Company website: Achordus
Rescuing a Rails App with Lean-Agile development
What did we do?
We were brought in to help rescue a broken Rails app. The existing software had many bugs and usability issues, and did not model the business process adequately.
We set up a rapid Lean-Agile development process, then applied Behaviour-Driven Development using Cucumber to incrementally bring the legacy code into line with the current business needs.
What does the client say?
Erica Packington is our primary business contact within Achordus. Here is her experience of working with us:
My previous experience of working with a software developer to develop the tool (a Rails application) at the heart of my business offering wasn’t great. In fact it was pretty awful.
After an initial, (admittedly pretty thorough) requirements gathering process, the developer seemed to disappear into a black hole, only to emerge, months later, with something that didn't work as I'd hoped it would. We then ended up paying alot of money for something that didn’t really fit my needs.
Working with PatchSpace and their development process couldn't have been more different.
We started with a requirements process to define a suite of user stories at the start. This process really forced me to concentrate on the stories that would best serve my business need. Throughout the development process, requirements were constantly tested and evaluated against this business need. This means that the tool I have now is both well designed and serves well the purpose it needs to.
Once the functionality of the site was restored, we needed to spend some time ensuring that the user experience was up to scratch. Working with Mitch brought our branding and UI bang up to date. We we now have a tool that works beautifully, as well as looking pretty damn good.
Working with Ash and his team was a highly connected and responsive experience. We used collaborative technologies to stay in touch – including an online Kanban board - so I knew exactly what was being worked on at any point, and could prioritise from afar, if I needed to. We could see what was coming up and make sure it was the right work to be done at the time.
The discipline of working on a limited number of stories at a time meant I quickly built up confidence that once a story was done, it was done properly. While there were a few complex stories that took longer than the others, I could see what activities were taking place, at what time, so never got that "black hole" feeling.
We developed a very clear, connected working relationship where we negotiated availability and were able to resolve queries incredibly quickly. This meant that we maximised the time spent on work and minimised admin and organisational waste.
I have a tool at the heart of my business that works well and serves my client needs. The next time I have a development need – or need some constructive challenge on a business process issue - I will be coming back to PatchSpace without hesitation.
Can we help you like we helped Achordus?
If so drop us a line at: hello@patchspace.co.uk or via the details on our contact page