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The Vision

MACus

Vision

There are thousands of apps that offer services or sell products. While digitization is supposed to bring us closer, we are moving away from each other. While people should help each other, everything is commercialized and third parties want to earn on top of it.
To break this curse, our partner wanted to develop a new platform where money is a secondary priority and where digitalization should bring people closer and make them more social. A platform with the goal to do a favor in order to receive favors from others and that without money. Someone who is strong in gardening may have a weakness with cars. Someone who needs a hammer may give away a screwdriver.
The principle of MACus is to think of the social component, leaving money out of it. A clan of helpful people working together to make life easier for each other.
To translate this great idea into a new digital concept was the task of our team. How we achieved this in an IT Solution, you can find out within the next 5 minutes. Find out more now and become part of a new way of thinking!

Duration : 6 Months

Collaboration : Fixed price project

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Our Solution

Our Solution

first digital social marketplace for favors

Our Solution

MACus is a Mobile App that allows users to become part of a clan of people who want to support each other. The so-called MACus Clan allows users to offer their own goods and services to other users, so-called clan members, as a favor.

By maintaining your own profile and receiving so-called MACus Coins, users can obtain favors from other members. MACus Coins cannot be sold for money in the app, but only serve a good purpose.

By integrating a chat function, clan members can exchange details and send media files. This platform is controlled and moderated by an administration panel and a moderation team in case of problems.

To bring to life and exchange the positive or even honest constructive word, there is a rating system as well as a Hood, where pictures of favors can be commented and rated.

With the app you have access to all your upcoming favors at any time and are part of a large and extensive clan in your area. Digital, but still very close and thoughtful!

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Key Components

Key Features
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User profile management

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Favor management

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Review system

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Chat integration

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Push notifications

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Payment gateway

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API and server development

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Admin panel

Tech Stack

Tech

Native App Development Android (Kotlin) IOS (Swift)

Back-end

Native App Development is the creation of software programs that run on specific devices and platforms. You can build beautiful native apps for target devices-smartphones.

Back-end framework, Logic, Server

Back-end

Nodejs was used for the backend. The NodeJS open-source program provides Cross-Platform access, real-time communications, and a single programming language. We used MongoDB as our database. With such a small footprint, it can control and coordinate deeply embedded apps in huge warehouses with a great amount of data. We developed the API logic to retrieve data for favors, updates in the clan or profile. Besides that we used socket for real-time chat experience between users.

Social Login

Social

With social APIs, users can gain access to website functionality more easily. Facebook and Google logins are integrated into Skooby's website so users do not have to enter excessive credentials and can bypass cumbersome registration procedures.

Firebase Push Notifications (FCM)

Social

PayPal offers secure and simple online payment methods that are internationally acclaimed. PayPal payment was integrated to protect users' transactions from current and future security threats. Idempotency issues as well as online payments can be handled effortlessly with a PayPal account.

Stripe Payment Gateway

Social

We have integrated firebase push notifications in order to remind users about new animal ad postings, products launch, insurance scheme arrivals, messages, payments, and others. The FCM is required to handle messages other than receiving notifications in the background.

How Vitec Archived The Project Goal?

Client goal

We have discussed the vision with our partner and brainstormed the technical implementation. To combine social aspects with a digital marketplace is not easy. Through a series of ideation sessions, we were able to jointly plan valuable features and create a product roadmap to first and further versions.

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We researched the community market for this idea to better understand the target audience. The design was informed by the underlying story of merging an easy-to-use marketplace with the social components of a clan that exchanges goods and services instead of buying them.

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We introduce the well-known and strong design pattern MVVM along with Repository pattern to simplify data flow and responsiveness in code. We introduce optimistic UI approaches to increase performance and load times.
Following an agile approach, we worked in sprints to develop, test and iterate features and build the best fitting V 1.0.

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To get the final green light for the MACus app, end-to-end testing was conducted with a variety of positive and negative test cases to build up the individual features of the IT Solution. We created use cases for different operating systems to ensure that the mobile app would provide a great E2E user experience and not suffer from technical issues.

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We completed this unique IT Solution in less than 5 months and ensured that users have a novel experience with the applications. Once again, we managed to turn a dream into reality.
We were immensely proud when V1.0 was released on Google Play Store and Apple Store after passing the review process of the store.

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Main Functionalities

Functionalities
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User Authentication and Management

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MACus offers registration with social logins such as Google, Apple or Facebook, or classically via email and password. After registration, the user is guided through an onboarding to fill in relevant profile information and offer an initial service or product.

Within the app, the user has the ability to edit all information, maintain their services and provide images to illustrate the benefits of their favors or can delete the account

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Explore Favors

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With the explore feature, MACus offers the user two unique ways to find people who offer their support at the right time and in the neighborhood. While the classic list view displays all relevant metrics in one list and one at a time, the creative Tinder view allows users to swipe between matching clan members in full-screen mode to find the perfect match for their needs.

With the right quick actions to explore the clan members' profile, contact them directly or create a request, users can achieve the desired result with very few and simple screen touches.

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Favor Management

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A simple user interface allows the user to keep up to date with all the favors they give or receive. A Tap navigation provides the user with the ability to view favors in various states such as pending, in process, completed, and more.

The user can easily create a new request based on an existing request to avoid the user's search.

By clicking on the preview card of a favor, the user is taken to the detailed view where all the metrics of the favor and other actions are accessible. A chat is integrated to share more details or change plans in time to avoid misplanning.

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Review System

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To enable constructive and fair communication, a two-way review system with different components for evaluation has been implemented.

Both parties will rate their experience in different categories such as quality, timeliness and communication. A small free text can be added in combination with up to 5 high quality images to illustrate the work and spread the word. The rating system is managed in the admin panel and offers the possibility to get in touch if something is wrong.

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The Clan’s Hood

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Another great and special feature is the Hood of MACus. The location where the results of favors are shared voluntarily and where users can participate. The place where simple life hacks are shared by MACus with their clan members to make life easier for everyone.

In short, the place where all clan members can keep up with each other and enjoy the growth and success of the community and the idea of socialism in digitization.

Biggest challenge

Biggest challenge and our journey of overcoming

Biggest challenge

The biggest challenge was the ideation and design phase of the whole IT Solution. Creating a classic marketplace, as known from many commercial platforms, in a new social and clan theme is not easy. Finding the mix between MACus Coins and Favour without slipping into a classic marketplace and currency was dangerous.

Mastering the challenge is only possible by applying Design Thinking processes, as well as some workshops and building UI Design System validated by sharing with relevant target audience. Working with our partner, we were able to design a very nice first version over several attempts.

We will not have found the perfect mix yet, but together with our partner and our clan members we will improve this design and idea every day to create a new generation IT Solution that will bring us all closer in a special way by exchanging likes and no money for performance - like before when we lived in clans and cohesion was the most important factor of growing and surviving.

Most special moment in
our journey

journey

Having the opportunity to be the 360° Software Development Partner for a unique and meaningful idea and movement is more than just special, it is inspiration for all of us contributing to the IT Solution.
This idea of moving away from money and personal benefits and promoting what is increasingly forgotten today but is part of being human - supporting each other without looking at one's own advantage - it is something very special.
Through this product we offer the possibility for small villages to metropolises to build a new culture with their citizens and become part of our clan of MACus.
We are proud of what we have created and what we will build from it. If you would like to become part of MACus, please visit their website MACus - Ruil gusten en spullen met je buuren, Barter skills and goods in your neighbourhoods
If you also want to write a 360° Success Story with us and become part of our 360° Software Development Partner mindset, then contact us and let's make a new unique vision come true.

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Marc

Marc Roset, CEO at Vitec, loves working with people around the world to develop trend-setting and innovative IT concepts. His working methodology can be summarized as follows: "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships."

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