Background
In today’s fast-paced world, the demand for convenient, reliable home services is growing. As a result, this trend necessitates a trust-worthy and transparent platform for connecting busy homeowners with dedicated providers of these services. Ovvy was created to fulfill this need by simplifying hiring processes and ensuring informed choices with detailed profiles and reviews.
In this case study, we detailed how GEM Corporation worked with its creators to perform major updates and maintenance tasks on the solution to enhance its capabilities and prolong its relevance in the market.
Challenges
In the beginning, the apps offered six main categories of services in the domestic sector. To expand its offerings and give users more optimized experiences, the updated version was required to have dynamic content so that admins could customize the services in each category.
Besides, the payment system also needed revamping. The existing payment gateway did not meet the users’ expectations due to slow response times and a high rate of errors. Therefore, the client decided to switch to another online payment solution with better stability and more diverse features.
With the two changed requirements, the GEM team faced several challenges. We had to ensure that the existing database was unharmed and compatible with the new system migration. It posed quite a difficulty as the database was huge and complex.
In terms of the new payment gateway, there should be no disruption caused to customers’ transactions during the transition and migration. Also, we needed to avoid any possible downtime for the app.
Solution
The GEM team created a testing environment for the updated version and tried out the new features and gateway before launch to address those challenges. The alternative payment solution was tested thoroughly before being deployed on the live app. By testing and making changes during a slow traffic period, GEM prevented unforeseen bugs from causing disruptions to a larger user base and, hence, yielding more damage to our client.
We also employed a multi-level systems design approach and found the best possible solution to scale in the long term easily, which prepared it to quickly adapt to changes in the number of users and market offers.
Output
After these major updates executed by GEM’s team, we boosted the app’s capability in the following functions:
- Matching customers with suitable merchants based on the latter’s specific requirements and the latter’s offerings and reviews
- Allowing for easy rebooking of previous providers or jobs
- Quick comparison of prices among different merchants
- Enabling secure and fast in-app payment
Impacts
The new features were successfully updated and went live smoothly as expected. Ovvy app now gets an average of 3,000 downloads per month, with 50% of users creating profiles.
Thanks to its features which greatly benefited users, Ovvy is considered a leading marketplace for home services. It provides a platform where home service providers can showcase their expertise, offerings, and fee charges. Meanwhile, homeowners can see individual providers’ profiles, ratings, and reviews before deciding which one to choose. The app offers both parties efficiency and transparency and helps them get the best deal.
Overall, the client was delighted with the solution delivered, which has worked steadily and impeccably. The best proof of a job well done was the client’s satisfaction and recommendation of GEM’s services to their business contacts.
Closing remarks
The success of Ovvy has lengthened the list of possible real-life use cases for modern technologies, as long as the development process remains user-centric and emphasizes practical values. Through strategic updates and enhancements, GEM Corporation has not only extended Ovvy’s operational life but also boosted the extent of its impacts on real-life users.
