HONOR CREMATIONS

CUSTOM SOLUTION APP DEVELOPMENT FOR ONLINE CREMATION SERVICES

Client

Honor Cremations, established in early 2021, stands as the pioneering Bay Area Cremation Provider dedicated to addressing the distinct requirements of families and individuals seeking straightforward cremation services. The focus of the platform is on providing cremation services for families who want to arrange everything online and seamlessly take care of all the details.

custom solution app for cremation services

Challenge

Honor Cremation's primary goal included establishing an entirely online cremation service, eliminating the need for the relatives of a loved one having to go into a physical office, and promoting direct client interaction. Developing a user interface that seamlessly integrates convenience and user-friendliness was key. It also had to give the relatives of the loved one an automated workflow that performed and submitted all the paperwork in one seamless manner.

During the project, our team encountered challenges centered around describing the entire workflow and thinking about the best way to remove manual work. We also had to integrate a number of third-party services, such as Stripe for online payment processing, Sendgrid for transactional and marketing email communication, Zendesk for comprehensive customer support and sales, as well as DocuSign for electronic agreement management. Furthermore, integration with Google Places was essential to furnish location-related information through HTTP requests.

Strategy

The initial stage of the project started with a discovery phase to understand Honor Cremation's needs and help them build a prototype of the platform to visualize their expectations. This first phase resulted in a clear WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) and a detailed Figma prototype. The WBS comprehensively described user stories and project features, while the Figma prototype was thoughtfully crafted to accommodate the unique nuances of the cremation service industry. After that work, our team embarked on the development phase, creating a tailored solution utilizing PHP and React, and assembling a proficient team of front-end and back-end engineers.

Recognizing the importance of adaptability, we recommended the "Scrum" methodology to the client, allowing us to respond flexibly to their evolving requirements. Throughout development, we maintained a close feedback loop by conducting bi-weekly demo sessions, enabling us to integrate regular client input. This approach ensured that the application was refined and adjusted in alignment with the client's vision, leading to a successful outcome that matched their specific needs and goals.

custom solution written on PHP and React

full-cycle custom solution web application

/ Honor Cremations

Solutions

Technologies

FE: React/Redux, Typescript, SASS, Firebase,
React-Snap
BE: Php SpiralFramework+CycleOrm

Our expert engineering team suggested a solution that involved creating a comprehensive custom web application built on PHP and React. The solution they wanted to build dictated the tech stack and enabled us to deliver quickly without compromising quality, taking into account the client's tight budget. On the front end, we utilized React/Redux, Typescript, SASS, Firebase, and react-snap, while the back end was powered by the PHP open source framework, Spiral, plus CycleOrm.

Through our expertise and insistence on a "services management system," we successfully transformed the client's initial perspective on pricing management. What began as a preference for "hard-coded" values evolved into a dynamic approach that catered to the nuanced demands of "Urns" and "Transportation fee" based on location. Moreover, incorporating a "Progress bar" feature exceeded the client's initial expectations, effectively illustrating task dependencies and status updates to the user. This subtle element enhanced user experience and demonstrated our ability to anticipate user needs, even when our client didn't directly ask for it.

Results

This full-cycle solution covered a range of activities, beginning with thorough business analysis and prototype design, seamlessly transitioning into development, quality assurance, and effective project management. The results of our collaboration with Honor Cremation underscore the efficacy of our strategic approach. Through dedicated effort spanning eight months, we successfully finalized and stabilized the initial release version of the platform, ensuring its readiness for market deployment.

Our Marketing team worked in parallel, diligently preparing for the launch campaign, ensuring a seamless introduction to the market. This comprehensive approach underscores our commitment to delivering not only functional solutions but also facilitating their successful introduction and adoption in the market. The number of unique users constantly grew (from 10 per month to 210 in 6 months). The number of completed/converted transactions grew accordingly.