Radar for Zoho Desk - Interview with the developer of a fantastic app

Did you have any prior development or coding experience?

I'm Rahul, a product manager in the 'Zoho Desk' team. I do not have a technical background or much coding experience, although I'm aware of the technology behind the app.

What was the most challenging aspect of developing mobile app?

The biggest challenge that we faced while developing this app was to build a hybrid app which shouldn't be dependent on any OS/environment. We wanted to provide a smooth experience for all the users of the app.

_{Rahul J R}

Rahul J R is a product manager at 'Zoho'. Aside from product management, he is able to drive the user experience at the team. He loves to work on ideas with innovation, creativity and a futuristic approach. He believes in putting himself in the customer's shoes, and most importantly, tries to understand their mindset.

Name a few of your favorite apps and reason you love them.

There's quite a few of them that I like in terms of usage, experience, usability, and technology. A few of them are: 'Zoho Cliq': I use this app day in, day out for all the communication with my team, as well as with the entire company. Everyone - right from the CEO to the peer who reports to me is just a click away. I can't go a day without this app, so this one tops the list. 'LinkedIn': Of all the social media apps that I use, my favorite app is this, it connects me to my kind of environment. It focuses on a niche audience and doesn't impose much of duplicate data on the user. Moreover, the ecosystem is very authentic.

'Activity (iOS)': The 'Activity' app on iOS that helps track my workouts is a cool app. It comes with a default dark mode, and the color usage and metrics displays are stunning. Especially, the thought process behind their "awards" section deserves credit. 'Google Maps': I can't ignore this app (well, nobody can). We have a lot to learn from this app. They've really understood user needs, and made use of the evolution of technology. They've taken a complex network of data and molded it into a life-changing yet easy-to-use app. Kudos to their years of R&D. 'Pokemon GO': I'm not a game addict, but I like studying how games like this get their players addicted. I'm amazed by the visuals, animations, color usage, ease of use, and of course, the idea of virtual reality. You go, 'Pokemon GO'!

How long have you been working on this app?

I still remember the very first discussion about 'Radar' that happened on 31st December 2016. However, we got down to creating the app in the third quarter of 2017. I started scribbling the wireframes for it at the end of December 2017. The first prototype was ready in a month and we iterated further to make it a hybrid app. Overall, it took around 12 months to complete the app.

What need of the user did you have in mind when developing this app?

Initially, it was just an idea to create a futuristic app for all managers and admin users who usually want to manage things on the fly. They are the driving factor behind the whole support team, and we wanted to make their lives easier with an app. Later, we realized that every single user in the help desk system should know what value they can add to the company by staying on top of stats and helping their customers. So we decided that the app should also address agent-specific requirements. Everyone should know their own stats and the app must offer insights proactively. We even completely scrapped the app after four months of work, and reworked the whole concept to match the new set of requirements.

In what way do you think your app is better than similar apps on the market? Please describe in detail what innovation you think you bring and what you are proud of in your app.

No competitor on the market owns a sophisticated admin/manager perspective app. 'Radar by Zoho Desk' is one-of-a-kind in helping all managers stay abreast of their teams' performance via simple and intuitive dashboards. Real-time stats provide insights about customers as well as agents. It is also completely customizable. It not only helps supervisors and supports admins, but agents can also use it for their daily work.

What are your future plans and expected features of the coming new versions of this app?

We are bringing artificial intelligence into the app. The app is powered by 'Zoho Desk' and the product already has an AI-powered assistant, 'Zia'. The same intelligence will be brought into 'Radar'. In addition, we are also planning to provide options for users to create custom dashboards and metric cards. This is underway and should be available with the next update.

Assuming new users of your app are reading this page. What do you want to ask them to do (contact you about X, Share the app, etc.)?

For the existing 'Zoho Desk' users, the immediate request is to download and install the app on your iOS and Android mobile devices. If you are a new user who wants to manage customer tickets on the go, 'Zoho Desk' is the one-stop solution, and 'Radar' takes it to a whole new level with its ease of use. Just sign up, start using the app, and leave us your feedback. And as we at 'Zoho Desk' always say, happy ticketing!