Client
Belitsoft was approached by a startup founder from Ohio who wanted to hire dedicated mobile app developers.
Challenge
The client has developed a special set of sensors for golf players. One is designed to be worn on the wrist, the other is mounted at the hole. Together the sensors collect data which could help the players improve their strength and accuracy, but the customer needed to create a mobile app complementing the hardware.
Why Belitsoft
After considering their options, the client chose Belitsoft for the following reasons:
- Efficient communication. During the project discussions the managers were professional in understanding the client’s needs, helpful and open to contact;
- Transparent quote. The estimate that the development team has provided was detailed and realistic, demonstrating their competence;
- Expertise. Belitsoft has demonstrated experience in IoT, as well as health and fitness-related applications.
Process
The project requirements were fluid and could change over the course of the development. So the client and the team have chosen the Agile approach with time and material cooperation model.
All the testing was done by the client at their favorite golf course.
The work was split into 2-3 week long sprints. Each sprint ended with a demo session, where the team showed the results of their work. This approach allowed the client to see the progress and made adjustments or change requests.
The client actively participated in the meetings with the team over Skype. All the day-to-day tasks were managed through Jira.
The client wanted to go to market as soon as possible. To speed up the development and decrease costs without compromising user experience, the team used React Native for the mobile apps. This framework allowed using over 80% of the code for both iOS and Android.
Solution
The Belitsoft team has developed an app which processed sensor data and helped the users improve their accuracy and strength. The app has the following features:
- Shot tracking. It allows seeing the shot success rate as well as the accuracy of the user relative to the par;
- Premade workouts. For specific locations, distances and positions;
- Historical statistics. Shows the user how much they’ve grown since they started practicing;
- Challenges. Specific tasks that are fun and helpful at the same time;
- Social integration. Users can share their results on Facebook and Twitter, or invite friends to practice.
- Reports, showing various stats.
The work was not without challenges. For example, we had to write a native module for React Native to connect with the sensors.
Compared with the estimated costs of development with Java/Swift, using React Native has saved the customer about $8000.
Results
At the moment the client is distributing MVP of the app among the members of the startup’s country club partner. The users’ feedback is then taken into account when building new features and improving the existing ones.
Belitsoft has been the driving force behind several of our software development projects within the last few years. This company demonstrates high professionalism in their work approach. They have continuously proved to be ready to go the extra mile. We are very happy with Belitsoft, and in a position to strongly recommend them for software development and support as a most reliable and fully transparent partner focused on long term business relationships.
Global Head of Commercial Development L&D at Technicolor