23 January 2025

Dals: Transforming On-Demand Language Services

Client

Languages/Frameworks

TypeScript
Kotlin
Swift
React Native

Dals: Case Study

A Partnership for Progress

Improving lives through language technology

Dals has one simple aim: to reduce language barriers. As a language services provider with over 20 years of experience, they support the public and private sectors with translation and interpreting services across 450 languages. With a growing focus on video interpreting, Dals needed to improve their mobile app, enabling linguists to handle on-demand and scheduled video calls easily and efficiently. The potential impact of this work is significant—the Dals application suite has the power to change the course of a person’s medical recovery journey. By providing translation functionality, the tools help medical professionals communicate effectively with patients, ensuring understanding and helping both parties feel heard.

With their internal team at capacity, Dals partnered with Counter to help build a new mobile app that would better serve their users. This was the start of a six-month collaboration.

Engagement Overview

Client
- Dals
Location
- Manchester
Engagement Duration
- 6 months
Counter team size
- 4 Software Engineers + 1 Tech Lead
Languages & Frameworks
- TypeScript, Kotlin, Swift, React Native
Tools Used
- Gitlab, Bitrise, Detox, Openvidu, Firebase Cloud, Messaging, APNS

The Challenge

A critical shift to real-time communication

Dals needed a mobile app that went beyond sending notifications to linguists – instead, it had to trigger real-time phone ring alerts for urgent requests. This required a fundamental change in the app’s structure, as the original version relied heavily on browser functionality. To enable the phone to ring when a call came in, a complete rewrite of the app was necessary. This feature was key to their broader strategy of moving customers from face-to-face bookings to more efficient and cost-effective video on demand. The app needed to satisfy the needs of Dals’ linguists, be launched within three months and would require ongoing updates afterwards.

The Approach

The Counter consultancy approach

The project kicked off with an onboarding phase, where our team got up to speed with Dals’ business needs and tech strategy. From there, we went into agile development, working in sprints to deliver a minimum viable product (MVP) on time.

Onboarding & Planning
Together with Dals, we mapped out the user stories, sprint schedules, and the tech stack.
Development & Launch
The Counter team, working in an agile squad, rebuilt the mobile app in React Native and added the essential real-time phone alerts feature. Using one codebase was beneficial as previously Dals had developed the app for both iOS and Android, plus Dals had other web apps within the organisation also written using React. We ensured transparency by making both our squad’s work and communications, as well as those of other agile squads, accessible to Dals’ internal teams. This facilitated a seamless flow of information across teams. The MVP was successfully launched within the three-month target.
Post-launch Improvements
After launch, we worked on new features and ensured the app met evolving needs. Counter’s work extended into refining Dals’ tech roadmap.

Delivery and acceptance of the application was the main success here. In addition, we saw improvements to both automated deployments of mobile apps and improvements to testing practices.

Steven Emmason, Head of Software Development, Dals.

Successes Delivered

This collaboration brought many benefits to Dals, including:

Seamless Integration

Our team worked closely with Dals' internal teams, creating an agile squad that led to open communication and effective knowledge sharing. This collaboration set a new standard for teamwork.

Long-term Improvements

The introduction of CICD pipelines, as well as automated end-to-end, integration and unit testing, had a lasting impact. Leveraging tools like Bitrise, Detox and React Native Testing Library established a more modern engineering approach to mobile development at Dals.

Enhanced User Experience

The app's ability to make linguists’ phones ring when a call comes in has already improved the response time for urgent interpreting requests, directly supporting Dals' broader mission.

Navigating Challenges

Flexibility in the face of change

As with any large project, there were some bumps along the way. The scope of work evolved mid-project, leading to an expanded workload. By keeping communication clear and experimenting with different approaches, we were able to stay on track and adapt to changing requirements.

The success of the linguist app has helped Dals move closer to their long-term goal of driving more customers to use video on demand. By improving both the app and their internal processes, Dals is now in a stronger position to lead the market in video interpreting services, while reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

This partnership allowed us to meet our delivery plans in line with our tech road map. It also allowed us to try some new ways of working to identify best practice.

Steven Emmason, Head of Software Development, Dals.

Collaboration That Drives Impact

Delivering value beyond the build

Working with Counter helped Dals meet their business goals, modernise their development practices, and build a user-friendly app that supports their mission. Our partnership didn’t just deliver an app – it provided the tools and processes that will continue to drive their tech strategy forward. Partnering with Counter allowed Dals to meet key business objectives while embedding lasting improvements in their development team and processes. Together, we built a better app and a better way of working.

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