Application for managing a hydroponic home garden.

Verdeat Home Garden is a producer and distributor of the Verdeat device – a hydroponic home garden.

The device allows for growing herbs and vegetables at home or other indoor venues throughout the year, providing conditions identical to the natural ones. The home garden significantly automates activities such as lighting and watering plants, thus eliminating the need to tend to the crops at all times.

The Verdict App mobile application enables remote control over the garden from any place as well as continuous supervision of the plants’ health. As a result, user interactions with the device are limited to periodic refills of water and nutrients. The Verdeat system allows the user to enjoy fresh crops of sprouts, vegetables, and herbs all year round with minimal effort.

Building the mobile application required an in-depth analysis of the client’s needs and experiences.

The critical factor here was that the client previously had a mobile solution. The company knew how the application and the Verdeat device should work in connection with each other. We conducted workshops where we collected client and user requirements. During project implementation, we also relied on designs provided by the client.

In the next step, we considered certain options to ensure stability and scalability of the Verdeat system through using appropriate technology and enhancing communication with servers. We also wanted to introduce single authentication to prevent users from signing up multiple times. Ultimately, we presented our suggestions which the client accepted.

While implementing Verdeat Home Garden’s project, we applied an iterative approach. This allowed us to efficiently track task progress. We knew the project concept from the beginning (the entire idea was brought in by the client). That is why we could compose individual plans and sprints.

The client’s direct engagement was also of great importance. We invited Verdeat Home Garden representatives to our daily meetings, where they could review the progress and make suggestions about the application.

We wanted the application to run simultaneously on several mobile platforms without visual differences. That is why we used the Flutter cross-platform solution. It is currently the leading technology at Deviniti – we have a large team of mobile specialists working in Dart, Flutter’s programming language.

The advantage of this language is that we create one code, and then smoothly adapt it to Android and iOS platforms. We have extensive experience with the Flutter tool because we have worked with it almost from its beginning. Mobile applications developed with this solution are of high quality. Thanks to this, we could instantly implement the Verdeat App on both mobile platforms.

The work included five key system components: the mobile application, the mobile application server, the hydroponic device server, the load balancer, and the hydroponic device. The scope of the Verdeat system project was defined at the beginning, especially in the field of analysis and design (the client presented a ready-made UI and UX in the project’s initial stage).

The programmers worked iteratively; we also updated the client about the subsequent stages of the project implementation. Under this cooperation model, Deviniti and Verdeat Home Garden could regularly control the course of the project and the achievement of its goals.

With the use of Flutter technology, we could test two mobile application variants at the same time. After we finalized the tests, the application could function on Android and iOS systems. We conducted our tests in parallel with Verdeat Home Garden’s tasks; the company was performing the friends and family tests of the application. When we completed the testing stage and obtained customer approval, we proceeded to the implementation stage.

Due to the existing user base, the implementation included several steps: 1. user migration and building a stable database; 2. software updates on running Verdeat devices (this was a challenging endeavor); 3. performing software tests on devices; 4. informing users about the update.

The application was delivered in August 2021. One of the delivery elements was a video showing the app’s operation. The original version didn’t have access to the iOS platform, so deploying to both platforms was a big step for Verdeat Home Garden. Currently, the solution is generally available on Google Play Store and the Apple Store.

Deviniti provides constant support to ensure the correct functioning of the Verdeat system.