PaceNotes PaceNotes has been developed to support the progress of learner drivers. Its purpose is to reward learner drivers who go through a recording program of driving in various conditions while learning with a parent or DVSA approved Driving Instructor with a discount to their insurance. The aim of PaceNotes, through this scheme, is to create more competent and safer new drivers on the roads and reduce first year collisions. Mission Statement: Reduce first year collisions involving new drivers by 20% by providing improved experience of varied driving conditions. What PaceNotes is a joint venture project between Trak Global and Indiespring. PaceNotes, the Learner Driver Assistant, connects novice drivers with their approved driving instructor preparing them for independence on Great Britain’s network of roads and motorways. Hybrid App's for Good Collaboration Learner drivers can review their progress and rate their driving lesson experiences; moving them closer to achieving their goal of attaining their full driving license and social independence. PaceNotes offers both learner drivers and instructors an unparalleled opportunity to engage and communicate, catering for tailored lessons based upon individual needs, offering a more informed learner-driver experience. PaceNotes was developed after a member of the Trak Global team suffered a tragic loss in a driving incident involving a newly qualified driver. A gap was identified between real driving conditions and what most learner drivers undergo with their instructors. The idea was to create a system that encouraged learner drivers to undertake a higher quality training scheme which could be logged and tracked throughout the course. This would make them a more competent and safer driver and make them a more attractive candidate to insurance companies. Why With PaceNotes being a joint venture between Indiespring and Trak Global and in conjunction with Highways England and the DVSA it is a great example of Indiespring’s partnership program. By using a profit sharing model against the app’s long term revenue and discounting the design and build of the app we were able to get the app to market quickly and effectively whilst also keeping costs low for an app which was considered to be reasonably speculative by Trak’s senior team. Shared Success Agile Xamarin The ability to adapt and move quickly has been key in delivering the app to an often fluid specification and this would have been very difficult in a conventional agency model. Agile workflows allowed all teams to work on the project simultaneously and with various sharing resources. All teams had to be flexible and communicate regularly as the goal posts shifted as the project evolved. Often the teams worked onsite with each other so we could turn the project around as quickly as possible. Find out more of the benefits of Agile in our article about Agile and Waterfall project development and which method is best suited to which type of project here. The PaceNotes application was built in Xamarin: a cross platform hybrid technology. This allowed both parties involved to keep costs to a minimum while delivering the project quickly and efficiently. Wow 4 Month Project Delivery DVSA Approval 20% estimated year 1 collision reduction The social benefits of PaceNotes has meant it has gathered support and backing from government agencies such as the DVSA and Highways England. They’re very pragmatic and are flexible, making them a great partner. It has always been easy to reach financial agreements with them. ABA - Trak Global PaceNotes App The App Consultation Having partnered with Trak Global on several app projects with testing, development and ongoing improvements, it was great to be involved in the PaceNotes project from the start. Indiespring collaborated with Trak on a number of topics, such as defining the app, the problem it was solving and the best way to implement that idea and bring it to market. This consultation and collaboration has only strengthened our partnership with Trak and allowed us to bring more of our skills into their business. Development By building the App in Xamarin, we managed to turn around the MVP within 3 months of development, and this was taken to sample groups to gather live user feedback on the functionality and usability of the app. This speed of development for both Android and iOS devices allowed nearly all smartphone owners to access the application and gave our internal Mobile Assurance team time to get testing the app across a huge suite of devices that contained all of the devices that our consumer market would likely be using. Mobile Assurance Program Our Mobile Assurance Program was immediately deployed throughout and after the app build. The consumer facing app needs to be robust on such a huge array of devices that are currently in the market and with device fragmentation so many of these devices all have their own subtle differences which can lead to bugs that sometimes go unnoticed. The bespoke testing which included drive testing over thousands of miles allowed us to deliver the app to the highest quality for all users. What we do Learn more
