Mobile App: How NaNLABS teamed up with Keep A Breast to optimize their app, increasing their global reach to reduce breast cancer risks

KAB’s tech team reached out to NaNLABS to implement new designs and add new features. But most importantly, they needed NaNLABS to offer suggestions to improve the overall UX. Ultimately, our client’s goals were to enhance overall performance and comply with the latest standards.    

We worked hand in hand with the Keep A Breast team to maintain transparency throughout the project and make sure that we were implementing their vision. This tight partnership allowed us to move faster and make decisions efficiently. 

Working as one team, we delivered a scalable app with a top-notch UX that enabled Keep a Breast to increase its reach globally and continue to provide advice helping thousands of girls and women reduce breast cancer risks. Read on to find out how staff augmentation, or as we prefer to call it, Team Augmentation, led to improving the KAB Mobile App! 

Table of contents

• Meet The Keep A Breast Foundation, a non-profit raising awareness of breast cancer

• The Brief: Improve the User Experience and Add New Features

• The Challenge: Strengthen the infrastructure to improve performance and UX 

• The Solutions: Migrate the App to more suitable and modern platforms  

• The results: An optimized Mobile App to reduce risks of breast cancer through education

• Need help optimizing your platform? 

Meet The Keep A Breast Foundation, a non-profit raising awareness of breast cancer

The Keep A Breast Foundation’s missions

Our client aims to reduce breast cancer risks and its impact globally through art, education, prevention, and action. They developed a platform to share advice, information, and events related to breast cancer prevention. KAB also built a Mobile App called Check Yourself! for users to get support at any time. One of the core features of the app is a step-by-step self-check tutorial enabling early detection of breast cancer.   

The partnership between the KAB Team & NaNLABS 

When Keep A Breast contacted NaNLABS, they were looking for a trustworthy partner to team up with. They wanted to improve Check Yourself!, the human-centered Mobile App they developed. The first objective was to revamp the app, incorporating KAB’s new branding and latest designs. Then, we had to improve existing features before implementing more advanced ones. 

At NaNLABS, we go beyond task execution by providing suggestions that could critically enhance your platform’s performance. KAB asked us to assess their app’s limitations and trusted the solutions we suggested. It ended up strengthening the app for future iterations.

The Brief: Improving UX & Adding New Features

NaNLABS teamed up with KAB’s tech team to:

• Implement new designs

• Add new features 

• Improve the User Experience (UX) 

Based on our client’s specific needs, we put together an Agile squad fully dedicated to the project.  

Implementing New Designs 

Along with Education, Prevention, and Action, the Arts are at the heart of the Keep A Breast Foundation’s approach to reducing breast cancer. The arts help KAB create a community and rally more people around the cause. Each year, the non-profit celebrates artistic expression by implementing designs created by the community on their Mobile App. NaNLABS has had the honor to integrate these impactful designs on KAB’s App two years in a row.   

Adding New Features 

KAB needed NaNLABS to prepare the app for a new feature implementation that would enhance UX. It included: 

• Improving the multi-language support 

• Implementing an advanced analytics tracking system guaranteeing anonymity

• Integrating a Donation system for people to support KAB financially. 

• Enabling Push Notifications to share information and set up self-check reminders. 

Enhance the User Experience

Our clients needed to future-proof their Mobile App before implementing any enhancements. They also wanted to comply with the latest standards. That was a great start for improving the UX on Check Yourself! To achieve these objectives, NaNLABS recommended some technical changes, involving the migration of the front-end and the back-end to more modern and suitable platforms. Back then, we used React Native for the front-end and Firebase for the Back-End. 

The Challenge: Strengthen the infrastructure to improve performance and UX 

When we started working on this project, Check Yourself! wasn’t up-to-date with the latest norms and the tools used were preventing the Mobile App from growing. We had to identify what was holding the App back and offer solutions for KAB to keep providing valuable information. 

Identifying the app's needs

Before offering any suggestions, we needed to assess the app’s needs. Check Yourself! required various performance and usability enhancements to improve loading time, storage, and maintenance activities. These improvements had to integrate smoothly with the brand spirit and style. 

Assessing the infrastructure weaknesses

The front-end of the Mobile App was developed with CoronaLabs, a tool that was usually used to build video games. Hence, the interface was made of clickable zones, degrading the user experience. It also made the app heavier and technically more complex as every change on the copy required uploading new images. 

Suggesting alternative platforms

We suggested several enhancements for the KAB Mobile App. They included changes in the front-end to massively improve the UX and cloud migration for the back-end to ease data management. Every suggestion was tailored to meet our client’s unique needs and goals.  

Working with NaNLABS means getting a custom tech stack that focuses on: 

• Specific needs: We ensure that the technologies suit your platform’s needs and requirements.

• Modernity: We suggest modern tools for you to benefit from a great pool of developers and get support easily if needed. 

• Scalability: We believe in you and your project. That’s why we always make sure to leave room for growth, laying strong foundations to build on.

Meeting growing demand often means shifting to different technologies. At NaNLABS, we’ve supported several clients through this journey. Discover how we leveraged cloud migration to accelerate HyreCar’s time-to-market. 

The Solutions: Migrate the App to more suitable and modern platforms   

Optimized Infrastructure

The back-end was originally built with Ruby on Rails. We decided to migrate it to the Cloud using Firebase, which is a Google Solution we used to work with. Firebase simplified data management and provided enough power to cover the needs of the entire app. It also enabled the app to send push notifications, track users anonymously, and collect analytics. 

UX enhancements

We migrated the app from CoronaLabs to ReactNative to build an interactive interface. ReactNative offered quality hybrid development possibilities, which meant a smooth adaptation to iOS and Android platforms. It also enhanced flexibility to suggest and update images. Using ReactNative contributed to reducing the size of the app, from 40 to 8 MB.  

Futureproof & Scalable App 

At NaNLABS, we care about our partners and their projects. We always consider the growth of your product by carefully choosing a modern tech stack that suits your needs. That way, we ensure that your product will be future-proof and scalable. 

On the KAB project, the Mobile App had been developed by another team. The tech stack chosen to build the infrastructure was limiting the app expansion capabilities. That’s why we suggested these major changes. Back then when we were working on that project, we suggested technologies that were broadly used, modern, and scalable. 

These changes on the front-end and the back-end contributed to improving the overall user experience while leaving room for growth. 

The results: An optimized Mobile App to reduce risks of breast cancer through education

The NaNLABS team is proud to have contributed to such a project. Collaborating closely with the KAB team was key to achieving successful outcomes. It allowed us to get a better understanding of their vision for the Mobile App. 

The teamwork led to significant outcomes: 

• High-Quality Mobile App: Optimizing the app’s architecture made it lighter, more flexible, and enhanced performance. These improvements contributed to enriching the User Experience.    

• Greater impact: The revamped and modern Mobile App enhanced the experience of a global user base, allowing users to access information, self-check protocols, and reduce risks of breast cancer.    

• Future-proof platform: With a strengthened architecture, Keep A Breast will be able to upgrade its Mobile App easily and seamlessly integrate new designs every year. Moreover, users will be able to navigate the app effortlessly. 

Need help optimizing your platform? 

Optimization allows you to stop adding to the technical debt and future-proof your platform. 

A great tech stack should always allow you to:

• Cover your platform’s needs

• Scale your platform 

• Get technical help easily

These requirements are at the core of NaNLABS’ approach to software development.

If you’re looking for an Agile partner who’s fully involved and cares about your vision while offering suggestions that enhance your business growth, let’s team up!