Thumbtack

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The Thumbtack Challenge

Create Thumbtack's first native app that fully replicates the web experience

Thumbtack had already acquired a solid user base prior to engaging Carbon Five. While the rapidly growing company’s website enjoyed significant traffic, the team believed a native mobile app encouraged additional on-the-go use of their product by customers.

Thumbtack approached Carbon Five with an aggressive deadline in mind. There would be very little room for changes in design and scope as the app needed to mirror the web app’s existing flow. Their internal engineering team also needed guidance for shifting their technology stack without disrupting the current user experience.

The Process

Translating web to mobile

Taking an existing web experience and translating it to mobile presented several challenges. Even with Thumbtack’s clear creative vision, there were several fundamental infrastructure decisions that required consensus.

The team decided to build a Python service using the Pyramid framework to provide an API for the mobile client. Carbon Five introduced automated testing, documentation and versioning of the API to provide a reliable interface for clients distributed via the App Store. Automated testing and rapid iteration allowed the team to build a high quality application within Thumbtack’s deadline.

The Results

Making it easy to handle projects on the go

The Thumbtack app is available in the App Store. Released in May 2014, the app enjoys better than four star ratings. A dedicated app for service providers is currently in the works.

“Our organization has learned a lot from Carbon Five about processes and ways we can develop great products as professionals.”
Jake Poses
Director of Product, Thumbtack