Most of the new customers are enquiring with us about our process of application development. Each of our projects is split into multiple phases and there are deliverables during each phase. Our clients will be given access to Zartek Project Management App to track the progress of each milestone. Here is a glance at how we manage the project right from the Planning to the Launch.
Once a project is confirmed, we initiate the Project Discovery phase. This starts with an internal kickoff call with our sales team and the Project Manager (PM) assigned for the particular project. This helps the PM understand the project in-depth, client persona and the target audience of the application. After this, a project kickoff call with the Client and PM will be initiated by the sales team. The Business Analyst (BA) and PM create the detailed technical document during this phase.
The deliverables during this phase include:
Project Technical Documentation
User Acceptance Test (UAT)
During this phase, the development team for the project will be finalized by the PM and the Human Resource (HR) team. The PM creates the project workspace in the Project Management Tool (Clubhouse/Jira) with the Milestones as per the contract and client priority.
Wireframing provides the overall layout of the application and focuses on the interaction of the product with the user. Wireframes conceptualize the contents of each screen and decide the arrangement of buttons and try to make the product more intuitive for the users to use. Once the wireframe is confirmed by the Client, we move to User Interface (UI) design.
The Designer with the help of wireframing and branding guidelines, works on the User Interface design of the application. The Clients can give reference applications to guide the designer on how the design should be. Once the UI design is confirmed, we initiate the development process.
The technical document created in the first phase will be discussed with the technical architect. We will decide the data flow of the application and determine the best architecture and infrastructure set-up suitable for the project. Then we finalize the schedule of delivery of the project and plan the project using the project management tool (Clubhouse/Jira). The project will be divided into modules and tasks for each module will be planned out.
A private code repository will be set up along with the development environment & servers. The Test Cases (TC) for each module will be created and documented by a Quality Engineer.
The developers in discussion with their team leads decide the best libraries and tools to use in the project. We can use open source libraries or paid tools to achieve each module functionality. After completing each module, the tester will test the module against each test case in the TC. Once the TC is passed, the module will be marked as completed and the code will be pushed into the code repository. The team lead will review the code push and ensure the quality of the code.
After completing all the modules in the milestone, a milestone delivery is made & presented to the client. After the client approves the milestone delivery, the team moves on to the next milestone.
Once all the functionalities of the application are complete, the Beta version of the application is delivered. A beta release is a pre-release version of the final product which undergoes testing in real scenarios of software usage. The bugs at this stage will be documented and fixed before moving on to the product release.
The product before launching undergoes a checklist that ensures that the release is smooth. This checklist has been carefully curated with our history of delivering multiple projects over the past years. It includes:
Code performance check
Server scalability
Load testing
SSL & security enhancements
Version control
If there is a release in Android App Store or Apple App Store, the material required for submission will be prepared by the PM and submit to the respective stores for their approval. We will also integrate analytics into the final product which helps our clients to understand their product users behavior. Using the analytics data we can help the client plan his next set of features to be developed.
After project completion, the code is documented along with any credentials used for development.
A manual will be prepared by our team which will guide the client team to manage the product and its contents.
The project then moves to the maintenance phase. During the maintenance phase, we will provide the necessary support to keep the application functioning as originally developed. We may release security patches/library updates to the code as and when necessary.
Each company has its Standard Operating Procedures(SOP) to develop, manage and deploy applications. This has been drafted and implemented by our team of senior developers, architects, project managers and other members to make sure we provide a transparent approach to our clients. If you have any query in our SOP or any feedback to make it better, please do send your comments to info@zartek.in.
1. What is the communication channel and frequency between the Client and Zartek?
Once the project is initiated, we will be creating a WhatsApp or Slack channel between the Client and the Project Manager to update the client on the project status. The PM will initiate weekly sync up calls also with the client to update the status of the work.
2. If the Client requests a change during the project development phase, how is it incorporated?
When a new feature or change in existing features is requested by the client, we estimate the effort required. If the overall change request (CR) is minor, it will be accommodated within the planned phases. If the CR is major, we will bill the extra effort on an hourly basis.
3. What testing techniques do we use?
We use many testing techniques based on the size & complexity of the project. For every project, we write test cases that will need to be cleared before delivery. This is using manual testing. We also implement unit testing (optional) in cases required. Automation testing can be used for testing on a wide range of platforms using tools such as selenium / Cucumber.
4. If the client requires an intermediary launch, how will it be affecting the milestones?
An early launch can be accommodated in the project development phase if the client requires an intermediary launch with specific features. Depending on the features of the launch, the milestone timeline and deliverables could change.
5. Will the Project discovery phase change based on the complexity of the application?
The standard Project Discovery timeline is 2 weeks but depending on the overall complexity of the project, this can vary.
6. Will we be providing Knowledge transfer after documentation?
A manual will be prepared by our team to help the Client in managing the application content and Admin Panel. The code will also be documented to help future developers understand the project.
7. Will Zartek fix all bugs after each milestone itself?
During each milestone delivery, testing will be done by developers, QA engineers, PM and documented. This report will be submitted to the client during the milestone delivery.
8. During the maintenance, what all services and support are provided?
Once the project is launched, we ensure that any crash/bug/error is fixed while the project is live. All the user feedback will be studied by our Client Relationship Manager to see how we can improve the user experience in the upcoming builds.