Choosing the ideal wine for the food is an art – and for many people quite difficult. That´s where the Schibsted company Vinguiden (the wine guide) tries to help in Sweden.
Now a new application will soon be launched for Vinguiden´s 250.000 subscribers – with a unique database using more than 500 parameters to describe the different wines. The application has been developed by Schibsted Tech Polska´s so-called SEALs team
The SEALs team is a specialized team of software engineers that do short- and mid-term development projects for other companies in Schibsted Media Group. It is intended to be an internal alternative to hiring expensive external consultancy companies.
Learn about how we help Vinguiden
In this video, we explain how the SEALs team in Gdansk work together with Vinguiden to develop the new application. You hear about the development process, why Vinguiden chose to use SEALs for the project and how the daily cooperation and communication is organized.
Experts on wine
Vinguiden´s business is to advice Swedish people about wine. The site has between 400.000 and 500.000 monthly unique visitors – and 250.000 people subscribe to its newsletter with tips about wine.
As part of the service, Vinguiden tests and rates thousands of different wines.
“The database we are building is unique, even in the world,” says Marcus Ståhl, who is both the Chief Marketing Officer and the Chief Technology Officer in Vinguiden.
Needed help to develop the app
Vinguiden did not have the resources in-house to take on the development project. Yet it was important to get the project done fast.
Marcus Ståhl had learned about the SEALs team while visiting Gdansk for the Schibsted Growth Day in April. A couple of weeks later he returned to Gdansk to discuss the potential project with the SEALs team.
“Two hours later I had three people actually working on my project. It was really a smooth process,” he explains in the video.
Software engineer Przemysław Potocki explains the next steps in the project for the rest of the team
Used Scrum and agile
The project uses the Scrum methodology. Each development sprint is two weeks. The team meets online with Marcus Ståhl at the beginning and the end of each sprint. There are also usually additional synchronization meetings during the sprint, as needed.
“The cooperation is based on trust,” explains software engineer Przemysław Potocki in the video. He says the team takes extra care in the beginning of the project to ensure they are able to deliver according to the requirements.
Recommends SEALs to other Schibsted companies
Marcus Ståhl recommends other Schibsted companies to use the SEALs team.
“Absolutely! I think it works really well, and it is also good that it is from another Schibsted company. The threshold to start working is very low, and the process really smooth.”