Adapptor

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Head of Digital for Perth Airport, the capital city of Western Australia. Our airport serves approximately 14 million passengers annually and has just under 300 staff.

For what projects/services did your company hire Adapptor?

Adapptor were hired to build the Perth Airport mobile application. We were looking to reach the increasingly mobile market of our travellers and have a mechanism through which we could use to push information changes to them directly.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to primarily provide the ability to subscribe to flight information relevant to a passengers booked travels. We then use this information to provide relevant secondary services such as parking, directions to relevant terminals, and retail opportunities.

How did you select Adapptor?

As a mid sized organisation we have a very robust procurement policy which we much follow in order to onboard a new supplier. The selection of Adapptor came after an RFP to five vendors both local and international who had demonstrated excellence in app development and had some transport experience.

Describe the project in detail.

The process we went through involved a full design stage that started right back at user journeys, sourcing and interviewing focus groups from different traveller types and then synthesizing this into relevant product features.

Prior to jumping into wireframing we also explored design philosophy and selected a card based approach due to the ephemeral and time based nature of the information. This was then translated into wireframes and then full designs - checking back against user stories to ensure the needs captured were met.

After this was complete the app went into technical design, checking off against internal security and privacy data management guidelines. The final step was testing and UAT before launch. Since that time we've taken a product management approach to development and have been building new features and functionality into the app based on commercial needs and user feedback.

What was the team composition?

1 Key project manager 2-3 user experience specialists to run interviews and process collected information. 1 UX specialist 1 Technical architect 2 Developers (one for each platform - IOS/Android). Where possible we tried to share code between platforms. 1 Testing specialist.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Current active users, screens viewed and engagement time for the mobile application is many times higher than our core website. Currently over 10% of our online revenue is through the application, and still growing month on month. We reached the required ROI for the project in the first 18 months of it being live and for the past 3 years revenue has been almost entirely incremental.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow has always been fantastic. Adapptor are like an extension of our internal team. I always measure the success of a business relationship by the ability to not just call them partners, but also friends.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Adapptor have always pushed the boundaries and have exceptional leadership. This translates into the company hiring the brightest experts in the field and puts them in the enviable position of being the go to app development organisation in Western Australia.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Mobile apps are evolving products, not a one off delivery. So the one area I occasionally wish we had improvement was of more proactive future feature suggestions. To caveat, I understand from a business perspective that this is less of a priority in our relationship as we're often capital constrained and tend to drive product feature growth from internally determined needs.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief product officer for a parking operator and service provider in Australia.

What challenge were you trying to address with Adapptor?

We partnered with Adapptor to help us consolidate a number of digital channels into a comprehensive app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had some wireframes and scope outlined, but they came on board to help us finalize those. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with around six people including multiple developers and project managers. 

How did you come to work with Adapptor?

They were recommended to us by a UX consultant that we’d worked with previously. We got proposals from a handful of companies, but Adapptor seemed to best fit our needs. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $1.5 million AUD. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them towards the end of 2017, and the application launched in October 2018. They continue to provide ongoing development support.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We’ve been very satisfied. The app has grown exponentially. It’s been a really successful tool during the pandemic because of the non-contact aspect. Users can reserve parking spots and pay for parking through the app. We have over 13,000 ratings on the App Store with an average rating of 4.8 stars. We stand above our competitors. 

How did Adapptor perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been very proactive and communicative. Their ability to understand our business requirements and work within those constraints is fantastic. They were refreshing to work with. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their approach and work ethic is impressive. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so. They’re very responsive and communicate effectively. I rate them quite highly. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d recommend booking a consultation with them.