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Client work · 2018 · for TouchTap

MathStar

A mobile app helping kids in grades 1-5 sharpen their math skills over the summer break.

We built
Rails Web App & API
With
Ruby, Rails, Sidekiq

No longer runningmathstarapp.com

The Math Star logo beside an iPhone showing the app's splash screen, on yellow.

Three projects for TouchTap · since 2017

  1. 2017No longer runningEquus HubA platform connecting equestrian enthusiasts, on iPhone.Read the case study
  2. 2017School EventPayPayments and permission slips for school events, for the web and mobile.Read the case study
  3. 2018 · You’re reading thisNo longer runningMathStarA mobile app that helps kids sharpen their math over the summer break.

The challenge

Carol, the owner of Math Star, worked with us from the beginning utilizing our discovery process to define, explore, and refine what features needed to be in the platform at launch. With a defined plan, we executed swiftly to get to market before the end of the school year, building and launching her product.

What we made

We created a mobile app API and back office management tool allowing Math Star to offer curriculum content, capture registration referrals, offer reminder and engagement notifications, report progress to parents via email, and track the usage of users both student and parents on the platform.

2 awards, 2019

  • Gold, Apps – Education Horizon Interactive Awards Source
  • Best Education Mobile Application Internet Advertising Awards Source

The app went on to win these in 2019.

Two people sitting on a wooden floor looking at a phone showing a Math Star fill-in-the-number equation
A child outdoors holding an iPhone, playing a Math Star counting question that asks "How many?"

Discovery

Carol had never created a mobile app before and had little to no knowledge of the industry, trends, App Store requirements, and technical limitations.

We collaborated with Carol over a series of roughly 6 phone sessions to explore her competition, define success factors, explore pricing strategies, advise on best practices for privacy and user experience, and create a list of user stories for the team to use in the design and development phases.

Our goal was to ensure we had put as much effort into framing the design and development process, so the team could be focused and execute with clarity and success.

People working around a wooden table with laptops, notebooks and iced drinks

Project Management

In addition to our custom software solution services, we provide project management when our clients need help planning, tracking and iterating on a project.

For this project, we planned and tracked project progress for everyone involved in the project, across multiple organizations, using Slack, Github, and TeamWork.

A woman using a phone at a desk in front of a monitor showing the Math Star back office's Organization Details page

Cloud Development

We created a custom mobile API as a Ruby on Rails web application, offering functionality for the mobile app to perform registration, content, analytics, push notifications, engagement reminders, in-app purchases, and more. We provided the mobile development team with formal API documentation in Blueprint format on Apiary.

Additionally, we create a small back office tool allowing Carol to track registrations, administer her referral program, and provide basic insight into platform statistics as a whole.

More for TouchTap

Three projects for TouchTap

All the client work

2017 to 2018

  1. 2017 No longer runningEquus HubA platform connecting equestrian enthusiasts, on iPhone. Read the case study
  2. 2017 School EventPayPayments and permission slips for school events, for the web and mobile. Read the case study
  3. 2018
    No longer runningMathStarA mobile app that helps kids sharpen their math over the summer break. You’re reading this