Computers.
Mother Nature’s extension of the human mind – well, sort of.
Think about it; it makes sense. What other devices have humans come up with that allow us to tap into the collective consciousness of billions of people at the same time?
Taking a page out of the same evolutionary playbook, our engineering team, here at Jibble, realized that after building our time tracking and timesheet experience for Web and Mobile, we want to provide our users the flexibility to interact with an architecture more native to their OS, and so we’re in the final stages of rolling out our desktop application.
I’m sure the first question that comes to mind is: why? Jibble already has a strong presence on Android and iOS, a native web app, and a Chrome extension as well as multiple plugins for tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams.
It’s quite simple really — additional features.
Time Tracking with Screenshots and Screen recording have long been requested by our customers but were not feasible in the product we currently have. With Jibble Desktop, our goal is to release in stages and work continuously to update our current infrastructure to push features that you, the user, have requested.
We want to make it clear that Jibble Desktop isn’t here to dethrone the Web application – which will still serve as your main platform, especially for settings configurations – rather, the goal here is to have Jibble Desktop be an extension of the features of the Web app and increase its usability. Whether it’s Desktop or Web Time Tracking, Finding the Ideal Solution remains your choice.
Installation via Microsoft or Mac Store
Now that you know what to expect, let’s talk a little about how the app can be installed.
Initially, the app will be available on the MacOS and Windows platforms. Users will be able to download the desktop app through the Microsoft and Mac Store. This is to ensure that auto-updates pushed by will be managed by stores, so you, as the user, won’t have to worry about them.
Installation via Installers
In the future, we also have a plan to introduce installation via Installers.
When that comes to pass, users will only be required to download and install the desktop app on a specific device once. The Jibble Desktop Time Tracking App will come with a built-in automatic updater. Re-installation is not something end users will have to worry about.
How does that happen? Well, once Jibble releases a new version, the desktop app will detect the update, and as soon as the device is turned on or made active from sleep mode, a series of automated tasks will download the new version and replace the old application.
Read also: How Far Can Desktop Time Trackers Go – Legally?
Features and Functionality
Now that we have the app installed, let’s dive deeper to understand what you can expect to be able to do on the Desktop App.
Internally, in software development, we use the term “User Stories” to describe the features and functionality that users can expect in a software application, so I’ll stick to our jargon since this is a technical blog.
Jibble Desktop has the following User Stories:
- Clock in, clock out, and go for breaks on the desktop app
- Include activity, project, and notes per applicable time entries
- Go to Jibble Web App with a click of a button from the desktop app
- Switch to a different Jibble organization from the desktop app
- View screenshots of the screens employees have opened while clocked in
- Monitor users’ keyboard strokes and mouse clicks throughout their working hours
- Monitor apps and sites a user visits during their work hours
- Monitor idle time at work
Future Considerations
Our team prioritizes feedback from users and uses it as a compass for further understanding of which direction we need to take as a company. Some future considerations based on feedback include the following:
- Geofencing on the Desktop App (using IP address to extract location) – Ideal for Hybrid companies
- A Desktop app widget
- Alerts to Managers for Idle time (Push/Email Notification)
- Jibble native Pomodoro timer
The thought behind this article and generally this space is to tell you about the systems and the code that power Jibble. We’ll give a glimpse of what happens behind the scenes as our engineering and product teams work to roll out an exceptional user experience. Expect some technical jargon moving forward, architecture discussions, and a few code samples here and there. If you see something here that resonated with you, something you’d like to discuss or simply give feedback about, feel free to reach out to us via email. Our whole team is excited to launch this new experience, and can’t wait for you guys to try it out!
Also, interested in discovering additional desktop time tracking capabilities? read our article about the 8 Best Practices for Desktop Time Tracking to enhance your desktop time tracking experience. Alternatively, delve deeper into desktop time tracking tools by perusing Complete Guide to Desktop Time Tracking.
