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- Saying Goodbye VZW
Saying Goodbye VZW
What?
Saying Goodbye is a non-profit that helps teens and adults deal with losing their loved ones. They organise activities where those people can meet with peers in a casual setting to process their loss.
During those activities, it quickly became clear that those processing losses needed a place to communicate above all else. Saying Goodbye contacted us to build a platform so that a helping hand and a shoulder to cry on would be only a chat away.
The platform had to support anonymous profiles and be easy to use. Grief doesn’t stick to business hours, so Saying Goodbye’s platform had to be available 24/7 as well. These requirements pointed us toward a mobile application.
Our approach
The challenge
The app represented a lot of possibilities, but its main intended use had to be defined if we wanted to harness its potential. We started with a Discovery Bootcamp to define Saying Goodbye’s core values and turn them into an application. That way, we made sure that their counselling approach did not get lost if the app brought in thousands of new peers.
Development
After the Discovery Bootcamp, our team mapped the functionalities of Saying Goodbye’s app to the features that were defined together with the client in the bootcamp workshops. They then divided those functionalities into sprints that lasted two weeks. This let them react quickly to any changes in the requirements.
Speaking of reacting, our team also looked at the technology stack and chose React Native for its versatility. This meant they could develop for both iOS and Android at the same time without affecting performance or quality, which saved a lot of time. Developing the app only took them two and a half sprints in total.
Minimum Viable Product
We also used an MVP to limit development time. A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the first working iteration of an application and contains only the most essential functionalities. As a development team, an MVP lets you:
- Quickly launch and test a digital solution
- Learn from users what actually works so you can set functional priorities
- Prevent resources being wasted on developing unnecessary functionalities
- Lay the groundwork for further development and scaling
Looking back
By combining our agile MVP process with innovative technologies like React Native and Firebase, we developed a product that we really believe in. The short feedback loops allowed us to change minor aspects on the fly and deliver an application within five weeks.
Bringing people together anonymously and safely was the most important aspect of this digital platform. It was key to making sure that we built a platform users can trust.