Objective

Prior to engaging Idea 11, this organisation had faced problems with their previous mobile app, leading to dissatisfaction from both users and internal stakeholders. Limitations in the platform supporting the previous mobile solution required a radically elevated solution to achieve the desired experience outcomes. Idea 11 was selected to develop a native app experience, supported by a cloud software solution that would fulfil the needs of both customers and stakeholders. This native app was one of the first technologies delivered as part of the customer’s plan to transform the digital customer experience.

The city council’s requirements for this application were:

• An improved app that gave flexibility to engineer the customer experience.
• To remove the likelihood of creating further customer frustration and unmet needs.
• To partner with a provider with Cloud, App development and UX expertise to deliver the digital experience outcomes to meet and exceed customer expectations.

 

The Solution

Building upon an existing cloud managed services partnership and previous digital transformation work, the city council further evaluated Idea 11’s capabilities and decided they were a great fit for the upcoming project. It was Idea 11’s expertise in cloud software development and mobile apps, as well as the ability to augment the city’s internal teams, that solidified their position as the preferred partner. With an approach centred on providing a simple yet elegant software solution that would grow with and delight end users, Idea 11 was seen as a partner, not just a vendor.

Working collaboratively, on a tight timeframe, the council and Idea 11 team had to define a cohesive minimal viable product and deliver it on both Android and iOS. The team, guided by Idea 11’s experienced mobile developers, spent the initial few sprints establishing the environment and release train within the council’s existing cloud environment. This “slow down to speed up” approach paid dividends in later sprints as the team could easily deliver enhancements and bug fixes to production.

 

Implementation 

Following initial planning, the short time frame was set, and both the city council and Idea 11 got to work bringing this new mobile app together. Thanks to an agile approach and excellent communication, Idea 11 was able to better collaborate with the city council, allowing for a faster, higher quality project implementation. 

The project implementation included:

• An initial engagement of 3 months for the first public release. This included the underlying architecture, front-end design, and final build. This was one of the fastest builds the customer had ever experienced from a partner and project of this scope.
• The collaboration and sharing of ideas between Idea 11 and the customer team, with the organisation supporting the internal transition and leaving the previous app running before retirement.
• Swarming was used to ensure coordination and completion of tasks, with people stepping outside of their roles as needed.

 

Feedback 

The city council’s new mobile app has been well received by users, with over 33k downloads in 18 months, receiving positive feedback from both the public and internal stakeholders. New features have been well and truly embraced by users, while a new waste management feature to promote effective recycling has helped provide an educational edge to the app.

Overall, these new features are popular both functionally and environmentally, and the involvement of internal stakeholders during the development of this new app solution has helped build trust and momentum within the organisation.

 

Outcomes and benefits

The Australian city council now has an easy-to-use, functioning mobile app for both residents, businesses and visitors. It has been widely adopted and viewed as a huge success.

Here are the key outcomes and benefits in a little more detail:

• Over 33,000 app downloads, which is twice as many as the previous application.
• Digital store ratings increased significantly from the previous app and are higher on average than comparable Local Government apps.
• The new mobile app provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate and understand.
• Improved engagement between customers and city services, allowing users to report issues quickly and easily.
• Dynamic updates through configuration without the need for developers, giving the council more control of its offered digital experiences.

The collaborative development work between Idea 11 and the Australian council contributed to the unprecedently high adoption of the app. The organisation describes the app as a huge success thanks to the overwhelmingly positive response from both the public and internal stakeholders.