Lo:Live

Online marketplace development for booking experiential space

Retail

Services:

Web Development

Marketplace app development

Quality Assurance

Third-party integration

The team

6 cross-functional experts

Technologies

React.js

Django

Python

Integrations

Mandrill

Mailchimp

Prerender

Prismic

Google Maps

Sentry

BugHerd

AWS

Intercom

Timeline: September 2020, ongoing

Website: locationlive.com/uk

The customer

location:live specializes in the planning and placement of spaces around the world
for brands to convey their message most efficiently and tell their story most effectively. When the 2012 Olympics came to London – in a fully booked city – location:live founder and CEO Neil Jones made it his mission to find spectacular spaces for brand activations – and did it. A decade later, location:live has scaled up and digitized its services into an online marketplace serving brands and agencies needing space; and location providers with inspiring locations. We call this digital marketplace lo:live.
‍
lo:live allows hirers to search a vast database of spaces; plan their marketing campaigns; reserve locations; and ultimately book their chosen spaces with ease.
Similarly, location providers are able to upload their spaces - along with rich data and imagery to bring them to life - and then manage reservations and bookings through the slick online portal
location:live’s in-house teams support both hirer and location provider experiences via an extensive Django admin portal until the event is live on location.

The Challenges

On recommendation, location:live requested COAX to take over and accelerate the development of the lo:live platform from another development partner. COAX's task was to understand location:live’s objectives, co-develop a fit-for-purpose backlog, and develop lo:live at an expedited pace. COAX were able to grasp the project, fix critical bugs, and finalize and release a first major release within 4 months.

location:live identified key elements that they needed COAX to address:

Create comprehensive technical documentation
Improve code quality throughout the build
Implement a robust testing approach

More specifically, COAX found certain user screens lacked clear logic or required additional clarifications. In the admin panel, many pages were not indexed due to the complex business logic and dependencies.

The Process

While working on the lo:live project, the COAX team develops in-depth, supporting documentation alongside core development efforts:

We have documented the functionality and core logic in a detailed specification document. This provides centrally-stored, critical information about functional and non-functional requirements to both COAX and location:live, ensuring everyone is in agreement.
The development team documented the technical side of the project. Meanwhile, QA created test cases and checklists.
The PM prepared a communication plan to specify all channels of communication with the team and stakeholders that are already established or should be set up to manage project-related communication effectively. The risk register was designated to identify internal and external risks and describe a solution if one of the risks occurs to reduce threats to project delivery.

This robust documentation approach allows new team members to onboard quickly and helps location:live to find the product information they need. All of this improves project performance and pace.

Product management of the project has remained on the location:live’s side. One of the most critical aspects of online marketplace software development is communication with our client - the journeys and logic are extremely complex. The steps we have taken help COAX and location:live to transparently and effectively communicate, shortening feedback loops. As the pace of the project has increased, so too has the level of daily and weekly engagement we have with our client.

The solution

At first, COAX estimated that more than a year of work was required for the development of the marketplace. After several iterations, we reduced the timeline by focusing on the most high-priority tasks that could be completed within the expected deadline.

We put our full attention on refining the existing solution and developing a product that would be ready for public release. Two years after the delivery of the initial scope, we are continually improving the core user journeys by enhancing the following features:

Search - the hirer’s journey starts by using the intelligent elastic search, where they can browse available spaces by location, intended use, and the period of time needed for the campaign.
Plan - Hirers are then presented with search results based on live availability, which can be refined using a broad range of additional filters. We have also made it possible to add searches into lists of favorite spaces and to finesse multiple activities into marketing campaigns and schedules
Book - For booking, hirers now experience simple journeys that make reserving and booking spaces quick and convenient.
Location providers can list a location with one or more different spaces associated with it. They can add and manage their inventories, accept options and bookings, or re-propose new dates and spaces to the hirers if they are booked to full capacity.

The result

As a result of COAX’s cooperation, location:live has a market-leading product with a significantly upgraded user experience. COAX have given location:live supreme confidence in the high standards of coding and testing employed on their platform, and are reassured now that all key functionality is defined in the documentation that is constantly updated by our team.
‍
Thanks to our efficient collaboration, we satisfied location:live’s expectations and, more importantly, acquired a loyal partner. location:live has been extremely supportive of Ukraine and our team. They regularly mention COAX in email newsletters to their users and express support on their social media channels. We are thrilled to work with clients whose attitude keeps us motivated to do our best work.

Why partner with COAX?

Flexibility & adaptability
Our team understands the importance of flexibility in the construction industry, which is why we work around your schedule to provide services at a time that's convenient for you.
Skilled and dedicated team
The COAX team consists of pioneering industry experts and experienced professionals who meet high proficiency standards. We stick to our ethos and are dedicated to delivering high-quality solutions that can lead the future of digital solutions.
Ongoing support
We're committed to providing excellent support throughout the entire project lifecycle. That's why we don't just focus on our technical specialists but also pay close attention to the professional skills of our project managers to ensure seamless cooperation.
Security and confidentiality
At COAX Software, we take data privacy and security very seriously. We sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and guarantee to keep all project information safe and establish trust.
Growth-focused approach
In the construction industry, businesses need to constantly adapt and grow. That's why we don't just develop custom software solutions, we implement cutting-edge tools that help your business and technology scale for long-term success.
Agile methodology
At COAX Software, we value transparency and efficiency. That's why we follow a truly agile approach when providing IT services for construction companies. We aim to remain flexible and responsive to your needs at all times to ensure project success.