Stronger U

Stronger U is a nutritional company uniting coaches and members around the world.

Large software projects hardly ever go as planned. Development is an ongoing process, requirements morph over time, and technology is often a moving target. The DNA app for Stronger U was no exception. For much of 2019 and 2020, I was immersed in planning, designing and developing a custom web application where nutritional coaches could communicate and guide members; and admins could manage assignments, program details, and interactions.

When I began working with Stronger U in the fall of 2018, it was to assess the state of their current app. After more than two years in development, it wasn’t complete. So we set out to offer an unbiased opinion on whether we could build off of the existing framework.

For Mike Doehla ( Stronger U Founder ) and his colleagues, it was difficult to translate business needs into requirements for an app. They knew nutrition, not tech. Unfortunately, this latest app, while competently built, was missing key considerations for how the business operated and what it would need in the future. The deeper we dug, the more we realized it could cause irreparable damage if rushed for release.

The final determination was that we needed to start from scratch.