Context

We were tasked with improving the stability of a mobile application for one of our clients while a separate team was responsible for the backend servers.

Upon taking on the project, it became clear that the previous software house responsible for the mobile app development had struggled to improve the app's stability due to the poor backend stability that an external team was responsible for. The production environment was stable, but the development environment suffered from frequent downtime, hindering progress and causing delays.

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Problem Identification and Consequences

1. Unstable development backend servers led to frequent work interruptions for mobile developers.
2. The previous development team struggled to improve app stability due to these external constraints.
3. Lack of precise data on the impact of server downtime made it difficult to prioritize the issue.
4. The app's user satisfaction was low, reflected in a poor 2.3-star rating.

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Solution Implementation

We took a proactive, multi-stage approach to overcome the constraints:

1. Quantifying the Impact: Developed tools to generate reports on server downtime frequency, lost developer hours, and associated costs.
2. Test Set Implementation: Created tests that could run in integration or end-to-end mode to pinpoint error sources accurately.
3. Automated Reporting: Implemented automatic reports with detailed information on failed scenarios, requests, and backend responses to aid the backend team in problem identification.
4. Enhanced Validation: Added extra validation for backend server responses to catch and report any irregularities, including those in the production environment.
5. Strategic Logic Relocation: Moved some backend server logic to the mobile app to improve API stability and enable faster fixes.
6. Fake Server Setup: Established fake servers to allow continued app development during backend downtime.

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Business and Product Gains

1. App stability significantly improved despite ongoing backend constraints.
2. User satisfaction increased dramatically, with the app's star rating rising from 2.3 to 4.4.
3. Development team productivity improved by reducing downtime impact.
4. Better collaboration between mobile and backend teams through detailed error reporting.
5. Increased resilience of the app against backend instabilities.

This approach demonstrated the effectiveness of proactive problem-solving within existing constraints, leading to tangible improvements in product quality and user satisfaction.