An Investment App for a Canadian Bank

Development Process

Over the course of more than two years, several teams worked on the app, totaling over 80 people. 5–6 of them were our front-end developers. They focused on making the app accessible for visually impaired users, designing the user interface, and performing refactoring.

We built TD Active Trader using Kotlin and Swift, the standard programming languages for apps. Our partner had extensive experience in fintech projects and their own solutions, which we also used. For example, we implemented their code modules for data synchronization, allowing for quick data transfers between the app and the stock exchange.

There were no ToRs for the project. In lengthy and complex projects like this, detailed requirements can slow down progress and lead to bugs. Instead, we adopted an Agile methodology, breaking the project into smaller time frames.

Sharing expertise in creating tables. One of our Android developers excelled in creating tables. He stepped up as a subject matter expert to help design complex real-time charts that could be customized for specific time frames.

Reworking the code. As long-term development progressed, some of our initial solutions became outdated. Our specialist took charge of refactoring, which involved restructuring the app’s internal code without changing its external functionality.

Adapting the interface for Visually Impaired Users. We served as a dedicated accessibility team. Two experts reviewed the app screens and provided suggestions for making them more user-friendly for visually impaired users. Our specialists tweaked the interface based on their feedback, making fonts and pictures more flexible in size to ensure readability and coherence across all elements, regardless of scaling.

The Hardest Part

A huge team. The app’s development involved multiple teams. Project managers coordinated the efforts of dozens of individuals and established overall project standards.

Testing. Simulating realistic test data was a large and complex process that required ongoing attention. Additionally, testing was linked to the operating hours of the exchange. Throughout this process, we encountered numerous instances of incorrect data and calculations. It took nearly a year to complete closed testing among our development teams and the bank.

How we solved these tasks

Structure and hierarchy. We organized employees into teams, each with its own management and sprints.

Sharing of information. From time to time, the entire team gathered for joint presentations, with product owners sharing upcoming goals and objectives. This helped everyone stay on the same page.

Code standards. We established unified coding standards to make it easier for developers to understand each other’s work.

Team support in testing. All developers helped the DevOps team with testing. We implemented a registry of test environments for software deployment since different environments can have different code and bugs.

Svetlana Chernyavskaya

Project manager

“We worked cohesively despite the large volume of tasks. Team leaders effectively prioritized and coordinated information from stakeholders. Our flexible development process allowed us to make only minor tweaks to move the project forward.”