PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Vungle is a San Francisco-based startup that provides the infrastructure for app
monetization through video ads. It plays the roles of an ad network and ad exchange in its dealings with app publishers, advertisers, and other exchanges to bring meaningful ads to the right viewers. Vungle engaged Teksera for a trifold deliverable that included rebuilding their mobile SDK software, building a new team of engineers dedicated to supporting app developers, and refining their development processes.
Teksera helps all businesses not only reach, but exceed their goals. Our experience helps us lay out a strategy that perfectly fits our clients. This collaboration is essential for the successful transition from strategy, to plan, to action. Learn about some of our past projects below, and get in touch to see what we can do for you.
OBJECTIVE
Vungle provides app developers with an SDK to implement into their code; this SDK communicates with Vungle’s servers to request and report on ad plays. Teksera was tasked with rebuilding the existing code for the iOS and Android platforms, and with developing a new SDK for Windows platforms. We were also asked to assemble and
empower a brand new team of engineers to support app developers. Finally, we were to examine the existing development process and refine it to scale to the company’s rapid
growth.
CHALLENGE HIGHLIGHTS
The special challenges highlighting this project included the rebuilding of SDKs whose original versions lacked technical specifications, the recruitment and direction of a brand new team whose concrete roles still required definition and revision, and the introduction of tools, development processes, and a mindset positioning the engineering department to efficiently handle upcoming challenges.
STRATEGY
Teksera studied the existing SDK code carefully to determine the best structure for its new incarnation. We built plugins and adapters for each platform. And we continue to provide Level 3 support for the SDKs when they are escalated to us by the local team.
Teksera recruited a team of highly motivated “heavy hitters” to compose Developer Programs, the new team dedicated to app publisher needs. We then empowered them to create and maintain a Developer Portal hosting a library of documents, use cases, and downloadable tools for app publishers. Process-wise, Teksera helped Vungle build a solid foundation for rapid development.
We introduced Agile processes and tools, taking care to modify them to the unique culture and needs of our client. We encouraged the teams to embrace a decentralized decision-making culture. Finally, we provided technical oversight for build and release automation. To this end, we created a comprehensive continuous integration process, environment, and tools that require developers to integrate code into a shared repository several times a day. We defined a process wherein each code check-in is verified by an automated build, allowing teams to detect problems. The direction we set significantly reduced the engineers’ need to backtrack in search of problem origins, enabling them to focus on building features.