Supporting CIPR to implement Mobile Application

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is a membership organisation and the world’s only Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners with nearly 10,000 members. CIPR support and work with them in a range of ways including qualifications, bespoke training, industry awards and conferences as well research, best practice, and skills guidance.

Improving member experience

After implementing their new CRM in December 2019, CIPR’s desire to continue to improve their members experience led them to develop a mobile phone application for both Android & Apple devices.

CIPR embarked on this piece of work to deliver the following benefits for members:

• To stay connected to the latest news articles & updates on the move
• Direct access to the CIPR membership community and allowing them to expand their network including access to forums & groups
• To manage and record CIPR CPD
• Allow members to update their profile details anytime that is suitable to them
• To register for events and training

CIPR worked closely with US technology firm Clowder to develop the app to meet their requirements and integrate with the CRM. As this was an strategically important project, CIPR looked to Hart Square for project management support, especially in the final phases including user testing and go-live readiness.

Guidance and support

As effective testing was critical to the success of the mobile application, Hart Square provided guidance and support to CIPR management teams to create a mechanism through which internal members of staff, and a select group of members, could provide feedback to the development team at Clowder.

Hart Square attended also key meetings with Clowder to make certain that crucial milestones were met, ensuring a successful delivery.

Delivering the project remotely

Due to both the Covid-19 pandemic and that the team at Clowder are based in the United States, the entire delivery of the project was completed remotely. This created some logistical challenges due to substantial time zone difference, so it was imperative meeting times were coordinated and the importance of meeting deadlines was understood by all to allow for a response in a timely manner.

To ensure the success of the project, Hart Square supported CIPR in setting up regular daily stand ups with the team to create channels for regular communication throughout the project, providing everyone with an opportunity to feedback.

A successful launch

After detailed testing, the mobile application was successfully launched in January 2022. The team worked diligently to ensure that members and internal staff were supported in what was a significant piece of technological functionality for members.