Clipspec Design Application

Clipspec was first launched nearly a decade ago and had become difficult to operate efficiently. As a desktop app, it could only run on Windows and the user had to have a very powerful PC. Every piece of information in the database had to be downloaded locally, which was causing significant performance issues and projects were unable to be easily shared across devices. It could also take several minutes to save a project, and if the app crashed, all unsaved changes would be lost.

The app now runs on any internet-enabled device, it's far more efficient, and projects can be accessed from anywhere. The product is also much easier for Clipsal to update. Significant design and user experience updates have vastly improved usability for consultants, builders, electricians and clients. Common, best practice user interface patterns have been used where possible to reduce the learning curve for new users, while tools and options are only presented when they are relevant to the task at hand. The new app offers far more options for filtering products, and changes are automatically saved in real time.

Clipspec's key benefits include a vastly improved user experience for consultants and customers, and greater ease of maintenance. From a social impact point of view, reduced tech spec requirements have made it more accessible to consumers. Since its relaunch, Clipsal has seen an uplift of nearly 20% in sales. The ability to easily update the app has also presented significant time and cost savings for Clipsal and partnering builders and electricians. Clipspec's environmental impact has been greatly reduced as the user no longer needs a powerful PC to run it, or to download multiple instances across devices.

Two other key features include product searching and filtering, and greater control for builders over products and pricing. 1. Product search and filtering - The new app offers far more options for filtering products. The user can even create their own custom categories. Azure Cognitive Search has also been integrated with the app to leverage features such as prefix and suffix searching and typo tolerance. 2. Builders have full control over products and pricing - Previously, if a building company wanted to change pricing or other details about their products in the app, they would have to go through Clipsal, with changes being managed manually via a spreadsheet. The new version represents a significant move towards self-sufficiency, with a multi-tenant platform that enables builders to make their own changes to their products.