Success Story Healthcare

Leading Weight Management Company Improves Customer Ratings

For more than 55 years this company has helped millions lose weight with the latest nutritional and behavior change science. Digital, in-person and virtual workshops, and personal coaching solutions help its members meet their goals.

The breadth of online services, the company knew its 2-star app rating demonstrated that it was not providing an optimal experience for its users, and the company’s testing process was outdated and slow.

  • Founded in 1963

    Founded in 1963

  • 4M+ paid subscribers

    4M+ paid subscribers

  • 1.5M+ active community users

    1.5M+ active community users

iot development services in sports

In 2014, the company engaged Apexon to help them improve customer satisfaction with an improved app, and operational efficiency with automated app testing.

the Results

Key Outcomes

Faster Cycle Time
Faster Cycle Time

Reduced app update release time by 84% due to increased use of automation

Improved Customer Satisfaction
Improved Customer
Satisfaction

App ratings improved to 4.5/5 on the App Store and 4/5 on Google Play

New Forms of Engagement
New Forms
of Engagement

Ability to conduct meetings with customers anywhere with/without internet

Operational Efficiency
Operational Efficiency

Operational staff needed to run meetings reduced by 50%; member processing time reduced by 40%

Our methodology

how
we did it

Apexon works with companies across the digital lifecycle.

Go Digital
Go Digital

Accelerating the delivery of new digital initiatives with confidence

Be digital
Be digital

Creating the infrastructure and foundation to scale digital initiatives

Evolve Digital
Evolve Digital

Leveraging data and analytics to continuously improve digital delivery processes

Launch & Experiment

Automate & Accelerate

Be Intelligent & Autonomous

Launch & Experiment

Enable digital adoption in a quick, and agile mannertransform the patient experience

Apexon reviewed existing processes to identify inefficiencies and compare to best practices.

Apexon conducted field surveys and 1:1 interviews with employees to understand how a new solution could improve member engagement.

Automate & Accelerate

Build digital infrastructure and foundation for enterprises to scaledigitization on patient Experience

Apexon utilized Jenkins open-source CI and Kony to accelerate app update release cycle and implemented automated smoke and regression tests to improve coverage and efficiency.

Be Intelligent & Autonomous

Leverage data engineering to make strategic decisions and get digital right every time

Apexon leveraged Perfecto’s cloud-based testing to automate more than 60% of the test footprint on 40 devices.

The challenge

To provide a high-quality user experience

Customer-facing app for iOS & android

Customer-facing app for iOS & android

The company was having difficulty providing a high-quality user experience for customers using their consumer-facing app for iOS and Android. Poor app store ratings made their problems obvious. Test management and turnaround times for new software updates were slow, as only one app update was being released every three months. When the updates were released, they were often out of sync and not functioning properly due to different geographies’ lack of unified communication.

enterprise group meeting application

enterprise group meeting application

The company was also searching for a way to improve their enterprise group meeting application, which was used to guide member group meetings and sell products. Group leaders had to use their laptops in meetings in order to check in members one at a time, and also had to use their laptops to sell and place orders for products other group members had purchased. This system was less than ideal, with various cables connected to bar code scanners and no organized, central purchasing procedure.

The Solution

utilising applied design thinking plus®

Apexon engaged with the company initially to address the inconsistencies and deliver a higher-quality app to its members. Apexon used Applied Design Thinking Plus® to derive an implementable solution.

Deep research

Deep research into the company’s challenges and objectives, including 1:1 interviews with company employees to better understand the pain points.

identified priorities for member community app

Apexon identified several key priorities for a new member community app for the company:

  • A mobile-first approach
  • Easy integration with other e-commerce and ERP systems
  • Interoperability with scanners and payment devices
  • HIPAA (PHI, PII) and PCI Compliance

app development for weight management company

The development process took shape with the rollout of a minimum viable product (MVP) for A/B testing, feedback, and updates.

This was a collaborative effort that included business, engineering, IT, operation, training and support.

production release planning

From there, Phase 1 production release planning began.

Ultimately, Apexon implemented a comprehensive framework for the company’s new community platform complete with mobile testing service plan to improve user experience and eliminate the inefficiencies of the existing consumer-facing app.

The QE strategy included:

Transition from waterfall dev/QA methodology to Agile

Transition from waterfall dev/QA methodology to Agile

Automated smoke and regression tests

Automated smoke and regression tests to improve coverage and efficiency

automated scripts using Jenkins

Automated triggering of automated scripts using Jenkins

Perfecto’s cloud-based automated testing

Perfecto’s cloud-based testing to automate more than 60% of test footprint; across 40 different devices

As a result, the company moved from one app update release every three months to one every two weeks, spanning ten countries and six languages.