AI Product Engineering

Case Study: AI Product Engineering at Scale

Our Activity Insights feature in Map My Tracks exemplifies complete AI product engineering. We did not simply integrate an LLM and call it done. We built:

• The complete data pipeline: GPS track processing, user preference storage, activity history analysis, and context aggregation before any AI interaction occurs.
   
• The full-stack infrastructure: Mobile apps (iOS and Android), web platform, authentication systems, and database architecture handling millions of workouts.
   
• Production-grade AI integration: Prompt architecture preventing repetitive responses, multilingual output generation across 8 languages, cost guardrails managing API expenses at scale, and context-aware reasoning adapting to individual users across 190+ countries.

This is what AI product engineering looks like when the team has 20 years of experience building software that people actually use. The AI component is powerful, but it only works because the surrounding product is properly engineered.

What We Build: Complete AI-Powered Products

AI-Powered SaaS Platforms

Complete web applications with AI capabilities built into workflows. We handle user authentication, subscription management, database architecture, API design, and the AI features that differentiate your product. Built the same way we built platforms for the NHS and banking clients requiring enterprise-grade security.

AI Mobile Applications

Native iOS and Android apps with intelligent features. We design the user interface, implement the backend infrastructure, handle App Store deployment, and integrate AI capabilities that enhance rather than complicate the user experience. The same approach that got Map My Tracks featured by Apple and ranked #1 in App Store categories.

Custom LLM Applications

Applications built around Large Language Models, implemented with proper data architecture. We design how your proprietary data feeds the AI, implement security boundaries, build the user interface, and create the infrastructure supporting production usage. Not wrappers, actual applications.

Generative AI Tools

Purpose-built applications using generative models for content creation, analysis, or transformation. We build the complete product: content management systems, user workflows, output validation, and the AI integration that delivers unique value.

The Complete Stack Approach

Database Architecture

Your AI features need data to be useful. We design database schemas supporting your AI requirements: vector databases for semantic search, relational structures for user data, caching layers for performance, and backup systems for reliability. The same database expertise we applied building systems for every major UK bank.

Security Implementation

AI products handle sensitive data. We implement proper authentication, role-based access control, data encryption, API security, and audit logging. Having built systems meeting NHS DSP Toolkit standards and banking security requirements, we understand what production security actually requires.

User Interface Design

AI features only create value if users can access them intuitively. We design interfaces making complex AI capabilities feel simple, build responsive web applications, create native mobile experiences, and implement the workflows connecting users to AI functionality. 20 years designing interfaces means we know what works.

API Development

AI products require robust APIs connecting components. We build RESTful APIs, implement rate limiting, design webhook systems, create SDK interfaces, and handle the integration work making disparate systems function as a coherent product. The same API architecture expertise demonstrated integrating with ExpressionEngine, CRM platforms, and payment systems across dozens of client projects.

Production Infrastructure

AI products must scale reliably. We implement deployment pipelines, configure load balancing, set up monitoring systems, establish backup procedures, and create the infrastructure supporting thousands (or millions) of users. Map My Tracks proves we can build infrastructure that scales.

Industry Applications: Proven Product Engineering

HealthTech & MedTech

AI-powered applications for healthcare require understanding both technology and regulatory requirements. Our NHS project experience demonstrates capability building compliant systems. An AI diagnostic tool requires secure patient data handling, audit trails, explainable decision-making, and interfaces meeting accessibility standards. We build the complete product, not just the AI component.

FinTech

Financial applications demand security and reliability. Our My Lost Account project connected to every major UK bank, demonstrating enterprise integration capability. An AI-powered investment platform requires secure authentication, transaction processing, regulatory compliance, real-time data integration, and interfaces making complex information accessible. We engineer financial products, not proofs-of-concept.

Professional Services

AI tools for consultancies, law firms, and agencies require sophisticated data handling. A document analysis platform needs secure file uploads, processing pipelines, results delivery, client management, and the AI analysis differentiating your service. We build platforms supporting professional workflows at scale.

Consumer Applications

Consumer-facing AI products must be polished and reliable. Map My Tracks serves over 1 million users, proving our capability building consumer products at scale. An AI-powered consumer app requires beautiful interfaces, seamless onboarding, social features, payment processing, and AI capabilities users actually value. We ship consumer products, not internal tools.

Enterprise Software

Corporate AI tools require integration with existing systems. Our Team Sky partnership (2010-2015) demonstrated capability building professional-grade systems. An enterprise AI platform needs single sign-on, role-based permissions, integration with existing software (CRM, ERP, etc.), comprehensive reporting, and AI features solving actual business problems. We build enterprise products that integrate properly.

How We Build AI Products: Process & Methodology

Discovery & Product Definition (3-4 weeks)

We start with rigorous technical discovery, the same process we use for all application development. We document your product vision, identify technical requirements, define the AI capabilities needed, design the data architecture, and create a roadmap from concept to launch. Unlike agencies selling concepts, we scope based on production experience.

Technical Architecture (2-3 weeks)

We design the complete system: database schemas, API structures, authentication flows, AI integration patterns, and deployment architecture. This architecture phase prevents expensive mistakes later. We learned this building Map My Tracks and platforms for NHS and banking clients where mistakes have consequences.

MVP Development (8-16 weeks)

We build the Minimum Viable Product using our proven MVP development methodology. This includes core features, essential AI capabilities, basic security, deployment infrastructure, and everything needed to validate your product with real users. We focus on shipping working software, not creating impressive demos.

Production Hardening (4-8 weeks)

We refine the MVP into production-ready software: comprehensive security implementation, performance optimisation, user interface polish, monitoring systems, and the operational capabilities supporting real usage. This phase separates products that work from products that scale.

Launch & Iteration

We deploy to production, monitor real usage, gather user feedback, and iterate based on data. AI products improve dramatically with real-world usage data. We maintain the infrastructure and continue development based on how users actually interact with your product.

What You Get: Production-Grade Deliverables

✓ Complete application built with the same standards serving 1M+ Map My Tracks users
✓ Full-stack architecture using approaches proven across NHS, banking, and enterprise projects
✓ Native mobile apps (if required) meeting App Store standards that got Map My Tracks featured
✓ AI integration implemented with cost controls and performance optimisation learned at scale
✓ Security implementation meeting standards required by NHS and banking projects
✓ Production infrastructure designed to scale from hundreds to millions of users
✓ Technical documentation from a team maintaining systems for 20+ years
✓ Ongoing support from developers who understand production environments

Why This Matters: Product Builders vs. Prompt Engineers

Most AI agencies are consultants who learned to write prompts. We are software engineers who have shipped products for two decades.

We understand product complexity. Building Activity Insights required solving GPS data processing, mobile app architecture, CMS integration, user preference management, and then integrating AI. The AI was one component of a complete product.

We know how to scale. Serving 1 million users taught us about database optimisation, caching strategies, API rate limiting, cost management, and all the operational concerns that only emerge at scale.

We build secure systems. NHS and banking projects demanded proper authentication, encryption, audit logging, and compliance. We implement security correctly because we have built systems where it actually matters.

We ship production software. Map My Tracks, Team Sky apps, NHS systems, banking platforms. We have 20 years shipping software people actually use, not creating demos for conference presentations.

Our Background: 20 Years Shipping Products

Map My Tracks: 1M+ users across 190+ countries, #1 App Store rankings, Apple featured developer
Team Sky partnership (2010-2015): Official Technology Partner, professional-grade GPS tracking, consumer fan apps
NHS projects: Patient data systems, GDPR compliance, accessibility requirements, enterprise security
Banking systems: My Lost Account platform connecting to every major UK bank, financial data security
ExpressionEngine specialists: 15+ years building robust CMS architectures and content platforms

This background means we build complete products, not proofs-of-concept. When you work with Tinderhouse, you work with a team that understands what production software requires because we have been building it for 20 years.