Aconex is the platform that runs construction projects
Used by construction and engineering teams across 70+ countries, Aconex manages documents, workflows, and field activity on some of the world's biggest infrastructure projects. Punchlists — the industry term for defect tracking and sign-off — were a core feature, but one that had grown unwieldy over time.
Site supervisors were doing their rounds with printed lists, clipboards, and phone photos. The app existed but wasn't being used on-site. That was the signal.
"Nobody uses it on site. They do the walk, take photos on their phone, then come back to the office and enter everything manually."
— Site supervisor, Multiplex MelbourneWe were designing for a version of the job that didn't exist
[Placeholder — describe the gap between what the product assumed and what actually happens on a construction site. Bright sun, gloves, hard hats, no time to type, spotty signal.]
[Describe what "doing a punchlist" actually means physically — walking floors, photographing defects, assigning trades, signing off items — and why the existing UI failed each of those moments.]
The existing punchlist UI — designed for desktop, used on mobile.
On-site observation, Multiplex Melbourne. Supervisors with clipboards.
I went to the site
Rather than relying on stakeholder interviews alone, I arranged an ethnographic field visit to a Multiplex construction site in Melbourne. I shadowed a site supervisor through their full inspection round — from the morning briefing to the final sign-off walk.
Ethnographic field visit
[What you observed. How long. Who you followed. What surprised you.]
Stakeholder interviews
[Who you spoke to — project managers, site supervisors, subcontractors. Key themes that emerged.]
Competitive analysis
[What other tools were people using. What they liked about them. Where Aconex had ground to make up.]
Synthesis & insight mapping
[How you translated field notes into design principles. Key insights that changed the direction.]
Research synthesis from field visit and stakeholder interviews.
What the site taught us
[Expand on the 2-3 most important design insights that came from the research. What changed your assumptions? What did you see that you couldn't have guessed from the office?]
Designing for gloves, sun, and no signal
[Walk through the design decisions. How did the insights translate into specific UI choices? Larger tap targets, offline-first, camera-first flow, etc.]
Exploration & iteration
[Describe the ideation phase — sketches, wireframes, early concepts that were explored and discarded.]
Early wireframes exploring the camera-first inspection flow.
The solution
[Describe what you landed on. What is the core interaction model? What makes it different from before?]
Quick-add from camera
Offline-ready item list
One-tap sign-off
[Your key design principle or the "aha" moment that unlocked the right solution.]
Validated with real users, back on site
[How you tested. Prototype fidelity. Who participated. Where sessions were run — office or back on site?]
[Key findings from testing. What passed. What needed iteration. What changed as a result.]
[Testing setup description.]
Shipped — and actually used on site
[Describe what shipped. The final product. Any phased rollout or pilot before full release.]
[Qualitative outcomes — what changed for users. Any quotes from supervisors after the redesign? Stakeholder reactions?]
What I'd do differently
[Honest reflection. What you'd change knowing what you know now. Shows maturity and self-awareness.]