Whenever we have a project that is just getting started, and the bigger scope still needs to be decided, on premise meetings are golden. It gives us the opportunity to really get to know our clients, learn about the obstacles they’re facing, and start thinking about a suitable solution for their problem. Due to the coronavirus, not only did we all start working from home overnight, but those valuable meetings suddenly took place online. Luckily at icapps, remote working and holding weekly scrum meetings have always been part of our routine.
While the coronavirus is still around, and remote working is still the standard, our application for GAIA:‘GAIA, help animals in 1 click’, is our very first 100% remotely developed application that has just been launched!
Although the project started just before the outbreak of the coronavirus, at the end, all feedback was discussed online. Because a lot of people were working on the project simultaneously, it took some time to keep everyone in the loop. “Honestly, it was a real challenge”, Ann De Greef, director at GAIA, remembers, “but quite fast, we managed to organize video calls on a regular basis and in an efficient manner. That way, we kept everyone on the same page”, she adds. “It remained difficult to keep everyone up to date, butwe felt very involved in every step icapps took to create the app. We were able to work very closely together in quite challenging and difficult times, so we were quickly convinced of the professionalism of icapps”, Ann De Greef concludes.
TRUSTED PARTNER
Being the largest animal rights organization in Belgium, GAIA unites over 75.000 loyal members who support their actions and campaigns. “We wanted to create an app that helps our members to become even more the admirable and dedicated animal protectors they already are. Send out a protest email? Sign a petition? Share on social media? It should all be possible in a few simple clicks. The app must allow our members to become animal protectors 3.0: faster, more efficient and better”, says Ann De Greef.
But since they’re a small team, without any app development knowledge, they teamed up with us to create their mobile app: ‘GAIA, help animals in 1 click’. “It was important for us to collaborate with a party we could trust, has proven professionalism and provides quality apps”, Ann De Greef says.
MORE THAN AN APP
To tackle issues of their first app, they sat together with our project manager to discuss the matter. “We wanted a reliable app, one that our members appreciate, and one that truly helps the animals”, says Ann De Greef. “That’s why icapps not only developed the app, but also created the CMS (Content Management System)”, she adds.
“The CMS feeds the app with content such as articles, videos and photos. At a first glance, these systems work pretty easy. However, it’s always challenging to create a CMS that is user friendly and flexible”, says Freek van Laarhoven, Project Manager at icapps. In the end, our team developed three technologies, which asked for a consistent coordination between the developers.
So, this was a first. But a first of many. And we are ready!
