{"id":2747,"date":"2015-05-12T00:01:57","date_gmt":"2015-05-12T07:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/?p=2747"},"modified":"2015-05-13T14:35:35","modified_gmt":"2015-05-13T21:35:35","slug":"thinkapps-for-watch-case-study-product-design-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/design\/thinkapps-for-watch-case-study-product-design-development\/","title":{"rendered":"ThinkApps for Watch: A Case Study on Product Design and Development"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today we’re launching ThinkApps for Watch<\/a><\/span>,\u00a0a new tool that lets you\u00a0quickly and easily create an interactive prototype\u00a0of an Apple Watch app. This case study will explain the process we followed to design and develop the tool from start to finish.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"ThinkApps<\/a><\/p>\n

What Is ThinkApps for Watch?<\/h2>\n

As we explain in our launch announcement<\/a>, ThinkApps for Watch<\/a>\u00a0is a free tool that will allow individuals and companies to make a design mockup of their Watch app in\u00a010 minutes or less.<\/p>\n

ThinkApps for Watch is\u00a0specialized just for Apple Watch apps\u00a0and\u00a0is already programmed with all of the Watch guidelines and limitations in mind, so you don’t have to worry about knowing what’s allowed and what’s not.<\/p>\n

In addition to quickly creating a free\u00a0mockup of your app, you can easily get feedback or even conduct user research<\/a> by sharing your design prototype via email or social media.<\/p>\n

Becoming Our Own Client<\/h2>\n

ThinkApps is an on-demand service for designing and building stunning apps<\/a> for web, mobile, and wearables, including Apple Watch<\/a>. \u00a0Based out of San Francisco, ThinkApps powers top Silicon Valley startups and innovative enterprise companies exploring the cutting edge.<\/p>\n

\"ThinkApps<\/a><\/p>\n

At its core,\u00a0we are\u00a0a network of 1000+ top designers and technologists in more than 25 countries across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The network includes experts who are in the top 5% for any design, product, or technology sub-area.<\/p>\n

To\u00a0build ThinkApps for Watch, we tapped into the expertise of this network, including designers at PixelGrow<\/a>\u00a0and developers at DeSmart<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In creating this tool, we essentially became our own client. Thus, it was important to us\u00a0to write this case study to explain the process we followed and\u00a0shed some light on what’s\u00a0involved in designing and developing a great software product.<\/p>\n

Assembling the Team<\/h2>\n

We expect our clients to arrive with an idea. Ideally this idea will not just live inside the client’s head but will be spelled out in a one-page description of what they want to build, what their objectives are, and who they expect their audience to be.<\/p>\n

Based on the particulars, including platform (e.g. web, Android, iOS), technology requirements\u00a0(e.g. streaming video, high levels of data storage required), and timeline, ThinkApps will assess the skills and availability of the designers and developers in our network and assign the team that is best suited to the project.<\/p>\n

ThinkApps essentially provides a one-stop shop where you can get all of the talent and expertise you need to build your product in a single place, including graphic, UX, and UI designers, plus front-end and back-end developers.<\/p>\n

And once the team is assembled, they are essentially ready to start the next business day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

ThinkApps for Watch Team<\/h3>\n

In this case, ThinkApps itself was the client. We decided in March that we wanted to build a tool that would make it fast, fun, and easy to design\u00a0your own Apple Watch app and wrote up a short description of the features we wanted to include.<\/p>\n

We began reaching out to various\u00a0designers and developers\u00a0in our network to assess which teams had the Apple Watch expertise we needed. Once we knew which teams had the ability to help with the project, we inquired about their availability to determine who would actually be able to help us complete the project by our deadline.<\/p>\n

In the end, the team involved three individuals from PixelGrow on the design side and four individuals from DeSmart on the development side. Filip Wasilewski joined the team in his usual role as ThinkApps project manager\u00a0and\u00a0Tarun Agarwal, ThinkApps co-founder, rounded things out as the client.<\/p>\n

The client was located in San Francisco, with the design team in the Ukraine and the dev team in Poland. As Agarwal put it,<\/p>\n

“People essentially came out of the ether and worked together from around the globe to launch a product from scratch in just eight\u00a0weeks.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Project Timeline<\/h2>\n

It took just eight\u00a0weeks to complete the project from start to finish, including four weeks of design and four\u00a0weeks of development (with some additional design questions and changes occurring\u00a0during this later stage).<\/p>\n

It’s important to note, however, that the time required of the client was only about three hours per week. So you can see how it would be possible for one client to have multiple products being built\u00a0simultaneously, or, more likely,\u00a0how a startup founder or tech product manager (PM) would be able to\u00a0continue working on lots of other tasks while the product is being built.<\/p>\n

If you contrast this with other options \u2014 such as learning to design and code yourself or recruiting five to eight employees to do the work in-house \u2014\u00a0it’s easy to see how much more efficient our\u00a0process can be.<\/p>\n

Design Phase<\/h2>\n

As mentioned above, the design phase took about four weeks.<\/p>\n

During this phase, Agarwal\u00a0(as the client)\u00a0participated in\u00a0one-hour video calls twice per week with the designers and project manager to discuss any\u00a0questions and get\u00a0regular updates. Over the course of the four weeks, there were\u00a0eight calls total.<\/p>\n

\"PixelGrow<\/a><\/p>\n

Design Team<\/h3>\n

The design team was\u00a0from\u00a0PixelGrow<\/a>\u00a0and included (from left to right):<\/p>\n