Wrangling the University of Texas website redesign with Responsive Design Testing

For the last two years, Springbox has been hard at work with the University of Texas at Austin redesigning the UT website experience. As the sister company of Ivity Labs, the Springbox team got exclusive access to the Mobilizer before its official release. With designers, developers and the QA team working in tandem, the Mobilizer became an asset during the final stages of the website redesign when performing responsive design testing.

In browser, on device

With a front-end designer working alongside a back-end developer, most of the UT website was designed in-browser. Using an emulator to check changes on the fly, both the designer and developer turned to the Mobilizer to verify everything from breakpoints to wrapping up a day’s worth of work.

By identifying bugs across devices before the QA process started, the development team could speed up the timeline of work to ensure proper delivery. Without the need to physically test on devices, the developers were able to save time with accurate responsive design testing.

Checking it twice

Traditionally, the Springbox QA specialist tests experiences across each device serially. With the Mobilizer, she was able to test faster by viewing every device at once, within seconds of entering the URL. And by seeing devices across platforms and screen sizes, she could identify which bugs appeared more often to prioritize problems and create efficiencies in the debugging process.

Springboxers are free to use the library of devices at Springbox for playing with apps and getting a real-world feel for their digital experiences. But when it comes time for client handoff and final QA, it can be a chore to track down these devices. With the Mobilizer, this problem was non-existent during both the development and responsive design testing phase of the UT website redesign.

Selling in the work

Leading up to the final delivery to UT, the Engagement team at Springbox used the Mobilizer to give their clients at UT an idea of what to expect. Additionally,the Mobilizer was able to catch bugs on devices that were not included in the original scope of work. This created a better experience by giving the UT clients an idea of what needed to be done by their internal technology team. Small deliverables like that build trust between Springbox and their clients, strengthening the chance of success when pitching for future work.

(conclusion)

With the Mobilizer, the Springbox team was able to take the UT website redesign to the next level, from the responsive design testing phase all the way to selling in new work with clients. Whether it’s for testing across device platforms or handing off a device report to clients, the Mobilizer can be an integral component in every project’s lifecycle.