As a global publisher, Springer provides scientific and medical communities with the specialist information they need. Many of Springer’s authors are renowned professionals in their fields. In fact, in 2013 10 of the 11 Nobel laureates in medicine, physics, chemistry and economics were Springer authors.
An early adopter of digitization and open access publishing, the heart of Springer’s online business is its online platform, which features approximately 5.7 million documents.
Springer recognized that in order to reach their growing number of readers, they needed to make this content easily accessible to mobile readers.
That’s where Thoughtworks came in. A team of experience designers thought beyond a mobile version of the platform to the entire mobile experience. The team considered both the environment and reasons that someone would use a mobile device to access Springer’s content. They delivered a front-end system without much need for development, so other important projects could continue in parallel.
Within a matter of a few weeks, the mobile project became one of the most celebrated at Springer. The Mobile First approach gave Springer’s mobile users the best experience possible, regardless of device, operating system or screen size. Customers appreciate not having to download yet another app, while still getting an “app-like” experience. With the mobile promise achieved, Mobile First design is now embedded into “business as usual” at Springer.
Thoughtworks has played a crucial role in kickstarting the project and making it the success it is. Without Thoughtworks we would not be where we are today.
