How to deliver an e-commerce platform MVP in just 6 weeks

Executive Summary

When Takamol approached Boldare they had just six weeks to build an MVP of an e-commerce platform. The deadline had to be met in order to validate the idea with investors and secure funding for the full-scale product. Within three days, Boldare flew to Dubai for the product workshops, assembled a development team and started work on the product. Following that, the team delivered the product, on time, allowing Takamol to secure investment funding and build a full version of Tojjar, the eBay of the Middle East. Since then, the full web version of Tojjar and mobile app have been released. The platform has been further expanded by an Boldare development team, new functionalities being added with every sprint.

Client

Takamol Holding is a publicly-owned corporation connecting the public and private sectors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In recent years, the Saudi government has been focusing on shifting its economy from petrol-based to other industries, with a strong focus on stimulating the digital economy. Takamol, as a government-owned company, is tasked with supporting and stimulating entrepreneurship, improving the business infrastructure and labour market in the region. Under its 9/10ths program the company offers a suite of digital products supporting employees, employers, individuals and jobseekers, SMES and the government.

The investors were focused on delivering the highest possible ROI under strict timelines and thus they required Takamol to pitch their products in a similar way to how startups pitch to venture capitals. The presentations required a live and fully functional MVP, a product roadmap for further development and a full business plan with KPIs.

The Product

The product Takamol envisioned for its 9/10ths program was Tojjar, an e-commerce platform similar to eBay or Etsy but completely free of charge to buyers and sellers. This platform would enable small businesses and entrepreneurial individuals in the region to leave their brick and mortar locations and establish an online presence. Thanks to Tojjar they would be able to set up online stores, upload images and descriptions of their products, sell online and arrange delivery. Moreover, Tojjar would solve the current issues with online payments and delivery which create a major obstacle for small Saudi businesses wanting to use e-commerce platforms such as e-Bay or Etsy.

Problem: finding a team who can deliver the MVP in 6 weeks

Takamol had only six weeks from start to finish to deliver a working prototype of an e-commerce platform in order to secure full funding for the product. During the presentation, the prototype had to be fully functional and able to present the entire buyer and seller journeys as well as admin panel functionalities.

Takamol didn’t have an in-house development team for the job and no time to recruit one and still meet the tight deadline. They had bad prior experience with outsourcing, mostly due to the low quality of code delivered. Through the recommendation of Takamol’s Solution Architect the company decided to outsource in Poland due to the high number of skilled and well-trained developers.

They sent the product requirements to a number of software development companies and invited them to pitch in Dubai in less than a week. They had only two weeks to decide which partner they want to work with.

Takamol required a partner who could assemble a full self-organizing development team within days and deliver the working prototype on time. The date of the presentation for the investors was fixed and there was no room for delays.

Solution: Product Vision Workshop to limit the scope and a self-organising augmented team to deliver the app

Boldare responded to the enquiry on the same day and was ready to fly to Dubai to meet the Client within days from the initial contact. The Boldare team organized a product workshop with the Client in Dubai. During the workshop, the team together with the Client trimmed down the list of features leaving only the crucial ones for the MVP. This way the MVP could be delivered with the strict timeline. Both parties understood and agreed that refactoring will be needed if the product was to be developed into a full scalable app at a later stage. Although Takamol had never developed product in agile methodology before they were open to try. The client agreed to work in the Scrum framework, which ensured incremental delivery within weekly sprints.

While waiting for the connecting flight back to Poland, the Boldare team delivered the final estimates to Takamol and the client signed them off shortly after the plane touched down in Poland. Boldare was the only pitching team who agreed to deliver the product within six weeks.

We moved away from our previous developer and made the switch to Boldare. After this, our process improved tenfold. They have a much better process with proper scrum, code reviews, automated testing, and a higher engineering quality.

Back at HQ in Poland, Boldare had already assembled a self-organizing development team: two backend and two frontend developers, a designer, a Business Analyst and a Scrum Master.