Mobile App Development for TALL Systems Corp

The client aims to solve data privacy issues and empower users to take control of their personal data. The Mobile App development is a crucial component of the project, enabling secure document sharing and accessibility on-the-go.

Overview

Industry

Security

Platform

Web Platform and Mobile App

Duration

11 month (Dec 2021 – Nov 2022)

The case study revolves around the development of a system for the client that allows their target audience to take control of their personal data and choose with whom to share it. The primary goal is to address data privacy issues by creating a system consisting of multiple subsystems, with the Mobile App being the central focus. The client approached us, a reliable local development partner, seeking assistance in developing an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and deriving a scalable architecture to achieve their future goals. The MVP nature of the project required us to be mindful of cost and development speed, leading us to choose Flutter as the technology to build the Mobile App.

In this project, we worked with multiple clients, TALL Systems (the end client) and Gilan Digital (our direct client). Both clients are official entities based in Edmonton, Canada. As their system architecture and development partner, we collaborated closely with Gilan Digital, who handled project management, carried out business analysis and provided wireframes, screen mockups, network architecture, database designs, field validations, key technology selection, and conducted brainstorming sessions, fostering a comprehensive understanding of the project’s direction. This arrangement allowed us to effectively carry out the project and deliver the desired outcomes.

Business Challenges

The key challenge was to deliver a secure solution that manages essential personal records through sophisticated, privacy-first, opt-in features, giving users control of their data whenever and wherever they need it. The client aimed to develop an MVP system with the Mobile App as a primary goal to attract potential investors and take the project to the next level. Additionally, the Mobile App was meant to solve real-world use cases that users often encounter while on the go, ensuring secure document sharing in such situations.

Asset and Expense Tracking

After every business trip, a significant challenge arises. With a packed schedule that includes client sales calls, site inspections, dinners, and events with customers and suppliers, there is a lot of movement involved, including driving and potentially taking flights. Amidst the hectic itinerary, one major issue surfaces – the need to keep track of numerous expenses that may accrue during the trip.

However, the core problem emerges when traveling overseas for a business meeting. During this time, you may face an unreliable network connection while off-site or moving between various locations. This predicament leaves you wondering how to efficiently manage and stay connected during critical moments when a stable network is essential for successful business operations.

Mental Health

When you have a family member dealing with mental health challenges, your concern for their well-being extends beyond physical proximity. Whether they live with you or not, you may wonder how to maintain communication and support them effectively. How can you ensure their safety and access to basic necessities like food, shelter, and clothing?

Monitoring whether they are adhering to their prescribed medications or attending essential appointments with counselors, doctors, case workers, and possibly a parole officer adds to your worries. In this situation, staying in touch and keeping track of their overall well-being becomes a top priority, even if you’re not physically together. Ensuring their mental and physical health requires a thoughtful approach that combines empathy, understanding, and reliable communication channels to provide the support they need.

Seniors and Long-term Care

Managing various medical reports and tracking regular medical doses for loved ones (e.g., elderly spouse, parents) becomes challenging, particularly when you are not living with them. Your family doctor may not have complete visibility into their daily health metrics, such as regular blood pressure readings or whether they are consistently taking prescribed medications. This lack of transparency creates difficulties in securely sharing these vital records with the right individuals who have the appropriate access permissions.

Business Travel

While traveling abroad for a business meeting, you find yourself at customs, where they demand proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a valid medical exemption. Unfortunately, during the trip preparations, you either forgot to obtain a copy of your vaccination certificate or misplaced it while packing, and it’s now in your luggage, which has been loaded onto the plane. As a result, you’re stuck at customs, unable to proceed without the required documentation. What steps can you take to resolve this situation?

Homelessness and Refugees

Homelessness is not a choice, but what if your worst nightmare becomes a reality: you’re suddenly compelled to evacuate with only a moment’s notice, leaving your house and all your belongings behind. The experience is terrifying! There’s no time to organize or pack for your escape. You must simply leave, and leave right away!

Whether it’s a natural disaster like a wildfire, flood, tornado, or hurricane, you need to be prepared for such unexpected evacuations. In the dreadful situation of violent conflicts or war, having secure and reliable access to your essential records becomes even more crucial if you are forced to flee your home and country.

The Solution

To develop the MVP system, we meticulously understood the client’s business requirements and targeted use cases, with a focus on seniors and the elder population. We designed the Mobile App with a clear, user-friendly interface and easy navigation, ensuring accessibility for impaired users in upcoming phases. The solution involved the following key components:

Approach

In this area, we’ll talk about the actual solution, our collaboration with the client during the tenure of the project and technical features we came up with.

Rollout Technologies adopted a forward-thinking approach, considering the entire project roadmap and allowing for flexibility to accommodate future business priorities seamlessly. The mobile app’s architecture was meticulously designed to be highly modular, enabling easy support for upcoming features and enhancements.

Furthermore, the architecture was crafted with both white-labeling and SaaS product approaches in mind. This approach empowered the client to navigate the project based on their specific requirements, whether they intended to rebrand and customize the platform for different clients (white-labeling) or offer it as a hosted service to multiple users (SaaS).

Throughout the project’s tenure, Rollout Technologies maintained a collaborative partnership with the client. They embraced an Agile project management approach, fostering efficient teamwork and communication. Gilan Digital, the lead project manager, played a vital role in prioritizing features based on business needs, focusing on creating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and conceptualizing key features. Gilan Digital also carried out business analysis and provided wireframes, screen mockups, network architecture, database designs, field validations, key technology selection, and conducted brainstorming sessions, fostering a comprehensive understanding of the project’s direction.

To ensure an organized and iterative development process, the prioritized features were divided into multiple phases, each serving as a milestone. This phased approach allowed the team to concentrate on essential functionalities while planning for future enhancements. With each phase, the team diligently developed thoroughly tested and stable releases of the system, ensuring high-quality architecture and scalable modules.

Architecture

In our mobile app architecture, we have designed key subsystems, implemented various tech stacks, and incorporated essential design patterns to ensure a robust and scalable solution:

Scalable Authentication System

We integrated Firebase for user authentication across both the web and mobile app platforms. By utilizing Firebase, we streamlined the logic for custom onboarding flows, ensuring a seamless and secure user registration process. Our approach left no room for security breaches, providing a reliable and safe authentication system.

Moreover, while designing the custom onboarding flow to meet our client’s specific requirements, we also laid the foundation for incorporating any number and type of multi-factor authentication methods in the future. This future-proofing measure ensures that our app can easily adapt to evolving security needs.

Secure Local Storage for Offline Access

A primary goal of the app was to enable offline access to all documents while keeping the data secure. To achieve this, we meticulously designed and implemented a secure local storage system. We ensured that none of the offline data could be accessed outside the application environment by other apps or users, maintaining the highest level of data protection. Additionally, we are fully prepared to implement data and document encryption in upcoming phases, further enhancing data security and confidentiality.

Early Stage Multi-User Support

In anticipation of future requirements, we foresaw the need for multi-user support. To address this, we architectured the app in a way that will allow easy integration of multi-user capabilities in the future. By planning ahead, we ensure that the same device can be used for multiple family members while keeping their data securely separated.

Custom State Management

With the added complexity of multi-user support, offline access based on network availability, and data security considerations, state management became a critical challenge. We embraced this challenge and crafted a custom state management architecture that prioritizes scalability and performance. By handcrafting this solution, we maintain an efficient and optimized app performance, ensuring smooth data flow and minimal render cycles.

In short, our mobile app architecture incorporates scalable authentication, secure local storage for offline access, early-stage multi-user support, and a custom state management system. These well-designed subsystems, tech stack choices, and design patterns work together harmoniously to deliver a robust and future-proof solution. By addressing various technical complexities and security aspects, we have created a mobile app that aligns perfectly with our client’s vision and objectives.

Features

Custom Onboarding Flow

Designed a secure and custom onboarding process aligned with the client’s mission. Ensures seamless sign-up continuation across multiple devices in case of incomplete sign-ups.

Advanced Document Detection

We saw growing number of document support coming to the app, hence we developed module that identifies correct document types, preview them, and opens them using respective device applications.

Customizable Dashboard

We developed a customizable dashboard that enabled users to create personalized dashboards for quick access to important documents.

2-Way Sync

Critical business requirement for data access across all platforms (Mobile, Web) and devices (iOS, Android, computer). Multi-device login support ensures up-to-date data presentation.

Offline Access

Essential business feature providing secure data access even when users are offline. Offline changes sync automatically when internet connectivity is available.

App Distribution

We arranged hassle free closed iOS and Android app distribution for internal testers and field users for quick feedback and to facilitate demo presentations to potential investors.

The Result

Happy Client!

Successful cross-team collaboration, effective communication, technical expertise, and dedication resulted in delivering a cross-platform mobile application tested by internal volunteers and existing investors.

The mobile app’s deployment attracted potential investors, propelling the project forward. Looking ahead, we aim to continue our collaboration in upcoming phases, supporting our client’s vision of empowering individuals to take control of their personal data, making a real impact on the world.