Case Study - Progressive Web App

Background

Water good idea

Few projects are too big or too small for AppDrawn. We work with global brands with established digital strategies through to start-ups looking to launch their first digital platform. Swervetracker was one such project. The brainchild of a UK based slalom water skier, the idea for the app was conceived to solve a number of challenges specific to the water sport. The company wanted to create an app that allowed users to easily log their performances, review their progress over time, and identify the impact of a variety of variables – such as the lake, driver, boat, water temperature, and wind conditions – on their performance.

Logging performance metrics is a task best completed as close to the time of the ‘performance’ as possible. In this case, water skiers would be looking for an app that allowed them to log passes, track their slalom sets and make more detailed notes on how well they’d done. They needed to be able to do this straight from the water, as quickly and easily as possible and usually doing so on-the-go. The app therefore had to be sportsperson-friendly; slick, easy and quick to use with a simple, intuitive UI, yet with all the data processing and analytics functionality of a more heavy-duty platform.

The start-up founder has for years invested time and passion into slalom water skiing. The Swervetracker brand was relatively new, though, placing a limit on the amount of investment that could be made during its early stages. A key goal, then was to “complete the project before a certain deadline and as cost efficiently as possible,” explained Swervetracker founder.

Solution

On track through Covid-19

The sport and audience were niche, but the requirements from Swervetracker were all too familiar to AppDrawn. So, while our team might not be experts in the field of slalom water skiing, we do know a lot about delivering bespoke mobile apps on time and to budget. Leveraging our experience of working with small-scale start-ups, AppDrawn worked closely with the client and his team from the off, with in-depth design and development meetings with Swervetracker to really understand the needs and vision of the company.

“We selected AppDrawn because from the first meeting, Tim (one of the directors at AppDrawn) engendered trust by seeking to propose solutions and ideas which could reduce costs and complexity rather than scale them up,” said Swervetracker Founder. 

Tim and the AppDrawn team are obvious advocates for the power and impact that a successful mobile app can have for a business’s future success. We were therefore able to deliver a project that fell within the budget requirements of Swervetracker while still ensuring its users got the functionality and the look and feel the company envisaged.

After fixing a budget and timeline in an initial meeting, the AppDrawn team delivered design and theme proposals less than a week later – which were quickly accepted. The technical specifications of the app were quite exact, as the finished product would allow water skiers to log a variety of data, track form and progress over time, review pass progression and pass consistency and access all the graphics and visuals associated with this data analysis. 

Regular contact and updates on the app development were therefore crucial, and became even more so mid-way through the project when the Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown prevented face-to-face meetings. “Tim kept us updated frequently, in person and via email. Even when lockdowns caused by the Coronavirus outbreak prevented us meeting during the critical final stages of development, the AppDrawn team stayed on course, switching seamlessly into video conferencing to complete the project.”

Two weeks before the finished product was due, a beta version of the app was presented to and tested by Swervetracker. Feedback from the team was then incorporated into the final product, which was delivered on time and within budget. 

Outcome

Win win 

During Covid-19, slalom water skiing competitions, events, and clubs – as with other organised sports – were cancelled and closed in internationally. Work for both AppDrawn and Swervetracker continued in earnest, though. Due to its availability to a global audience, Swervetracker’s app was downloaded and put to use by athletes the world over from launch. This also meant that when restrictions were lifted, Swervetracker was in a strong position and had built a dedicated following, supporting its success with a domestic audience.

Just over a week after launch, the Swervetracker app had users from more than 20 countries, and the conversion rate from website visitors to app download with full registration was over 50%. It received “resoundingly positive reviews from users,” said Swervetracker’s founder, who with the help of AppDrawn, had transformed his love of slalom water skiing into both an app to assist his fellow skiers, and a successful business: win win.