LATTICE STUDIOS
Our Process.
The best way to innovate is to iterate. We test ideas weekly and work in sprints so that we can measure progress easily. There is no secret sauce, it takes grit and persistence. Building great digital products is not easy, but it’s fun. Scroll down to find out why.
Development
Initial Research
Often times its called the Discovery stage, in the Discovery stage we make sure to have enough meetings to understand the problem being solved. Understanding who the problem is being solved for and what features are being used to solve the problem is key. Afterwards we will do some market research to check the current state of the technologies and solutions, see if it is feasible and economical. We will look at typical user scenarios and see how the product or service can be best implemented and inserted into the life of the customer. With your help we will decide which features and solutions to include in the project.
Planning
In this stage we will estimate the design, development and testing time required for each feature. We decide on what the acceptance criteria are for each feature and product. We tailor general project management tools and concepts to the specific project. Even if there is a problem, we know ahead of project deadline so that we can add more resources to get the project done on time. Additionally we will look at the order in which the products are developed to speed up overall project timeline. Sometimes it’s better to develop web app first, sometimes the mobile app first, it really depends.
Modelling
At this stage we will have a strong understanding of the business environment the problem is in. We would be designing the backend and database. With strong considerations for the availability, security, speed and cost of computing and storage. We often end up generating a lot of documentation in this stage. Documentation will help all parties, including the developers and designers as well as the client. Knowing how everything works can only make you better able to serve your customers. Modelling the situations and objects gives advanced consideration in the design and development stages.
Design
In this stage, we pay special attention to user experience. Making sure the product’s design, process, usability and even the language is targeted towards the end users. We make the UI beautiful regardless of the target market, whether the end users are engineers or artists. During this iterative stage, we will do many informal and formal usability tests with third parties that best represent the target market. The most useful thing that our clients find at this stage is the high fidelity mockups, which are app screen designs that are interactive that they can take to stakeholders and interested parties to show off and get feedback on.
Development
In this stage, there is some going back to modelling and design. But mostly, since most of the design and documentation is done, we’re just coding. Based on the project and features we might decide to build features in the right order to optimize the project. We might build or use different libraries, in order to complete the features. At each stage, before and after a feature is built, there are meetings to discuss how to go about each feature and how the developer solved the problems. This helps everyone stay on the same page, share knowledge and check if the solution is scalable, right and complete.
Testing
Testing is probably the most important thing we do as product designers and developers. We do extensive testing not just on the completeness of the software but also the user experience. Testing isn't the sexiest part of development but for our company, it is the most important part. It is the only way to reduce bugs significantly. In an effort to make it an essential part of the process we have developed an internal bug bounty program. We invest a lot of time and money into tools and processes that help with automated testing tools. We hold formal usability tests with the finalized product just to see if we missed anything. You can never really test too much.
Deployment
We handle everything in the release process. While releasing we will create high quality assets for you to showcase your products. During this stage we will give heavy amount of consultation with the release and launch. Giving you enough information about the legal stuff. Handing over the legal rights to the software, the right keys and passwords, the documentation for the code, so that you can take over everything if you want to.
Maintenance
If you need IT support, maintenance, debugging or any other support with your software after we're done with your product; we’re here to help and take over. We can handle all the maintenance so that you can just worry about the million other things your business needs you to take care of. Turning an idea into a product is a lengthy process and the fun is only beginning by this stage.
