BigTrades
App rescue: a LinkedIn-style network for Australian trades, shipped before launch day
The story
BigTrades is a LinkedIn-style professional network. It came to us stuck: the previous developer had left it full of bugs, the launch date was close, and the client had been told the only way out was a rebuild from scratch.
Most developers would have agreed, since a rebuild means more billable hours. We put a tester on it first to find and log every bug, and reviewed the code structure at the same time. The diagnosis was good news: the app could be saved.
We fixed the bugs in order of priority and shipped before the launch date. No rebuild was needed, and the client kept the tens of thousands of dollars a rebuild would have cost.
What was hard, and how we solved it
Problem
Inherited bugs
The previous developer left the app full of bugs, and nobody knew how deep the problem went.
Rebuild or rescue
The client could not tell whether the app needed starting over or could still be saved.
Fixed launch date
The date was not moving, so there was no time to find the answer the hard way.
Solution
QA first
QA went in immediately and catalogued every bug before a single line of code was changed.
Honest diagnosis
An architecture review ran alongside it. The app could be saved, and no rebuild was needed.
Shipped on time
Bugs were prioritised and fixed, and the app went out before the launch date.
Inside the app
