How did changing the outdated technology save 5 months of development?
About Salona
Salona is a mobile app for booking appointments in beauty salons. Users can easily book an appointment with just one click, and get a reminder on time. On the other hand, beauty salons can eliminate the need for a notebook by using an electronic calendar display. This allows them to easily accept or deny requests.
According to Statista, it is anticipated that the Beauty and Personal care market will experience an annual growth rate of 3.09% in 2024. Salona team wanted to test the mobile app in Serbia, where annual growth is expected to be 1.56%. Since the client came with requests that included fixing mistakes made by their former partner, it was challenging for us to break into that market and meet expectations.
Let's go through the specific concerns the client faced and how we helped them save future development time by 54%!
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Project Challenges
Our journey started when they came to us at the recommendation of a client satisfied with our prior work together. They wanted to bring their idea to life so they could start testing it right away on both iOS and Android platforms. The client had a lack of trust that the app would be finished in the time frame given, considering they encountered this problem with previous associates.
Integrating new context into existing architecture is often a demanding task for a development team. In our specific case, the client wanted to introduce an option for salon employees to use the application, not just the owners. They would get partial management capabilities or access to certain functionalities.
Outdated technology
The iOS app was using outdated technology, resulting in functionality limitations and preventing future updates or improvements.
New app context
Integrating new context into existing architecture is often a demanding task for a development team. In our specific case, the client wanted to introduce an option for salon employees to use the application, not just the owners. They would get partial management capabilities or access to certain functionalities.
App issues
The current app versions had bugs and did not follow the defined UI/UX design. As a result, user satisfaction and engagement suffered, leading to a decline in app performance and retention rates.
Our solutions
Their former partner’s prediction was 5 months to implement the requested feature. By rewriting outdated technology on iOS, we streamlined that process and delivered the first version in just 1 month!
Our mobile app developers delivered the first version with performance enhancements, improvements in UI/UX design, and resolution of existing bugs in the mobile app.
Outdated technology
Instead of using the existing Viper(UIKit) for the iOS app, we translated it into Clean/MVVM (SwiftUI), allowing the app to run smoother and faster.
New app context
Integrating new context into existing architecture is solved most easily by creating a new navigation graph and inheriting existing classes for drawing the UI. Overall, we modified the structure to make it easy for us to inherit all the required classes by using a Design pattern.
App issues
We conducted a thorough analysis of the existing app version to identify all bugs. Implementing rigorous testing practices ensured that upcoming software versions satisfy quality requirements and offer a flawless user experience.
Technologies we used
We improved the performance of the Android application by addressing architectural issues and migrating from a MultipleActivity to a SingleActivity architecture. The iOS app was developed using the Clean/MVVM architecture implemented with SwiftUI. Afterward, we focused on improving the current structure while keeping the concepts of clean code and clean architecture.
Results
The MVP included the onboarding process, code analysis, issue resolution, and release. By improving the stability and UI/UX design of the application, we helped them get on the App and Play Store and start testing the app right away. Well-optimized app increased user engagement and the number of installations on both platforms.
"We were very cautious in choosing a partner because we had a bad experience with the previous company. Aetherius Solutions team reassured us with their experience and knowledge that there are still companies that respect agreements. We successfully executed our plans, and the team followed our desires throughout, consistently working on the Salona application."
5 months
development time saved
54% time
saved by rewriting the old technology
0 days
late for the agreed Store release
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