Who are the Wizeliners behind this project?
Only a couple of engineers originally worked together to initialize WizeRunner. Now, there is a total of seven people building and maintaining the platform; Quan Vo (BE), Kien Vo (BE), Thang Pham (FE), Tam Nguyen (FE), Hieu Nguyen (FS), Cuong Le (Devops), and Ho Nguyen (QA).
Can you share with us more details about how this project started and where the idea came from?
Employees in our APAC offices would use an online employee fitness challenge platform called ChallengeRunner to track their activity and compete with one another in friendly competitions. It was a lot of fun, but we quickly realized that ChallengeRunner, like other similar platforms, had many limitations.
Here are the two main drawbacks:
- These systems are not free. Users have to pay to be able to join running challenges individually or as a team.
- The aesthetics of the platform are rather uninspired, and the reporting is bland. We thought this reduced the users’ motivation when using the app.
We realized that we could build a better product for our people with the features we wanted and designs we liked to encourage participation and engagement. We were motivated, and we knew that we had more than enough resources at our disposal. That was the initial idea of creating WizeRunner.
What challenges did the team face during this project? How long did the project take?
The biggest challenge was that our team lacked a UX designer. We ended up having one of our FE developers take care of creating the mockups for our new platform. It took about four months to complete the two phases – one phase of building the main features, primarily on mobile apps (this included the basic individual and team challenges), and the other to improve features as well as release the web home page.
What were your expectations when the WizeRunner app was released?
We came up with the idea to build WizeRunner not only for Wizeliners but for our communities as well. We hope that others can utilize the platform to stay motivated and encourage their competitive spirit through running challenges.
What was your favorite moment during the project?
When I received the news that the project won two prizes, “Outstanding UX” and “Outstanding Code Quality,” in the Innovation Camp 2021 closing ceremony. It felt amazing to have our project, and all of the effort we’ve put towards it, validated and recognized.
What does the future look like for WizeRunner?
Our plan is to make WizeRunner a commercial application and publish it on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Congratulations to the WizeRunner team and all of the other 2021 Innovation Camp participants on their awards. Follow Wizeline on LinkedIn for updates on the WizeRunner application launch and other innovation-related activities at Wizeline.
Join the Wizeline APAC Team
Interested in becoming a Wizeliner and participating in this year’s Innovation Camp? Our team in Vietnam is always hiring talented engineers, designers, and delivery leaders. Check out our recent case studies on AirAsia and True Digital, two of our largest clients in the region, to get a feel for the types of projects our APAC teams are working on. The Wizeline APAC team is growing rapidly, and joining one of them is a great opportunity to advance your skills, deliver great results, and build an amazing career. Apply today!
