Project 03 · 2026 · self-initiated · feature design

connecteam.

A self-initiated redesign of the #1 app for deskless teams. I collapsed two redundant Time Clock buttons into one, and lifted the running shift into the Dynamic Island, so the clock follows you out of the app.

iosuxlive activitiesdynamic island0 → 1self-initiated
The opportunity

I didn’t guess. I read the reviews

Connecteam is the #1 employee-management app for deskless workers, and it has thousands of public reviews. Three things kept coming up: people love the Time Clock, the app itself is the weak link, and forgetting to clock out is the mistake everyone makes.

Easy to use, allowing employees to clock in and out directly from their mobile devices.

Capterra reviews

The Time Clock is the one feature people call out by name. So I protected it and built on it, instead of touching anything else.

App crashes mid-shift, the most-cited 1-star complaint on the App Store.

App Store reviews

A timer that lives inside the app dies when the app does. A Live Activity runs in iOS instead, so a crash doesn't take the shift clock down with it.

Connecteam ships push reminders precisely because forgetting to clock out is common.

Connecteam · clock-out reminders

A Live Activity backs up that reminder, and it makes “am I still on the clock?” answerable right from the lock screen, no taps.

The problem

one job, two doors

The shipped Home shows Time Clock twice, once as a shortcut pill, and again as its own section right below it. And they don’t even do the same thing. Tap the pill and you get thrown to a separate map clock-in screen. Tap the button below and you clock in right there, no navigation. Same label, two doors, two different mental models for one job. That’s the gap the redesign closes, so try both doors above. (It’s the real shipped flow, just ported to the browser.)
12:36
Good afternoon, atara 👋
Time Clock
Schedule
Time Clock
Weekly Hours
Mon
--
Tue
00:06
Wed
--
Thu
--
Fri
--
Sat
--
Sun
--
Total hours this week00:06
This Week’s Shifts
1 shifts03:00 hours
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Updates
Nothing has been shared here yet
Home
Search
1
Chat
Profile
Before: tap the pill, then the Clock In button: same label, two different flows
The feature, in action

a clock that follows you out of the app

01 · state you can see

the shift, made visible

Tap Clock In and the pill turns into a tall blue card, with a live HH:MM:SS timer, “Started at 1:10 PM,” and Break and End right there. Now clocked-in doesn’t look exactly like clocked-out. You can see the state at a glance instead of reading a button to figure it out.
In-app: the running-shift card replaces the Clock In pill
02 · it follows you out

the timer leaves with you

Leave the app and the running shift rides up into the Dynamic Island as a Live Activity. The timer just keeps ticking up there, so “am I still on the clock?” is answerable without ever reopening Connecteam.
Home screen: the shift keeps ticking in the Dynamic Island
03 · actions where your thumb is

long-press for break & end

Starting a break and ending a shift are the two most time-sensitive things in the app. They shouldn’t cost a multi-tap trip back through it. Long-press the island and both show up inline, with the timer still running above them. Tap to collapse, or tap once to jump straight back into the Time Clock screen.
Long-press: break (cup) and end-shift (X) expand inline
04 · zero taps, locked

answerable from the lock screen

Since it’s a Live Activity, the shift shows up on the lock screen too, no unlock, no app. And because Live Activities run in iOS, not inside Connecteam, a mid-shift crash (the most-cited 1-star complaint) doesn’t take the timer down with it anymore.
Lock screen: the Live Activity sits under the clock
05 · break, in pink

a glanceable break timer

Start a break and the lock-screen pill flips from blue to pink, counting up like a kitchen timer. You can see how long you’ve been on break without unlocking. One color change carries the whole state.
On break: the lock-screen pill flips pink
Try it yourself

it’s a real, working prototype

Not a video, not a Figma frame. The actual redesign, running in your browser. The live Home is on the left; the redesigned Home is on the right. Tap the island, swipe up the bottom bar, tap the cup, press the side button, and watch the Time Clock keep ticking after you leave the app: blue while working, pink on break.

12:36
Good afternoon, atara 👋
Time Clock
Schedule
Time Clock
Weekly Hours
Mon
--
Tue
00:06
Wed
--
Thu
--
Fri
--
Sat
--
Sun
--
Total hours this week00:06
This Week’s Shifts
1 shifts03:00 hours
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Updates
Nothing has been shared here yet
Home
Search
1
Chat
Profile
Before: the shipped Home
12:36
Good afternoon, atara 👋
Total this week0.0hrs
Weekly Hours
Mon
--
Tue
00:00
Wed
--
Thu
--
Fri
--
Sat
--
Sun
--
This Week’s Shifts
1 shifts03:00 hours
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Updates
Nothing has been shared here yet
Home
Search
1
Chat
Profile
After: try the island
Decisions

what changed, and why

  1. 01
    Two arrows deep-link to the same destination, a Time Clock shortcut pill and a Time Clock section heading right below itThe section heading is gone. Beneath the pills is just the Clock In button: open the app, tap once, shift started
    When two arrows on the same screen point at the same place, the second one stops being navigation and starts being noise.
  2. 02
    Clocked-in and clocked-out look identical, so the user has to read the button label to know which state they’re inWhen clocked in, the Clock In pill swaps for a tall blue running-shift card: live timer, “Started at H:MM PM,” and Break / End pills inline
    You should see the state at a glance, not have to read a label to figure out which one you’re in.
  3. 03
    Ending a shift or starting a break means re-opening the app, finding Home, and tapping the section CTALong-press the Dynamic Island. The coffee cup (break) and X (end shift) appear inline; the timer keeps ticking right above them
    The most time-sensitive actions belong on the most glanceable surface there is.
  4. 04
    Returning to Time Clock from another app is a multi-tap journey: home screen → Connecteam icon → Home tab → scrollTap the island. Jumps straight into Connecteam with the Time Clock screen pre-loaded
    A shift action should never cost more than one tap.
  5. 05
    Weekly hours is static, only updating when the user re-opens the appToday’s bar grows live while the timer runs; the weekly total ticks up in tabular-nums underneath
    If the canvas is already showing today’s hours, it should be the same hours the island shows.