Like it or not, mobile developers are often considered "nerds," i.e., people who are overly intellectual and obsessive about their work. On the other hand, there is The Nerdery, a team of "Nerds" who are passionate about solving complex business problems.
The Nerdery is a privately owned company that is based out of Minneapolis with offices in Chicago, Kansas City and Phoenix. Its core services include:
- Mobile apps
- Web apps
- Websites
- Systems integration
- Digital consulting
"We're a digital strategy consultancy of human-centered designers and software engineers," Mark Malmberg, The Nerdery's communication director, told FierceDeveloper. "The Nerdery's mission is pursuing our clients' mission by orchestrating change, transforming companies into tech companies."
The Nerdery and the app development cycle
Jon Rexeisen, The Nerdery's principal software engineer for iOS, said the company's app development cycle involves continuous integration.
Continuous integration helps automate the build process for deployment, Rexeisen said. As such, The Nerdery is better equipped to identify and resolve challenges throughout the app development cycle.
"Launching an app is the culmination of a lot of work," Rexeisen said. "When development feels that work is completed, we have a crack QA department go over everything with a fine-toothed comb. Once we have any issues that may have arisen resolved, we deploy to the App Store or Google Play."
In many instances, The Nerdery encounters challenges around the execution of a client's vision, Rexeisen said. But with an upfront and transparent approach to app development, The Nerdery often helps clients overcome such issues quickly.
"During any project, it’s hard to see all the problems that may arise come up," Rexeisen said. "We feel being upfront and transparent during the development process is the ticket."
For The Nerdery, maintaining consistent communication with clients has played an important role in past projects, too.
To better understand the importance of communication, consider The Nerdery's work with Threads, an Iowa-based company that provides employee review software that measures workers based on culture fit.
Tom O'Neill, The Nerdery's president, pointed out Threads was searching for "a technology partner with a culture rooted in core values." Ultimately, The Nerdery proved to be a perfect fit and was able to help Threads develop and enhance its HR management software.
The Nerdery's user experience team empowered Threads to develop "an HR-management tool unlike any other." Threads was able to incorporate job-interview capabilities and a two-dimensional employee review scale to help managers monitor employee progress.
"Threads found a good match, as did we – essentially, the perfect client found us and we’re grateful they did," O'Neill said in a statement. "Our Nerds are as passionate about our clients’ business as we are about our own, and that comes especially naturally building a product like Threads."
The Nerdery and end user feedback
The Threads project represented one of many success stories for The Nerdery, one that has helped the company rank on the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies for nine consecutive years.
Meanwhile, The Nerdery targets a multi-faceted approach to evaluate user feedback – something that has helped the company deliver successful apps to clients and bolster its revenues during the past few years.
"We take a look at explicit and implicit feedback," Rexeisen said. "The explicit feedback is what is found on the App Store and Google Play. We also take a look at what people are saying on social media as well."
To review explicit feedback, The Nerdery prioritizes analytics, Rexeisen said.
"We always advocate for analytics within applications, similar to how you would put Google Analytics on a website. This tells us how users are using the app and our retention rate," he said.
Rexeisen also pointed out implicit feedback often delivers greater value than explicit feedback.
"Implicit feedback can influence product decisions for all the end users," he stated. "Explicit feedback on average tends to be angry or upset customers who may not reflect the entire customer base."
The future of The Nerdery
Rexeisen said The Nerdery recorded $64.8 million in annual revenue last year, and the company intends to grow its operations by "doubling down" on app development.
"We are really doubling down on our effort to have inclusivity be a focus in our apps," Rexeisen said. "We would like our apps to be available to be localized into multiple languages. We want those who may have need for accessibility features to have a home within our applications."
To accomplish these goals, The Nerdery will continue to drive its core values, including:
- Constantly pushing boundaries
- Maintaining integrity in all circumstances
- Remaining humble
- Winning by empowering people
- Solving problems pragmatically
The Nerdery also remains devoted to being "the best place in the world for Nerds to work." And with its team of Nerds, The Nerdery may be equipped to expand its business and clientele for years to come.