Welcome to the Sircles Sesh Hub!

Get an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look at the journey of building Sircles—the social media positivity app changing how we connect, share, and discover.

Sircles Sesh Videos

Join the Sircles team for a behind-the-scenes look at the development of Sircles in this special episode of Sircles Sesh! In Episode 2, Todd, John, and Danny dive into the highs and lows of app development, from overcoming bugs to crafting the ultimate user onboarding experience. They also share insights into building a global engineering team and how collaboration drives their success.

Sircles Work Sessions

February 6th, 2025 - Work Session

Sircles Team Meeting: Performance Boosts, Bug Fixes & Animation Enhancements!

The Sircles team focused on optimizing blur hash performance, refining friend connect notifications, fixing UI bugs, and improving badge animations. Here’s what was discussed:

Blur Hash Performance Improvements

New Lambda-Based Approach: Jerry implemented a Lambda solution for generating blur hashes, significantly improving speed by offloading compute from the main server.
Faster Processing: Initial tests showed 20 blur hashes generated in just 1.3 seconds.
Smart Query Optimization: The team decided to add an optional parameter in the profile query so blur hashes only generate when needed, reducing unnecessary computation.

Friend Connect & Notification Issues

Friend Connect Notifications Now Live: Friend Connect notifications went live in production yesterday afternoon and are now working properly.
App Freezing on Dog Animation: Shawntelle reported that the app got stuck on the Sircles Buddy animation after tapping a notification.
Potential Causes: The team explored cross-environment notifications between QA and production as a possible issue.
Next Steps: Amit is creating OneSignal notification templates for improved notification management.

UI & Navigation Bug Fixes

Animation Interruptions in Friend Connect Flow: John identified issues with animations disrupting the Friend Connect process.
Topic Creation & Navigation Issues: Bugs were found in chat topic creation and navigation.
Fixes in Progress: Ismail is working on resolving preview window issues and improving navigation between chats and topics.

Badge & Level-Up Animations

Timing Challenges: The team discussed how to properly trigger badge and level-up animations after the Friend Connect flow.
Explored Solutions: Options like event emitters and refetching queries were considered to ensure animations play at the right time without impacting performance.
Further Refinements Needed: Work continues on finding the best balance between performance and animation accuracy.

Development Process & Deployment Fixes

Deployment Issues: A missing file in a pull request caused deployment failures.
Issue Resolved: The team identified and fixed the problem, successfully redeploying the application.

With performance boosts, smarter notifications, and UI fixes in motion, Sircles is gearing up for a smoother and more engaging user experience!

February 5th, 2025 - Work Session

Sircles Team Meeting: Smarter Analytics, Performance Boosts & UI Enhancements!

The Sircles team focused on improving push notification analytics, optimizing blur hash performance, refining game search, and enhancing the member management screen. Here’s what was discussed:

Push Notification Analytics

One Signal Limitations: The One Signal dashboard lacks detailed analytics per template, making tracking more difficult.
Exploring Alternatives: The team is considering using Journeys instead of templates for better tracking.
Potential API Calls & Amplitude Integration: Deeper analytics may require custom API calls or integration with Amplitude.
Next Steps: The team will schedule a call with One Signal to clarify the best approach for tracking notification performance.

Blur Hash Implementation

Switching from Blur View to Blur Hash: The team implemented a 3x3 blur hash, balancing quality and performance for image loading.
Performance Concerns: Computational costs—especially on QA servers—were flagged as a concern.
Potential Microservice Implementation: The team discussed caching blur hashes and offloading generation to a microservice for efficiency.

Game Search Functionality

Fixing Search Issues: Bugs affecting game search in the entertainment category were resolved.
Enum for Game Search Added: This update improves consistency in search results.
Haptic Feedback in Chat: Emoji reactions in chat now include haptic feedback for a more engaging experience.

Member Management Screen Enhancements

New Screen in Development: A redesigned member management screen is being developed for group chats.
UI Improvements Discussed: Includes search bar enhancements, "Show More" functionality, and potential tweaks to blue pills for selected members.
Sync Contacts Option: A "Sync Contacts" button may be added for users who haven't granted contact permissions yet.

Performance Optimizations

Optimizing Blur Hash & Image Loading: The team is exploring compressed images from Cloudinary for faster processing.
Running Blur Hash Scripts for Profile Images: Options were discussed to pre-generate blur hashes for existing profile pictures.

Miscellaneous Fixes & Features

Profile Loading Fixes: Investigating slow profile loads.
Timestamp Display Bug: A bug affecting chat timestamps is being analyzed.
Potential Background Blur Toggle: The team discussed adding a toggle in settings to allow users to enable/disable background blur.

With smarter notifications, faster image loading, and UI improvements in motion, Sircles is gearing up for a more seamless and engaging user experience!

February 4th, 2025 - Work Session

Sircles Team Meeting: App Builds, Bug Fixes & UX Enhancements!

The Sircles team gathered to tackle key updates across app builds, chat performance, notifications, and UI improvements. Here’s what was covered:

iOS & Android Build Resolutions

iOS Build 92 Issues: Initially failed to upload to TestFlight, but after a rerun, the upload was successful, and the build is now available.
Android Build Version Conflict: A versioning conflict (4000 vs. 400) due to QA testing caused an issue, but the team found a workaround to publish Build 92 without the extra zero, resolving the problem.

Chat & Notification Bug Fixes

Empty Chat Threads & Slow Loading: Some users in the QA build experienced empty chats and slow loading—this was linked to system messages, and the issue has now been resolved.
Blur Hash Computation Delays: The initial chat load was slowed down by blur hash processing—optimizations are underway.
Unexpected Notifications: Production devices were receiving QA-related notifications unexpectedly; the team is working on isolating these actions.
Apollo Subscription Issue: The Apollo cast subscription was triggering every second, causing performance issues. A new implementation will replace it for better efficiency.

One Signal Notification Templates

Jerry is working on implementing One Signal templates to streamline notification management.
Reporting Challenges: The current setup lacks detailed day-by-day delivery metrics per template. One Signal suggested tracking these metrics independently—potential solutions are being explored.

Edit Members Screen Redesign

The team is merging two screens in the edit members process to simplify large group management.
Pagination Fixes: Issues with pagination for groups with 1000+ members were addressed to improve user experience.
Performance Improvements: Design changes aim to boost responsiveness in large group chats.

Miscellaneous Development Enhancements

Returning Users & Conversations: Adjustments were made to start conversation logic for returning users.
Blur Hash Optimization: Further refinements are being made to improve chat image rendering speed.
Small UI & Bug Fixes: Various minor bugs and UI improvements are being tackled for a smoother experience.

With these fixes and optimizations in progress, Sircles is on track for a smoother, faster, and more user-friendly experience!

February 3rd, 2025 - Work Session

Sircles Team Meeting: Bug Fixes, Feature Enhancements & Next Steps!

The Sircles team gathered to discuss critical bug fixes, feature rollouts, and backend improvements to enhance user experience and app stability. Here’s what was covered:

Bug Fixes & Feature Updates

Investigating Chat Lobby Issues: Image loading and sender name display problems are under review.
Android Chat Blurring Crash: The team is considering an alternative solution to prevent crashes.
Topic Navigation Fixes: Most navigation jumps have been resolved, but a minor issue remains.
Friend Connect Auto-Start: This feature will be enabled automatically in the next build and requires final testing.
First Favorite Flow & Onboarding Updates: New onboarding features will be enabled without feature flags for a smoother user experience.
Notification System Enhancements: Updates will include app state change checks to improve real-time engagement.

UI/UX Improvements

Search Bar Refinements: Adding a cancel button and updating text for better usability.
Group Member Management UI Redesign: A new design for managing large groups is in development.
Background Styling Exploration: Considering gradient backgrounds as an alternative to blurred images for visual appeal.

Backend Updates

New API for Badges & Levels: A backend upgrade is in progress to improve achievement tracking.
Exploring BlurHash for Background Images: This method is being considered to optimize background image generation.
Notification Queue & Delivery Enhancements: Backend updates are needed to support improved notification handling.

Improving the Development Process

Enhanced Testing Strategies: The team is exploring ways to identify issues earlier in development.
Creating Simplified Test Environments: A proposal to build isolated test environments for complex components is under consideration.

Miscellaneous Discussions

Team Discussion on World Events & Beliefs: A thought-provoking conversation took place about global issues, religions, and personal perspectives.

Final Takeaway

With major bug fixes, onboarding improvements, and backend optimizations underway, the next Sircles build will introduce a more refined and seamless user experience. Stay tuned for upcoming updates!

January 31st, 2025 - Work Session

Sircles Team Meeting: Refining Deep Links, Enhancing Podcasts & Leveling Up Rewards!

The Sircles team met to fine-tune deep linking, enhance the user experience, and improve the app’s visual appeal. Here’s what was covered:

Perfecting Deep Links
Testing continued on deep linking issues, particularly to resolve force navigation problems that redirect users to the wrong chat topic. The team is working toward a seamless navigation experience.
Enhancing Podcast Visibility & Accessibility
Design improvements are in the works to make it clearer that users can not only search and recommend podcasts in Sircles but also listen to them directly within the app. This will ensure users fully engage with the feature.
Revamping the Rewards Store & Level-Up Screen
Discussions focused on enhancing the look and feel of the rewards store and level-up screen, making them more visually engaging and exciting for users earning achievements.
Improving Reward Uploads
The team is working on streamlining the process of uploading rewards into the rewards store, ensuring a smoother experience for both users and administrators.
Optimizing Badge & Level-Up Animations
The team reviewed the badge and level-up animations to ensure they trigger at the right moments, delivering a polished and rewarding experience when users achieve new milestones.
Cosmetic Enhancements to Profile Screens
Updates are being made to improve the design and layout of the profile screens, ensuring a more modern and visually appealing interface.

Next Steps & Takeaways

From deep linking fixes to reward store upgrades, podcast engagement enhancements, and profile screen refinements, the Sircles team is making key improvements for a more seamless, exciting, and visually engaging app experience. Stay tuned for the next wave of updates!

January 30th, 2025 - Work Session

Sircles Team Meeting: Enhancing Chat, Fixing Bugs & Perfecting Deep Links!

The Sircles team gathered to discuss key updates aimed at refining the chat experience, improving Android performance, and optimizing deep linking. Here’s what was covered:

Enhancing Chat with OTA Updates
The team explored the use of Over-the-Air (OTA) updates to improve the chat experience dynamically. A new feature will adjust chat backgrounds to smoothly blend colors from the topic image using a blurred fade effect, creating a more immersive and visually appealing chat environment.
Fixing a Critical Android Bug
A persistent Android bug affecting app performance was identified. This issue, which can eventually cause the app to crash and close unexpectedly, is now a top priority for resolution to ensure stability across all devices.
Testing Notification Flows for Deep Linking
The team ran tests on notification flows related to deep linking into chat topics, ensuring that users are seamlessly directed to the correct conversations when tapping on notifications.
Resolving Deep Linking Navigation Issues
During testing, the team discovered a problem where deep linking into a chat topic was unexpectedly forcing users to navigate to a different topic. Investigations are underway to correct this behavior and provide a more intuitive and reliable deep link experience.

Next Steps & Takeaways

With OTA updates bringing exciting visual improvements, critical bug fixes in progress, and deep linking refinements underway, the Sircles team is committed to delivering a seamless, engaging, and stable experience for users. More testing and refinements are planned before the next update rollout!

January 29th, 2025 - Work Session

Sircles Team Meeting: UI Fixes, Friend Connections & Outreach Strategies!

The Sircles team tackled key updates, from refining the friend connect experience to optimizing costs and launching a targeted outreach campaign. Here’s what went down:

Troubleshooting UI Issues
The team addressed several UI inconsistencies, including background color issues on the first topic card and a rerendering bug affecting specific user selections. Ismail investigated the root cause and suspected the issues were linked, with plans to resolve them efficiently.
Optimizing the Friend Connect Flow
Adjustments were made to the friend connect logic to only show suggested friends if the user has fewer than 10 contacts, reducing unnecessary clutter. The team also discussed minimizing over-the-air (OTA) updates to prevent potential data syncing issues between builds.
Improving Notification Handling
The notification system was refined to ensure users don't receive sound or vibration alerts when they add someone to a group. The team implemented a dual-notification system: one with sound for group members and one silent notification for the user making the addition.
Exploring Cost-Saving AWS Options
Jerry proposed several AWS cost-saving measures, including transitioning from Redis to Valkyrie and consolidating the dual database setup into a single instance. The team agreed to test these optimizations in QA before rolling them out to production.
Planning a Targeted Outreach Campaign
The team devised a strategy to re-engage inactive users by sending targeted notifications and SMS messages promoting a new Boba Tea partner location. Danny and Shawntelle were tasked with segmenting the user list, crafting the outreach messages, and executing the campaign.
Recap & Next Steps
The meeting wrapped up with key action items: Shawntelle and Jerry will move forward with the targeted outreach campaign, while Ismail continues investigating and resolving UI issues. The team will maintain close collaboration to ensure smooth execution of these initiatives.

Takeaways

With improvements to UI, friend connections, notifications, and AWS infrastructure underway—plus an exciting outreach campaign in motion—Sircles is primed for even greater engagement and efficiency!

January 28th, 2025 - Work Session

Sircles Team Meeting: Streamlining Notifications & Enhancing User Connections!

The Sircles team gathered to refine notifications, optimize subscriptions, and improve the friend connect experience. Here’s what was covered:

Notification Queue & Scheduling
Amit completed work on a new level of bad subscriptions and submitted a pull request. The team also discussed combining badge levels and leaderboard functionality while ensuring the notification queue operates as expected.
Ungrouping Certain Notifications
John and Amit reviewed notification grouping and identified cases where notifications—such as multiple check-ins from the same user—should be ungrouped for a cleaner experience. They agreed to implement this refinement.
New Notification Creation
Amit shared progress on building a new set of notifications requested by John. Using an organized tracking sheet, the team finalized the required fields and details to ensure seamless implementation.
Notification Deployment & Testing
Jerry provided an update on deploying the notification queue to QA. The team planned structured testing by creating group chats to generate sample notifications, ensuring everything functions smoothly before release.
Simplifying Subscription & Query Structures
Ismail proposed streamlining the way subscriptions and queries handle events like level-ups, badges, and leaderboards. The team agreed on a more efficient approach, reducing complexity by using just two fields: event type and badge/level number.
Enhancing the Friend Connect Flow
John suggested refining the friend connect flow so users can easily navigate to a friend's profile and, if applicable, trigger the "start the convo" feature. The team discussed different user scenarios and agreed on the final implementation.

Next Steps & Takeaways

With key improvements in motion—especially around notifications, subscriptions, and friend connections—the team is set to deliver a more seamless and engaging Sircles experience. Testing and refinements continue as these updates move closer to launch!

January 27th, 2025 - Work Session

Sircles Team Meeting: Speed, Engagement, and Smarter Updates!

The Sircles team came together to tackle performance optimizations, feature enhancements, and innovative fixes to keep the app running smoothly. Here’s what was covered:

Media Upload Improvements
Jerry highlighted recent optimizations to the media upload process, eliminating the need to rename Cloudinary IDs. This change significantly sped up uploads, and the team agreed it was a great improvement for overall performance.
Fixing Dummy Messages in the Lobby
Amit and Jerry resolved an issue where invited users weren’t seeing the expected dummy messages in the lobby. With this fix in place, new users will now have a smoother onboarding experience.
Levels and Badges API
Amit provided an update on a new API designed to manage levels and badges. This API will streamline client-side logic and improve performance, making achievements more responsive and seamless.
Notification Queue and Retries
The team explored solutions for failed push notifications due to OneSignal’s lack of automatic retries. Options discussed included having the app handle retries itself and evaluating alternative services to ensure reliable message delivery.
Expanding the "Start the Conversation" Flow
The team brainstormed ways to make the "start the conversation" flow more dynamic. Instead of triggering it only for invited users, they explored activating it when two users become friends. Push notifications were considered as a way to prompt engagement.
Downloading Images from Chat
A much-requested feature—downloading images from chat—was discussed. The team explored the technical requirements, including permissions and storage considerations, to ensure a smooth user experience.
OTA (Over-the-Air) Updates for Quick Fixes
A visibility issue with usernames in chat led to a discussion on leveraging OTA updates for rapid fixes. The team agreed this functionality will be useful for deploying minor updates without requiring full app releases.

Next Steps & Takeaways

The meeting wrapped up with plans to continue refining notification reliability, enhancing user engagement with the "start the conversation" feature, and leveraging OTA updates for fast fixes. With these improvements in motion, Sircles is on track for an even smoother and more engaging user experience!

January 24th, 2025 - Work Session

In our latest meeting, the team tackled several pivotal topics to enhance our application's performance and user engagement:

Addressing Technical Issues with Friend Connect

Jerry and John identified that the app was experiencing delays when loading user profile pictures, particularly for users without set profile images. To resolve this, they plan to implement a solution that gracefully handles missing profile pictures, ensuring smoother connectivity among friends.

Enhancing Onboarding and Friend Invites

Ian and John evaluated the onboarding journey of a new user, Michael, focusing on his ability to connect with existing contacts and send invitations. They assessed the relevance of friend recommendations presented to him, aiming to refine the matching algorithm for better alignment with users' actual connections.

Troubleshooting the "Share the Love" Feature

Jerry, John, and Amine collaborated to debug the "Share the Love" feature, which was malfunctioning due to issues with how user profile images were embedded in URLs. They successfully implemented a fix to ensure this feature operates seamlessly, enhancing user interaction.

Improving the Entertainment Category Experience

John and Jerry brainstormed ways to elevate the user experience within the entertainment category. Proposals included setting it as the default category or introducing prompts encouraging users to explore entertainment options. They also considered streamlining the app by removing underutilized categories.

Recap and Next Steps

The team reviewed ongoing tasks, including the fixes for "Share the Love," enhancements in onboarding, and improvements in the entertainment category. They outlined plans for continued testing and resolution of these issues ahead of the upcoming production release.

By addressing these areas, we aim to provide a more intuitive and engaging experience for our users, fostering stronger connections and enjoyment within the app.

January 23rd, 2025 - Work Session

In our latest meeting, the team explored innovative strategies to enhance user engagement through location-based group chats and refined notification preferences.

Onboarding Location and Group Assignment
We devised a plan to automatically enroll new users into local group chats during onboarding, based on their detected location. For instance, users in the Sacramento area would be added to the "SACTO Events" group. Initially, these users will receive silent notifications from the group until they choose to interact by sending a message or reacting to a post.

Notification Preferences and Cohorts
The team deliberated on managing notifications for these auto-assigned group chats. We concluded that keeping notifications visible but silent would inform users of new content without causing disturbance. Additionally, we considered creating a separate cohort for non-interacting users to send periodic updates about group activities, encouraging engagement.

Technical Implementation
From a technical perspective, the backend will handle location detection and group assignment, with Jerry implementing a mutation to report the user's location and assign them to the appropriate group. The frontend team, led by Ismail, will adjust the application to manage silent notifications and develop the cohort system for non-interacting users. Todd will assist in defining precise geofence boundaries for these location-based groups.
Recap and Next Steps
In summary, the team is set to implement automatic, location-based group chat assignments during onboarding, accompanied by silent notifications to enhance user experience. We will focus on backend location detection, frontend notification management, and defining geofence boundaries to ensure a seamless integration of this feature.

By integrating these strategies, we aim to provide a more personalized and engaging experience for our users, fostering community interaction from the moment they join.

January 22nd, 2025 - Work Session

In our latest meeting, the team delved into several key areas to enhance user experience and app performance:

Notification Settings Update: Amit implemented a change ensuring that only the author of a message receives notifications when someone reacts to it, reducing unnecessary alerts for other participants. This update has been merged and is now ready for testing.
Category Consistency Between Profile and Card: Amit identified a discrepancy where the category displayed on a user's profile differed from that on their card in the chart. Denny provided a fix by updating the card query to align with the profile category, ensuring uniformity across the app.
Retrieving Invited Image URLs: Jerry updated an SQL function to make the invited image URL accessible, facilitating its display at the start of the screen. This enhancement is slated for deployment soon.
Detailed Level-Up Notifications: The team discussed enriching level-up notifications by specifying the new level achieved, offering users clearer insights into their progress. Plans are underway to implement this enhancement.
Enhancing Avatar Clickability in Chat: Ismail addressed an issue where chat avatars were unclickable due to an overlapping component. The team considered solutions such as adjusting component widths or repositioning elements to restore avatar interactivity.
Disabling Reactions to System Messages: A backend change was confirmed to prevent reactions to system messages. The frontend has been updated accordingly, adding an extra layer of safeguard against unintended interactions.
Onboarding Analytics Tracking: Wellington introduced a pull request to incorporate analytics tracking for errors during the onboarding process. This initiative aims to gather valuable data to monitor and enhance the user onboarding experience.
Optimizing Topic Background Loading: The team focused on improving performance during topic transitions by utilizing cached images and refining the rendering process. Various approaches were explored, including employing separate components for background handling, resulting in a significant reduction in delays and white screen flashes.
Recap and Next Steps: The meeting concluded with a review of progress, including successful implementations of notification settings updates, category mismatch resolutions, invited image URL retrievals, and topic background optimizations. The team also outlined next steps to address remaining minor issues and continue enhancing the overall user experience.

Through collaborative efforts, the team continues to make significant strides in refining the app's functionality and user engagement.

January 21st, 2025 - Work Session

In our latest meeting, the team navigated through a series of challenges and developments:

Power Outage Amid Historic Snowstorm: Jerry faced connectivity issues due to a significant snowstorm in New Orleans. This rare event, the first major snowstorm in over a century, led to widespread power outages and disruptions.
Investigating Friend Connect Issues: The team examined a case where new user Dan West was not appearing as a suggested friend to existing users like Todd and Danny. Upon reviewing the friend connect flow and notifications, they discovered that some users were not receiving the expected prompts to connect.
Enhancing Notification Management: Discussions centered on improving notification handling, including silencing notifications when the app is active and ensuring proper grouping and clearing of notifications upon user interaction. The team identified inconsistencies across different devices and scenarios that need addressing.
Optimizing Favorite Flow: Ismail updated the team on efforts to refine the favorite flow, introducing logic to control when the favorite flow modal appears. The discussion also covered potential performance implications and strategies for optimization.
Recap and Next Steps: The meeting concluded with a plan for Ismail to continue refining the favorite flow, while the team delves deeper into the identified notification handling issues.

Despite the unforeseen challenges posed by the historic snowstorm, the team remained focused on enhancing user experience and addressing critical issues.

January 20th, 2025 - Work Session

In our latest meeting, the team tackled several key topics to enhance our application's performance and user experience:

Notification Delivery Challenges

John and Todd reported not receiving certain notifications. Amit confirmed that while notifications were sent successfully, delivery issues—possibly related to player IDs—were causing the problem. The team plans to troubleshoot by examining OneSignal logs and retrying notifications.

Grouping Notification Messages

To improve the notification experience, the team decided to group messages together rather than sending them individually. John suggested this approach, noting that the content remains consistent across recipients. Implementing grouping is expected to streamline notifications for users.

Optimizing Trust Tip Fetching

Ismail noted that fetching trust tips was slower compared to chat messages. The team agreed to investigate and optimize the database queries involved to enhance performance.

Resolving Z-Index Issue on Profile Screen

Ismail addressed a Z-index problem where trust tips overlapped the header on the profile screen. He refactored the component styles to correct this and will submit a pull request for review.

Managing Users Leaving Groups

The team discussed handling scenarios where users leave group chats to prevent old notifications from bringing them back into groups they've exited. They identified this as a front-end issue requiring careful management.

Deploying OTA and Production Builds

The pros and cons of deploying an over-the-air (OTA) update versus a full production build were considered. To address onboarding issues promptly, the team decided to prioritize releasing a new production build as soon as possible.

By addressing these areas, the team aims to enhance both the performance and user experience of the application.

January 17th, 2025 - Work Session

In our latest meeting, the team tackled several key topics to enhance our application's performance and user experience:

Notification Delivery Challenges

Grouping Notification Messages

Optimizing Trust Tip Fetching

Ismail noted that fetching trust tips was slower compared to chat messages. The team agreed to investigate and optimize the database queries involved to enhance performance.

Resolving Z-Index Issue on Profile Screen

Ismail addressed a Z-index problem where trust tips overlapped the header on the profile screen. He refactored the component styles to correct this and will submit a pull request for review.

Managing Users Leaving Groups

Deploying OTA and Production Builds

By addressing these areas, the team aims to enhance both the performance and user experience of the application.

January 16th, 2025 - Work Session

In our latest meeting, the team delved into several critical areas to enhance user engagement and app performance. Key topics included refining notification strategies, strategizing for upcoming giveaways, addressing challenges in large group chats, re-engaging long-term users, and coordinating logistics for an upcoming in-person meeting. These discussions underscore our commitment to improving user experience and ensuring seamless team collaboration.

Notification Enhancements and Testing

The team evaluated the performance of the recent Vanderpump Rules notification, noting 59 confirmed deliveries and 28 unconfirmed. They strategized to send an alternative notification promoting the upcoming trivia event and the opportunity to meet Tom Schwartz, aiming to boost user engagement.

Giveaway Strategy and Structure

Concerns arose about users claiming giveaway prizes too quickly, leading to premature conclusions. To mitigate this, the team deliberated on structuring the giveaway to require users or their groups to reach specific levels before becoming eligible, ensuring a fair and extended participation period.

Managing Large Group Chat Notifications

An issue was identified where users received repeated notifications upon exiting large group chats. To address this, the team planned internal tests by creating sizable group chats and monitoring the behavior when members leave, ensuring the latest build resolves the problem.

Re-engagement of Long-Term Inactive Users

The team proposed strategies to re-engage users inactive for over 30 days. Ideas included sending targeted notifications highlighting rewards or prompting users to revisit previously enjoyed content, aiming to rekindle their interest and activity within the app.

Coordination for Upcoming In-Person Meeting

Logistics for the forthcoming in-person meeting were coordinated, covering travel plans, meeting schedules, and transportation arrangements, ensuring smooth and efficient planning for all attendees.

This meeting underscored the team's proactive approach to enhancing user engagement, refining app functionalities, and meticulous planning for future initiatives.

January 14th, 2025 - Work Session

The Sircles team came together to tackle issues, refine features, and map out the next app build. Here’s a look at the highlights:

Android Onboarding Verification Issue – An issue with phone verification for Android users, linked to a recent Firebase SDK upgrade, was discussed. Some users experience automatic code entry that isn’t recognized, leading to errors. The team is exploring solutions, including disabling the auto-verification feature or improving its handling.
Favorite/Save Flow Improvements – The team reviewed the user experience for favoriting and saving content. Enhancements will focus on clearer instructions, improved feedback, and seamless UI updates, especially for unfavoriting actions. Updates are in the works to create a more intuitive experience.
Notification Sound Customization – Plans to customize notification sounds are underway! The team tested custom channels and sounds but faced unexpected playback issues. Troubleshooting continues to deliver a polished and personalized notification experience.
Upcoming Build & Feature Release Plans – The team outlined their roadmap for the next production build, aiming for release within a day. Key inclusions:
- Fixes for the Android onboarding issue
- The first favorite feature flag
- Amine’s scroll issue fix
- Minor bug fixes and UI enhancements

They’ll hold off on merging the more complex “saves” feature for thorough testing and aim to enable the friend connect feature in a future build.

This meeting showcased the team’s dedication to creating a seamless, user-friendly experience. Stay tuned as Sircles continues to deliver exciting updates!

January 9th, 2025 - Work Session

The Sircles team came together to troubleshoot animations, refine badge criteria, and prepare for an exciting new release. Here’s the recap:

Badge & Level Up Animation Fixes – Animation glitches caused by navigation interference were addressed. The team implemented a 4-second delay on the server side to ensure smooth playback before navigation occurs.
Consistency in Animations – Inconsistent badge and level-up behavior, caused by race conditions between subscriptions and queries, was resolved. The team streamlined the process to trigger subscriptions only once per badge or level-up.
"Love Guru" Badge Update – The criteria for earning the "Love Guru" badge were updated from inviting 7 friends to 10. Text updates in both the pre-earned and post-earned badge states now reflect the new requirement.
Build 82 Release Prep – The team confirmed all key fixes were ready for release in build 82, including animation and badge updates. With no further front-end changes needed, they set plans in motion to submit the build to app stores.
Recap & Next Steps – The meeting concluded with a review of other ongoing work, such as Ismail’s plans to refactor the “saves” feature and a discussion about potential updates to the app’s dynamic icon. The team felt confident and ready to push forward!

With build 82 on the horizon, Sircles continues to deliver a polished and engaging experience for users. Stay tuned for more updates!

January 7th, 2025 - Work Session

January 7th, 2025 - Sircles Team Meeting: Fixes, Features, and Final Touches!

The Sircles team gathered to address bugs, refine features, and push forward exciting updates. Here’s what happened:

Bug Fixes & Production Build – Critical fixes for the profile picture upload, event preview card, and friend connect feature were prioritized. The team aimed to release a production build today, possibly with a feature flag for the friend connect updates.
Android Build Testing – The latest Android build (version 79) underwent review, focusing on notification behavior and chat topic creation flow. Danny, Todd, and Jerry will team up for comprehensive testing to ensure a smooth experience.
Group Invite Campaign Links – Plans for a new feature allowing users to generate campaign links for group invites were discussed. The team emphasized a clear UI flow to show when users are added via a campaign link. Shawntelle will lead the design effort for this feature.
UI Debugging – Shawntelle flagged a UI issue occurring after a check-in and friend tagging. The team identified the problem with how check-in information was displayed, and Ismail took on the task of investigating further.

This meeting highlighted the team’s focus on delivering a polished, user-friendly experience with every update. Stay tuned for the exciting improvements ahead!