How Reinvently's CEO's Artem Petrov Envisions a Creative App-Based Ecosystem

1. Can you describe the history and progression of Reinvently? 

Well, originally, I founded AppMade Lab back in 2008 and we did quite well in the early days of the iPhone. In 2011, we were acquired by Provectus and became the Provectus Mobile Studio. The App Store and Google Play did a lot to drive the mobile market and in June of 2016, we were rebranded as Reinvently. We’ve established our headquarters in Palo Alto, California and opened an office in Dallas about two years ago. Including developers in our European offices, we have over 60 dedicated specialists in our team. We enjoy a great relationship with several Silicon Valley startups and enterprises, and obviously, intend to expand upon our success.

2. What are the key processes involved in your MVP model? 

We take an end-to-end approach to product creation. Our goal has always been to create finished products, not endless projects. This approach requires us to invest all our knowledge, expertise, and passion for our client’s success.

Our design team incorporates feedback from every stakeholder, including end-users. When the client sees end-user feedback, it keeps them focused on getting to the market rapidly instead of adding more features mid-stream that increase costs and delay the launch. We collect feedback from questionnaires, bug reports, in-app analytics and other mechanisms where possible.

3. You’ve been on the judging panel to award the best products in Mobile User Experience Design. According to you, what are the must-have qualities of a top-notch UX design?

I would say that simplicity is key. If you can remove something and your UX will not suffer much, just remove it. Less is more! Things I look for in a good UX design include a smooth onboarding process, minimal or no user registration, skillful use of color and typography, and incorporation of negative scenarios. For more on this topic, read my design advice from the 2nd Annual MUX Awards.

4. How is your product delivery methodology different than your competitors?

Everything we do focuses on continuous product development (CPD). We are design-driven in the beginning and data-driven after the MVP is launched. This is what we call taking a product approach to delivery. We see ourselves as a true product consulting agency, not just as engineering or design consultants. We maintain transparency with the customer every step of the way, keep them educated and informed, and essentially strive to build the kind of trust where they can rely upon us as an extension of their own company.

5. In your opinion what constitutes primary design decisions in app development processes.

Understanding your user personas. Get to know your users before you design your app - try to understand their habits, likes, and dislikes. Test your ideas and concepts. Even if you only have 5 people you can talk with, that’s better than talking to no one and just building the app according to your own preconceived ideas.

6. What are the biggest industry challenges in front of Reinvently right now? 

I would say we started building more IoT related products and more and more of our customers are coming from regulated industries, such as healthcare. These clients are looking not just for great user experience for their products or seamless technology that enables their app to communicate with various wearables and IoT devices, but also for someone to help them through certification processes such as those of the FDA or CE.

7. How do you see AI and machine learning practices changing app development strategies of Reinvently?

It's not a secret that the success of any AI and ML tech depends on data. Furthermore, mobile apps can help to collect this data and make sure it's accurate and verified, so again it comes down to user experience. Mobile apps are a great interface to close the loop for ML-driven products. This could take the form of anything from delivering medical reports, notifying of anomalies, or helping makes human-assisted AI more efficient.

At our parent company Provectus, we have very deep expertise in building ML and data models for a variety of industries, so we understand how leveraging mobile tech can get better outcomes for businesses.

8. What latest disruptions in the Internet Of Everything (IOE) have caught your attention?

5G that can decrease latency drastically and make all sensors to operate as a single organism, and leveraging AI to get better outcomes from the data that sensors are collecting.

9. Any advice for startups taking a step into AR app development?

We have a lot of experience working with AR companies. Looksery, one of our former clients, was acquired by Snap-in 2015. In 2019, I would recommend two things if you are trying to build a near-AR product.

First, when it comes to tech, look at the existing frameworks and SDKs by market leaders; AR Kit is now incredibly powerful, and solutions from Unity can help you achieve a lot without custom development. Secondly, when it comes to AR, content is everything, so think how you can either deliver content to users or build tools so they can create this content themselves.

10. Any additional comments you’d like to add? 

My last tip - don't underestimate the importance of design and UX for any product you're working on. Test it on real users and match it with business outcomes, and the tech under the hood might become not so important.

Key Learnings

• The name 'Reinvently' is actually a rebranded name in 2016. The company commenced in 2008 as AppMadeLab.
• Reinvently's MVP model is to create finished products and not indulge in endless projects.
• It is a 'true product consulting agency' and focuses on continuous product development (CPD).
• Simplicity is the key.
• Understanding user personas, getting into their mindsets is of vital importance for app development. 
• Mobile apps are a great interface to close the loop for ML-driven products. 
• Never underestimate the prowess of UI and UX.