Case studies written for engineers, readable by everyone else

The hard part

A marketplace for a purchase this large is not really a listings problem. Somebody buying their first electric car has not decided yet, and the questions blocking them — will it reach my parents' house, what does it cost to run, can I finance it — are not answered by a grid of cars.

The hard part

Every used-car site is the same search form, and it assumes the buyer already knows what they want. Most do not — which is why the interface here is a swipe. But a swipe carries far less information than a filter, so everything behind it has to work harder to put the right car in front of someone who has told you almost nothing.

The hard part

Voice calling was the part that resisted. A marketplace where two strangers have to leave the app to exchange phone numbers loses the conversation it exists to create — but building reliable calling on top of a socket layer is a much larger problem than it first appears.

The hard part

Habit apps usually organise around the habit. This one organises around people, which changes the data model and the reminders: the unit is a relationship you are trying to maintain, not a streak you are trying not to break.

The hard part

Branded merchandise is normally sold through a sales thread: an enquiry, a quote, a mockup, three rounds of email. Turning that into something a customer can complete themselves means the product configuration, the artwork upload and the pricing all have to hold together without a person in the middle.