Project Management: how we manage projects like Move

Project management is an essential element for the success of every technological project, especially when it has to do with a complex platform like Move, a German startup operating in the digital payments sector. Move's goal was to create an innovative solution for instant payment and daily transactions. To do so, a robust, scalable, and well structured architecture was required.

In this article, we'll explore how our team, guided by project manager Laura Michielli, has faced the challenges of such an ambitious project, coordinating a group of specialists while adopting flexible and dynamic development methodologies.

Through Laura's interview and an analysis of the various project management key phases, we'll see how the Agile approach and a close collaboration among team members led Move to success, guaranteeing the release of a robust and performing platform. 

 

What is project management

Project management describes planification, coordination, and the realization of projects, themes, and plans that can be simple or complex.

A "small organisation" isn't enough anymore, since a project's failure can have serious financial consequences. Organising the whole project is extremely important. Here's where the term project management comes into play.

According to APM (Association Project Management) project management is "the application of processes, methods, skills, knowledge and experience to achieve specific project objectives according to the project acceptance criteria within agreed parameters. Project management has final deliverables that are constrained to a finite timescale and budget."

The extent to which project management is used in practice has to do with the sector and orientation of the company. In IT, PMs plan, organise, and control projects that require the collaboration of experts in various areas. They coordinate employees, departments, and external service providers. During the implementation, they always keep in check time and budget. IT PMs have a double responsibility since they are not only responsible for the implementation but also the achievement of objectives.

In the planning phase, IT PMs:

• manage system operators, chief architects, development heads, lead designers and quality managers.
• they promote collaboration and dialogue between specialised departments.
• they define requirements and objectives, create release plans and deal with task distribution.
• they also decide on the methods and tools to be used.

According to the project, various platforms, development environments, architectures and programming languages may be used. 

 

Move: an overview of the project

Move is a German startup operating in the field of digital payments, with the goal of offering an innovative solution for money transfers and daily payments. The platform allows its users to make instant payments without the use of credit or debit cards, simplifying the transaction process for consumers and commercials in a similar way as Satispay.

The project involved the creation of a microservices architecture, a key strategic choice to ensure the scalability of the platform. This approach allows Move to grow efficiently, supporting the increase of users and transactions, without compromising performances. The modularity of microservices also facilitates the addition of new functionality without having to redesign the entire system, providing crucial development flexibility for a rapidly expanding start-up.

 

Interview with our PM Laura Michielli

To better understand how Move has been managed and which were the key factors of the project's success, we've interviewed Laura Michielli, our project manager, who has coordinated the whole project. Here are some of the questions we've asked her to make her approach arise and the challenges met:

1. What were the main challenges you faced in managing the Move project?

Move is a dynamic and continuously evolving project, that evolves on multiple fronts. First, there is a customer app, dedicated to consumers and a merchant app, designed for shops and provided with a web backend. Lastly, the admin panel acts as an admin interface for all the needs. The development of these parts happens simoultaneously, according to the initial planning. This is an approach open to new insights and suggestions, that involves more teams and aims at obtaining the maximum in terms of functionalities, practicality and efficiency. In my opinion, the main challenge lies in creating a fruitful synergy between the different stakeholders, monitoring timeframes, accommodating all needs, finding realistic and feasible meeting points and always being proactive in communicating between the parties.

2. How did you coordinate the development team?

I believe that collaboration in planning, sharing clear deadlines and objectives, and being able to consult each other for any doubts or needs for clarification are crucial. For this reason, first and foremost, I did my best to establish a relaxed atmosphere open to cooperation in which everyone felt free to express their opinion and make their contribution. I always maintained close communication with the client, developers, and collaborators of other teams to keep an eye on the progress of the work and collect feedback in real time on any difficulties and proposals to be taken into account in the subsequent planning. The meetings held in preparation for and at the conclusion of the sprints were very important, as they allowed positive action to be taken on the project as it progressed.

3. Which project management methodologies have you adopted (Scrum, Agile, etc.)?

We have adopted the Scrum methodology, known for its effectiveness especially in software development. The strength of this method is precisely the flexibility with which the work can be organised, remaining faithful to the objectives but guaranteeing such discretion as to receptively welcome proposed improvements, which steers the project towards optimisation. The Scrum methodology subdivides development into a series of sprints (work cycles), the duration of which in our case was two weeks, including new features selected on the basis of the customer's priorities and their technical feasibility, without taking away space from a part of bug fixing and testing - both internal and external, in both the development and staging environment - aimed at releasing a product that is as stable and functional as possible.

4. How did you handle communication with the customer?

Communication with the client took place in a regular and transparent manner, mainly using instant messaging channels and meetings on videoconferencing platforms. Another very important tool that made it possible to maintain high levels of interactivity and clarity was the shared use of the Jira software, used to coordinate work and monitor the status of individual parts of the development. The client actively participated in populating the backlog and setting priorities.

5. How did your work influence the success of the project?

The role of the project manager is crucial for the success of large and complex projects such as MovePayment. Indeed, it is important to ensure that there is a specific, super-partisan figure in charge of monitoring sprints, respecting development and testing schedules, and facilitating the exchange between the different parties involved, including the external teams in charge of implementing collateral functionalities (e.g. e-commerce plugins). A figure like mine has been crucial in keeping an eye on the different aspects of development, acting as a contact person for communications and responsible for organising sprint planning and sprint reviews. My role, in short, has been one of coordination and control: it is important that there is someone in charge of this, otherwise imprecise and discontinuous planning can only result in a deficient and unreliable product.

 

The project management process used

Move's project has followed an Agile approach, characterised by interactive development cycles and a constant focus on the adaptation based on the client's feedback. Scrum has been the main framework adopted, organising the work in 2-week sprints, during which specific functionalities were defined and implemented. This methodology has allowed the team to remain flexible and reactive to changes, a fundamental aspect in a context like Move, where technological requirements are continuously evolving.

The project management process started with a kick-off phase where the main objectives and roadmap of the project were defined together with the client. From there, we proceeded with incremental development through sprints. Each sprint focused on specific functionalities, which were rigorously designed, developed and tested.

Testing and Quality Assurance (QA) were not treated as final stages of the project, but integrated within each sprint. Each newly developed feature was carefully tested during the sprint to detect any bugs or performance issues, ensuring a continuous QA process and minimising risks to system stability.

Similarly, the delivery and rollout process was an integral part of each sprint. At the end of each development cycle, the team would assess the readiness of the new functionality for release, working with the customer to obtain immediate feedback and adapt functionality as needs arose. This approach made it possible to release the product gradually, starting with an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) version, and to progressively enrich it with new features, while keeping the system functional and stable.

This approach ensured transparency and adaptability throughout the project lifecycle, allowing Move to grow robustly and in line with its strategic objectives.

 

Collaboration between team and PM: the role of each participant

The success of the Move project was possible thanks to the close collaboration between all team members and the Project Manager. Each party played a key role, and Laura Michielli coordinated all participants to ensure that the work proceeded in a cohesive and organised manner.

• CTO (Chief Technology Officer): the CTO played a crucial role in defining the technical vision and choosing the technologies used for the Move platform. He worked directly with Laura to ensure that the microservice architecture met the system's scalability and robustness requirements. The CTO also oversaw critical technical decisions, ensuring that the development team had all the resources and guidance needed to meet the technological challenges of the project.
• Backend development team: responsible for the creation of a microservices architecture, the backend team has developed a scalable and resilient structure at Move's core. The collaboration with Laura has been crucial to plan and optimally divide the tasks. 
• Frontend development team: this group has worked upn the user interface of Move's app, taking care of the user experience and guaranteeing the perfect integration with the backend. Our PM has facilitated the synergy between frontend and backend, ensuring that the processes were coordinated and deadlines respected. 
• Team UX/UI: the UX/UI designers collaborated from an early stage to create a user-friendly app that met the usability requirements of the market. Laura managed the interactions between the UX team and the developers, ensuring that the graphical solutions were technically feasible and implementable. 
• Testers e QA: the testing team worked closely with Laura to identify any bugs and performance issues, ensuring that each stage of development was followed by robust quality assurance.

This cross-functional collaboration allowed Move to proceed seamlessly, with strong integration between technical, design and management teams. PM's ability to manage and facilitate this interaction was essential to keep the project on schedule and on budget.

 

Results and conclusions: success of the Move project

Le principali funzionalità sviluppate per Move includono:

• Send and receive money: users can make instant money transfers, making it easy to exchange amounts between friends, family or merchants, without having to use credit or debit cards.
• Cashback on purchases: Move offers a cashback programme that allows users to earn cash back on purchases made at partner shops, enhancing the user experience and incentivising use of the platform.
• Transaction tracking: users can track their daily transactions easily and transparently, viewing all transactions directly in the app and keeping control of their budget.
• Shared payments: the split payments function allows users to easily split the cost of common purchases and expenses, such as dinners or travel, making it easy to manage shared payments between several people.
• Linking bank accounts: users can connect their bank accounts to the Move platform, making it easier to manage balances and top-ups.

 

Final considerations

The Move project is a concrete example of how structured management and a highly qualified team can bring success to even the most complex solutions. Thanks to the choice of a microservices architecture, the adoption of agile methodologies and constant communication with the customer, we were able to develop a scalable, secure and user-friendly digital payment platform, perfectly in line with market demands.

If you are looking for a reliable partner for IT development projects, DevInterface is the ideal solution. Our team of experts is ready to tackle every challenge with a tailor-made approach, guaranteeing innovative and high-performance solutions for companies in every sector.

Contact us to find out how we can help you realise your next digital project.