Case study

Efficient NGO App with Design System

Developing a cost-effective, cross-platform mobile app for a global NGO by leveraging domain expertise, a pre-built design system with guidelines, agile methodologies, and Google Cloud Platform services.

Background

A leading international NGO focused on disaster relief and community development was struggling with its existing mobile application for donations and volunteer coordination. The previous vendor had developed an overly complex solution using custom-built components on AWS, including a bespoke authentication system and a proprietary payment gateway. This resulted in high maintenance costs, technical debt, and inflexibility.

Decision-making processes were convoluted, requiring numerous lengthy meetings, and the NGO's management felt they were "walking blind" into technical decisions without clear guidance. Additionally, development teams were scattered across multiple time zones, causing delays and miscommunications.

Seeking a streamlined and cost-effective solution, the NGO approached Valor to redesign their mobile app with minimal custom development, utilizing pre-built systems, out-of-the-box services, and a comprehensive design system to expedite development.

Specifics

Budget Constraints: Reduce custom development to minimize costs.

Cloud Platform Transition: Move from AWS to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) for better integration with Firebase and cost efficiency.

User Experience: Create a simple and intuitive UI for donors and volunteers, with a pre-built design system and guidelines to accelerate development.

Time Zone Challenges: Address communication delays caused by distributed teams.

Avoid Over-Engineering: Leverage existing cloud services and APIs instead of complex custom solutions.

Design System: Provide a comprehensive design system built on top of Material Design, with written guidelines from Valor's UX/UI designer, so developers would not need to wait for screen designs, improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Technologies & services

Deliverables

Mobile App Development

Valor replaced the previous vendor’s AWS-based pipeline with a GCP-native solution tailored to the client’s real-time analytics needs. The solution included Dataflow for stream processing, Pub/Sub for message queuing, and BigQuery as the central data warehouse.

Challenge 1

Over-Engineered Previous Solution

The prior solution involved unnecessary complexities such as custom authentication systems, proprietary payment gateways with high transaction fees, and an overuse of microservices for simple functionalities. These complexities led to high maintenance costs, technical debt, and inflexibility.

Solution

Authentication: Switched to Firebase Authentication for secure and scalable user management.
Payments: Integrated Stripe API to reduce transaction fees and simplify payment processing.
Microservices: Replaced custom microservices with Firebase Cloud Functions for a more cost-effective and scalable solution.

Challenge 2

Time Zone Challenges

Distributed teams across multiple time zones led to delayed responses, prolonged decision-making, and increased project timelines.

Solution

Team Realignment: Organized teams to ensure at least 4 hours of overlapping work time with the NGO's headquarters.
Communication Tools: Standardized the use of Jira for task tracking and Slack for instant messaging.
Scheduled Meetings: Established regular meetings during overlapping hours for critical discussions.

Challenge 3

Agile Methodology and Prioritization

The previous project lacked agile practices, leading to inefficient feature delivery and misaligned priorities.

Solution

Conducted sprint planning with NGO stakeholders to prioritize high-impact features.
Delivered features end-to-end, improving incremental value delivery.
Held daily stand-ups to maintain transparency and address blockers promptly.

Challenge 4

Automated Testing and QA Savings

Heavy reliance on manual testing resulted in higher costs, slower release cycles, and inconsistent test coverage.

Solution

Implemented Appium for automated testing of the mobile app.
Integrated tests into the Cloud Build CI/CD pipeline for continuous testing.
Reduced the manual QA team size by 70%, lowering costs and accelerating deployments.

Challenge 5

Design System Implementation

Developers often had to wait for screen designs, causing delays in development and inconsistencies in the UI.

Solution

Comprehensive Design System: Valor's UX/UI designer developed a design system built on top of Material Design.
Written Guidelines: Provided detailed guidelines and reusable components.
Improved Efficiency: Enabled developers to proceed without waiting for individual screen designs, improving efficiency and consistency.

Challenge 6

Competent Service Management

Lack of effective tech support and service management led to unresolved issues and decreased user satisfaction.

Solution

Established a dedicated support team following ITIL best practices.
Implemented Jira Service Management for efficient issue tracking and resolution.
Provided 24/7 support with clear SLAs, improving the NGO's operational efficiency.

Future

Valor plans to further enhance the app by integrating advanced analytics using Google BigQuery to provide insights into donor behavior and project success rates. They also aim to introduce machine learning models with TensorFlow Lite for personalized content recommendations. Additionally, the NGO is considering expanding the app with social sharing features and gamification elements to increase donor and volunteer engagement.

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