Advanced craft keyboard with creative applications support
Client
World’s leading manufacturer of input and interface devices for personal computers and other digital products
Project type
R&D, Proof of Concept, HW prototypes integration, usability prototype
Technologies, frameworks, and integrations
Platforms: Desktop (Windows 10, macOS 10.15)
Tech Stack: C++, Qt, QML, JavaScript, USB
Integrations: Adobe Photoshop 22.3.+, Adobe Lightroom 4.2, Adobe Premiere Pro 15.1+, Adobe Illustrator, Zoom, Spotify, Streamlabs
Project tools
Atlassian products (Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket), Figma, Slack, and meeting tools
Project management methodology
Agile Scrum
Project duration
1 year 10 months
About
Developex role was planning and developing an early concept for an advanced controller integrating with creative applications together with the Client team. The Proof of Concept started as a desirability PoC, then evolved into a technical evaluation, and ended up being a usability prototype. Our application architecture allowed for that evolution, and as a result concept was successfully developed as a starter point for advanced controller development.
Developex team worked in close collaboration with Client Design, Product Management, and HW team to exchange constant feedback and R&D details, include changes in scope, and smoothly implement and test them.
We developed software that provides deep and flexible integration of third-party applications and services. This desktop software allows users to use the physical input devices to work with various applications in a quick way. The solution integrates the hardware prototype with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Illustrator, Zoom, Spotify, and Streamlabs on macOS and Windows.
Project challenges we successfully overcome
Early stage of project planning and development.
Solution:
We have articulated the project’s purpose, goals, and objectives and defined the initial scope of the project. We had close collaboration, effective communication, continuous feedback, and adjustment based on Client input. The hardware and design team were on the Client’s side, and we had an opportunity to communicate with the whole team on a weekly basis, which allowed us to get quick responses.
HW availability and testing.
Solution:
In the early stages, we had a limited amount of HW device prototypes. Lately, we received additional devices but also used other input devices for development and testing purposes, such as a special mouse, keyboard, MIDI device, and HW prototypes.
R&D work: we had to be adaptive to changes in the project requirements based on the results of research and Proof of Concept development.
Solution:
We have dedicated a specific phase to research and PoC development before the main project begins. This allowed us to gather critical data and insights and determine the functionality that formed the basis of the project’s requirements.
We had a flexible approach that allowed the software team to respond to changing project requirements based on research findings and Proof of Concept development.
We had an interesting scope of tasks to implement integrations with several different input devices, such as a mouse, keyboard, and Advanced craft keyboard and prototypes produced for this project.
We had two main directions for the development of main features:
Integration of different third party applications to the project, such as creative applications, photo/video editing, online video conferencing, and streaming applications, including the investigation and implementation of the API methods. We allocated the team with relevant experience and technical knowledge to meet the project requirements.
Integration with input devices such as an Advanced craft keyboard produced for this project, special mouse, keyboard, MIDI device, hardware prototypes. We have solid experience working with various types of devices, which allowed us to do integration, testing, and development more smoothly.
Main features that Developex was responsible for
Creation of a software application for Windows and MacOS based on the requirements.
Integration of different third-party applications to the project, such as creative applications, photo/video editing, online video conferencing, and streaming applications (including Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Illustrator, Spotify, Streamlabs, and Zoom).
Integration of physical input devices to work with built-in applications in a quick way.
Button assignation.
Application recognition.
Interaction model.
Tool settings (add/remove/edit/reorder).
Profiles (add/remove/edit).
Possibility to add a custom application.
HW support.
Project after-release support
The Developex team offers constant project after-release support to address any requirements or requests for possible improvements or fixes. We received a minimal amount of bugfix requests after the software delivery to the Client.
Developex team
1x
Project Manager/Business Analyst
1x
Tech Lead for PoC development
2x
Back-end software developers
1x
Front-end software developer
1x
QA
The Project Manager/Business Analyst was responsible for the specification document creation as a set of User Stories with Acceptance Criteria. On the Project Management side, we managed the project using Agile methodology, prepared tasks for the team based on requirements, participated in meetings and discussions with the Client, and prepared weekly status reports.
Tech Lead was responsible for R&D and Proof of Concept development.
Software developer’s role was to implement functionality based on the requirements and results of the Proof of Concept, regular status, risk reporting and resolving, planning activities, and proposing improvements, integration with HW.
QA manual has been provided during the project development.