Their systems have to operate in extreme conditions. This means that optimal performance, user experience, and a minimal system footprint are a priority in their development process. The intrepid kiwis aren’t shy about field-testing their own technology either. They have completed the Volvo Ocean Race in 2011 in their self-built sailboat called “Camper”. What better way to test out the reliability of your technology than taking it on a cruise to both hottest and coldest climates on earth? This is just as well, as BEP Marine delivers systems to yacht manufacturers such as Riviera who expect and require nothing but the best from their suppliers.
Moving to digital switching also means that you interact with the system in a different way. From physical interaction with a myriad of different buttons, knobs, levers, and pulleys to a streamlined and intuitive virtual interaction. Qt has become an integral part of CZone development for several reasons.
Agile Development in Ship-Shape
CZone has a rather small development team, meaning tools that support agile development are important. Developers work directly with an internal Designer. The Designer creates initial mock-ups with the Product Owner using typical graphic design tools such as Adobe Illustrator. These initial designs serve the purpose of capturing the look and feel of the UI. The Product Owner, Designer, and Developers then work collaboratively to implement the design. Improvements are made incrementally throughout the entire design process. Qt’s QML helps the development team respond to these changes and provide feedback in an easy and fast manner.
After the base design phase is over, the designer’s job is done and the developer takes over. The individual assets and components are imported into Qt. They can apply further changes to the graphics within Qt Quick Designer. The developer can later tinker with the size of the assets without suffering quality loss.
CZone designers also used Qt Designer to create product demos to show to customers and product owners. This way, CZone could react quickly to feedback on colors, size and positioning and image elements like gradients and make adjustments on the fly. This avoids time-consuming image manipulation.
Qt’s cross-platform capabilities had benefited CZone development by making porting the application to other platforms a breeze. Using this technology, CZone is developing apps using the same code base for Android and iOS devices, so you can control the same systems with your smartphone or tablet.
