peterson
- Convergint
- Garco
- Hunt Electric
- MDU Construction Services
- Pieper Houston Electric, L.P.
- Puetz Construction
Setup & Constraints
- All participants accessed Spectrum from a PC laptop or desktop
- Most had at least one additional monitor
- Mix of v13 and v14.17 deployments
- Recorded via screen share; notes by Alexis Morris
- Unable to recruit Project Managers — gap noted for follow-up
Key findings
Tabs & Info Bar confusion
Users 'got lost' with many tabs open and could not recall how they reached a module. The Info Bar was loved but the tab model was not.
Sitemap as primary navigation
Several users navigated almost exclusively through the Sitemap, bypassing the dashboard and favorites entirely.
Dashboard underutilized
Accounting users had empty or minimal dashboards. PMs were cited as the role most likely to benefit if one existed.
Change Management is the pain point
Across all participants, the change request / change order workflow was the most consistently frustrating area of the application.
External workarounds
All users maintained Excel spreadsheets or Crystal reports to manipulate Spectrum data — and some used ProCore or Prologue alongside Spectrum.
Search returns nothing on load
Participants wanted a constrained default data set when opening search, not a blank screen.
From a research deck to a product strategy
Research surfaced two recommendations that went beyond UI — both about how Dexter & Chaney could reposition Spectrum for the next decade of construction software.
Theme 1
Spectrum as SaaS
Turn Spectrum into a cloud-based SaaS for new client acquisition. A clean-slate UI for new customers, packaged as an integrated, seamless project-management suite — one piece, not 'modules.'
Theme 2
Evangelize, Reposition, Repackage
Over-communicate the PM capabilities and reposition them as decoupled from accounting. Repackaging the PM suite as stand-alone should drive awareness, adoption, and existing-customer evangelism.
What changed in the prototype
A new navigation paradigm
Replaced the tab + info-bar pattern with a clearer left-rail structure that maps to how PMs and accounting actually think about Jobs, Contracts, and Changes.
Search with a default state
Search now returns a constrained, useful data set on first click — no more blank screens.
Information-rich screens by default
Financials, Job Properties, and Contract pages surface summary information on page load instead of behind expand/collapse.
Terminology shift
Moved away from 'modules' toward 'sections' and 'tasks' — repositioning Spectrum as one integrated product, not a stack of bolt-ons.
Screens from the validated medium-fi prototype
Open prototypeSelected screens from the medium-fi Axure prototype used during usability testing. Click any screen to view it full size.
Validating the redesign
One-hour remote sessions on a medium-fidelity interactive prototype with eight customer participants from multiple companies and six internal Dexter & Chaney participants. Direct observation, screen share, and verbal feedback before, during, and after each task.
CUSTOMERS — "HOW WOULD YOU RATE THIS NEW DESIGN?"
The most common reason for not giving a 5 was the similarity to the current system.
Internal Dexter & Chaney
"Awesome! You get an extra helping of dessert tonight!"
What worked, what to fix
Jobs · strengths
- All participants knew how to create a new job and edit job properties
- Auto-recognize customer-code search was praised for ease of use
- Phase and wage code override workflow was understood without prompting
Contracts · strengths
- Navigation from Jobs → Contracts was easy for most participants
- Summary information on Financials was valued on page load
- Open Items and Payment History were used accurately to complete tasks
Changes · strengths
- Most participants navigated from Contracts → Changes without trouble
- Wizard pattern for new Change Orders was understood
- Info flags clearly explained why Change Orders could not be added
Visual cues · strengths
- Button placement, contrast, and labels enabled the right actions
- Editable tables were used without a discrete 'Add' button
- Horizontal scroll and pagination on data tables were intuitive
Opportunities
- Increase the size of most icons across the app
- Rethink icons for 'more info', open-in-tab, and view imaged documents
- Make save and cancel confirmations more prominent and last at least 5 seconds
- Add a visual indicator when a record has a note attached
- Show a confirmation dialog when the user cancels an in-progress edit
- Clarify that Open Items are Accounts Receivable
Three adjectives to describe what you've seen today
"Improvement. Would be excited to show to potential customers."
Customer participant
01
Incorporate prototype updates from UT feedback
02
Complete visual design of the pattern library
03
Run a card-sorting discovery with Project Managers — the role we couldn't reach in Phase 1
Interested in this kind of work?
Enterprise UX, deep contextual research, and prototypes that survive validation with veteran power-users.