Case Study: Off-Shore Struggles to Successful Product Launch
Flowty is a dynamic peer-to-peer (P2P) platform where collectors and investors can not only buy and sell digital collectible assets but also leverage their holdings for loans, allowing borrowers to access the value of their assets. Additionally, lenders can participate in this ecosystem to generate interest by funding these secured transactions.
The Challenge: Rescuing a Stalled Project
Flowty approached K-Optional Software prior to their public release. They had been contracting with an off-shore team for about a year, and at this point were urgently trying to bring their product to market because without a positive cash flow, they were dead in the water.
Facing a do-or-die situation, Flowty’s CTO turned to K-Optional Software for assistance in assessing and reviving their frontend codebase. Our first assignment was the stable release of the product.
Our Assessment: Tackling Technical Debt Head-On
We documented a concerning amount of technical debt, especially pertaining to database design and component architecture. Releasing the V1 required a delicate balance between bug fixes and iterative feature additions. We submitted our assessment and mobilized resources to bring Flowty to the mainstream within 30 days. Our strategic plan to achieve this included:
Prioritized Feature List
Our immediate task was to collaborate with the client to build a prioritized feature list. We would only touch code pertaining to these features to maximize development velocity.
Technical Debt Exorcism
We excised all critical technical debt, including security vulnerabilities and n+1 queries.
Style-Guide and Code Refactoring
We developed a style-guide to which all new features would conform. We also earmarked legacy code refactoring for the near future so we could focus on the most important tasks at hand.
DevOps Pipeline
We implemented a DevOps pipeline, including a quality assurance (QA) process, so that all builds would receive appropriate scrutiny.
The Results: A Remarkable Turnaround
Flowty successfully launched its product within a mere month of partnering with K-Optional Software, a feat that had eluded them during their year-long struggle with the previous off-shore firm.
Furthermore, K-Optional proved more economical in terms of monthly dollar costs, with the additional benefit of drastic output improvement.
Impressed by the transformation, Flowty hired K-Optional Software as a full-time advisor and developer. Within just three months, less than 5% of the original codebase remained, and development velocity reached unprecedented levels.