Aquatec, an app to avert the effects of climate change
Aquatec
A tool that delivers value to the people of Badalona and enables Aquatec to scale this app for many other towns and cities seeking to sign up for the weather alert system.
Aquatec is a water and environmental tech firm in the Aigües de Barcelona group which delivers services including project consulting and development plus installing and implementing solutions to optimise water cycle processes and safeguard the environment.
Between July 2020 and December 2022, Aquatec coordinated LIFE BAETULO, a pilot project involving Badalona City Council within the European LIFE Climate Action programme. The project’s purpose was to roll out an Integrated Early Warning System to reduce the exposure and vulnerability of local people and urban assets to climate-related hazards such as flooding, storms, heat waves, cold waves, snowfall, windstorms, wildfires and air pollution incidents.
Besides a weather event management platform, Aquatec also sought to develop the BAETULO Weather Alert mobile app to tell Badalona residents about any municipal weather warnings and provide them with self-protection recommendations and tips to avert situations which might endanger their health or property.
Getting to work on the app
With the challenge at hand, we opted for a hybrid development approach using the Ionic framework with CapacitorJS, and we managed notifications using Firebase Cloud Messaging.
Next, and bearing in mind Aquatec’s app evolution needs, we devised a workflow which would enable us to operate with insight and sufficient control over the project’s progress while remaining flexible.
After setting up a dedicated, cross-functional team focused on problem-solving and applying incremental iterative development to the project, we started with our sprints:
- Sprint 0. It lasted a week and involved work on the app’s style guide, configuration of the local environment, integration and continuous deployment.
- Sprints 1 and 2. With each sprint lasting two weeks and engaging the whole team, we achieved continuous value delivery due to the dynamics we factored into each sprint such as refinement, wireframing, team retrospectives to apply process improvements and the dedication to each demo submitted to Aquatec at the end of every iteration.
We've implemented continuous deployment to the app stores using Bitrise. This powerful tool allows us to automate the entire continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) workflow for iOS and Android, ensuring that the application passes all configured quality checks. With Bitrise, we can ensure a more efficient distribution process and seamless integration with app stores, ensuring the availability of the latest updates for our users quickly and without the need for manual steps.
The advantage of the technology we use in the Aquatec app lies in its ability to simultaneously implement the same application on both iOS and Android without requiring duplication of efforts. The end result feels exceptionally native, making it an ideal choice for launching products or developing MVPs. And if we ever encounter limitations, we can make strategic decisions about whether to continue with a native application.
For Runroom this project was a fresh opportunity to apply our agile mindset which envisages frequent and constant delivery of value with validation by the customer and ongoing communication. This time round, moreover, it was a twofold challenge as the project featured several partners in the local authority.
Creating features
Drawing on Aquatec’s specifications and our customer-centric approach, we built the app and its sections within the agreed deadlines from the home screen to the configuration of notifications, which in this case were especially important and allowed users to choose whether they wanted to get them as a pre-alert, alert or emergency. We also enabled the option to pick which type of weather hazards you wanted to be notified about.
In addition to furnishing information about each type of hazard and its risks, we also enhanced the content with recommendations for the various alert levels including clear and easy to understand messages, some supported by infographics.
The BAETULO Weather Alert app is available in Catalan and Spanish and compatible with smartphone devices with iOS and Android operating systems. It also meets all the technical and security specifications needed to be hosted in the App Store and Google Play Store along with OWASP Mobile Top 10 requirements.
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