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Daikin

Mobile - Discovery Bootcamp - MVP - Design
Daikin is one of the world’s leading companies for air conditioning. Its European chapter contacted us to boost sales of so-called Multi-Split systems through a mobile-first configurator application.

The challenge

Daikin Europe NV was looking for an application to help sell Multi-Split systems, one of their primary offerings for the residential market. The application should help dealers and technicians to find the best fitting solution based on their customer’s needs.

Multi-Split is an energy-efficient air conditioning system that uses heat pump technology. It can connect up to five areas of a house and either cool or heat them in a single system, unlike regular pair split systems that only allow for one room to be handled at a time.

Our approach

Research by Sweet Mustard, development by Noest

Our team started development by checking with technicians why they did not offer the Multi-Split system more often. We conducted a series of interviews by telephone to go over the difficulties and requirements of installing Multi-Split systems together.

Besides making and testing a prototype, our experts also made a user story map. This is a technique that maps which functionalities the end product should contain. Daikin’s multiple locations provided us with some valuable input, which led to the creation of a design sprint. Together with Daikin, we selected the features that should be focused on during development based on the technician’s needs.

Our colleagues over at Noest took care of development for the app’s front and back end, since they specialise in .NET applications. We put together a team that consisted of UX designers, two backend developers, two frontend developers, and a project manager that also doubled as a scrum master.

The development team rewrote the application’s back end using C# and .NET, and its front end using TypeScript as an alternative for JavaScript. The technology stack also consisted of Visual Studio and Git Source Code Management (SCM) for development, Azure DevOps for implementations, and xUnit.NET for testing purposes.

Features

The application lets technicians set the air conditioning’s parameters on a room-by-room basis, whether it be cooling, heating, or both. It then analyses those specifications to calculate the required capacity in watts for the system’s components. The app also provides an overview of product info with images, types, dimensions and other details.

Technicians can use the app to tailor solutions to a client’s needs by combining Daikin’s inside and outside air conditioning unit components. It also shows alternative solutions, alongside the lack or abundance in capacity of the current configuration.

Automatisch selectieproces

After our teams researched and developed the first application’s first iteration, they gathered feedback to add some more features down the road. In its current version, the app already helps guide both technicians and clients through the entire decision-making process, whereas this used to depend entirely on catalogues and the technicians’ expertise.

“In Sweet Mustard, we found a partner that not only has the necessary IT expertise, but is also willing to familiarise themselves with the peculiarities of the HVAC industry.”

- Dirk Dhont, Daikin Project Coördinator
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Looking back

In the past six months, Sweet Mustard has guided us through the entire application development process. They took the time necessary to really listen to our requirements and priorities before starting development. We found a partner that not only has the necessary IT expertise, but is also willing to familiarise themselves with the peculiarities of the HVAC industry. During development, we received regular updates on the project’s progress, and they remained flexible when priorities or requirements shifted.

We are thrilled with the result, and proud to introduce this new application to consumers. That’s why we decided to partner with Sweet Mustard again for further development of the additional features. We are excited to see what else they can come up with for us.