Case Study: Mobile Early-Out Reporting

Problem

Supervisors were required to leave their posts to retrieve and submit paper forms when employees left early, creating unnecessary disruption and lost time.

Users

Supervisors and HR teams.

Scale

Factory-wide deployment.

Constraints & Considerations

• Device access: Supervisors needed to submit entries directly from the factory floor using mobile devices

• Security: Access restricted to supervisors and HR through Power Apps permissions

• Usability: The solution needed to be fast and mobile-friendly

Solution

I built a lightweight, mobile-first Power Apps Canvas application focused on speed and accessibility.

Key decisions included:

• Designing primarily for mobile form factor, with desktop compatibility as a secondary consideration.

• Using screen size parameters and built-in device previews to adapt layouts across devices.

• Providing HR with a simple overview screen and Power BI reporting to review early-out trends and submissions.

Outcome

• Over 2,100 early-out submissions recorded at a single factory in one year

• Significantly more complete and accurate data compared to prior paper-based tracking

• Power BI insights helped identify employees who may require counseling based on repeated early departures

What I’d Improve

• A desktop-specific interface would improve usability for office users, but the additional effort was not justified given actual usage patterns.