Why choose Tinderhouse for government app development?
Here's why NHS trusts, local councils, and public sector organisations choose us to build their applications.
Proven Public Sector Track Record - We have real experience delivering for government and public sector organisations. We've worked with Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust developing healthcare applications, built Kent Connected app and website for Kent County Council connecting citizens with council services, and delivered digital solutions for Medway Council improving service accessibility. These projects demonstrate our ability to work within public sector constraints including procurement processes, budget accountability, stakeholder governance, and stringent security requirements. We understand the difference between commercial development and public sector delivery - longer approval processes, multiple stakeholder sign-offs, transparency requirements, and the need to demonstrate value for public money. When you work with us, you're working with a team that's successfully navigated these challenges before.
Healthcare & NHS Experience - Our work with Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust gives us direct experience of NHS requirements. We understand clinical workflows and how digital tools must support rather than disrupt patient care, data protection requirements for patient information and clinical records, integration challenges with healthcare systems and infrastructure, accessibility needs ensuring healthcare apps work for patients of all abilities, and clinical safety considerations ensuring apps don't introduce patient safety risks. Healthcare apps require extra care - they handle sensitive medical data, must be reliable when patients depend on them, and need to work within complex NHS organisational structures. Our NHS experience means we understand these requirements from day one, not learning on your project. We know the questions to ask, the risks to mitigate, and how to build healthcare apps that clinical staff will actually use.
Council & Local Authority Expertise - Kent Connected for Kent County Council and our work with Medway Council demonstrate our understanding of local authority needs. We build citizen service apps helping residents access council services from waste collection schedules to council tax accounts, parking permits to planning applications, and library services to environmental issue reporting. We create workforce apps for council staff conducting field work including environmental health inspections, building control assessments, housing repairs, and social care visits. We understand local authority challenges including limited IT budgets requiring careful prioritisation, diverse citizen digital skills requiring accessible design, legacy systems requiring pragmatic integration approaches, and political scrutiny requiring careful stakeholder management. Our council experience means realistic timelines, practical solutions, and outcomes that improve services for residents while reducing operational costs.
Security & Data Protection - Public sector apps handle sensitive citizen data requiring robust security. We implement secure authentication with password policies and multi-factor options, role-based access control ensuring users only see appropriate data, data encryption protecting information in transit and at rest, audit logging tracking who accessed what data and when, secure development practices including code review and security testing, and GDPR compliance with privacy by design throughout development. We work with your Information Governance teams to complete Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), document data flows showing how personal data is processed, implement appropriate retention policies, and ensure citizen rights (access, rectification, deletion) are supported. For healthcare apps, we implement additional controls protecting patient confidentiality and meeting NHS Digital guidance. We take security seriously because public trust depends on government services protecting citizen data.
Accessibility as Standard - Government services must work for everyone including those with disabilities. We build apps meeting Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) Level AA standards including screen reader compatibility for visually impaired users, keyboard navigation for users unable to use touchscreens, high contrast modes and adjustable text sizes for users with visual impairments, clear language and simple interfaces for users with cognitive disabilities, and captions and transcripts for video and audio content. We test with assistive technologies throughout development, not just at the end, ensuring accessibility is built in rather than retrofitted. Our Kent Connected work demonstrates accessible design helping diverse citizen groups access council services. Accessibility isn't just regulatory compliance - it's ensuring your service works for all citizens regardless of ability, age, or digital confidence.
Stakeholder Management & Governance - Public sector projects involve complex stakeholder groups. We work effectively with elected members (councillors, board members) who oversee service delivery, senior executives accountable for budget and outcomes, service managers who understand operational needs, frontline staff who will use the apps daily, IT teams responsible for infrastructure and security, procurement teams managing contracts and compliance, and citizen groups representing service users. We provide clear progress reporting showing status, risks, and decisions needed, facilitate workshops bringing diverse stakeholders together, manage expectations about what's possible within budget and timelines, and navigate organisational politics with diplomacy and professionalism. Our experience with Kent councils and NHS trusts means we understand public sector governance, can work within committee cycles and approval processes, and know how to keep projects moving despite complex decision-making structures.
User-Centred Design for Citizens - Government apps serve diverse populations with varying digital skills. We conduct user research with representative citizens not just digitally confident early adopters, test with users of different ages ensuring apps work for elderly and young users, consider users with limited English through clear language and multilingual support where needed, and design for users with low digital literacy through intuitive interfaces and helpful guidance. For citizen-facing apps, we ensure services are inclusive not just accessible, testing with diverse communities to identify barriers. Our Kent Connected work demonstrates citizen-focused design making council services easier to use. We balance efficiency (digital by default) with inclusion (ensuring those who struggle digitally aren't excluded), often recommending assisted digital support for vulnerable groups alongside app development.
Workforce & Field Worker Apps - Many public sector staff work in the field, not at desks. We build workforce apps with offline capability allowing apps to work without constant connectivity, GPS and mapping for navigating to appointments and site visits, photo and signature capture for evidence and sign-offs, task management showing work queues and priorities, time recording and mileage tracking for payroll and billing, and synchronisation uploading data when connectivity returns. Council staff conducting inspections, health visitors seeing patients at home, and maintenance workers attending sites need apps that work reliably in real-world conditions - poor mobile signal, hands occupied, challenging weather. Our field worker apps are designed for these contexts, not office environments, ensuring staff can do their jobs effectively using mobile technology.
Practical Integration Approach - Public sector organisations run complex existing systems. We take a pragmatic approach to integration working with what you have, not requiring wholesale system replacement. We connect with council CRM systems capturing citizen enquiries and service requests, finance systems for billing and payment processing, GIS mapping systems for location-based services, and asset management systems for equipment and property. For healthcare, we work with patient administration systems, clinical systems where integration is feasible, and administrative systems supporting operations. We're honest about integration complexity - some legacy systems have limited integration options requiring manual processes or alternative approaches. We work with your IT teams to understand existing architecture, assess integration feasibility realistically, and design solutions that work with your infrastructure not against it. Sometimes the right answer is building a standalone app with manual data transfer rather than expensive, risky integration projects.
Agile Delivery with Public Sector Governance - We use agile development adapted for public sector governance requirements. Our approach includes regular sprint reviews showing working software to stakeholders every two weeks, incremental delivery allowing early testing and feedback before full rollout, transparent progress reporting with risks and issues visible to sponsors, change control processes meeting financial governance requirements, and flexible scope management within agreed budget envelopes. We create documentation meeting audit requirements without bureaucracy that slows delivery. We work within approval cycles and committee schedules, providing papers and presentations when governance gates require formal sign-off. Our Kent council experience means we understand local authority financial regulations, procurement rules, and the need to demonstrate value for taxpayers' money throughout delivery.
Mobile-First Citizen Services - Citizens expect to access services on their smartphones like they do with commercial apps. We build citizen service apps for waste and recycling showing collection days and reporting missed collections, council tax providing account balance, payment, and direct debit management, parking offering permit applications, renewals, and pay-and-display, planning enabling application tracking and neighbour notification responses, libraries with catalogue search, reservations, and account management, environmental services for reporting potholes, fly-tipping, and graffiti with GPS location and photos, housing repairs with issue reporting, photos, and progress tracking, and benefits and support with eligibility checking and application guidance. These apps reduce call centre volumes, enable 24/7 access (not just 9-5 office hours), and improve citizen satisfaction by making services convenient. Our Kent Connected work demonstrates effective citizen service apps that are actually used by residents.
Internal Operations & Efficiency - Government apps aren't just citizen-facing - internal operational apps deliver efficiency savings. We build employee self-service apps for absence booking, expense claims with receipt capture, payslip access, and training records, inspection and compliance apps with checklist-based assessments, photo evidence, instant reports, and risk scoring, case management apps for social workers, housing officers, and environmental health, asset management apps tracking vehicles, equipment, and buildings with maintenance schedules, and meeting management apps with agenda distribution, minute-taking, and action tracking. These apps reduce administrative burden, improve data quality (captured at source, not transcribed later), speed up processes, and enable evidence-based decision-making. Efficiency savings from operational apps often exceed development costs within 18-24 months, providing clear return on investment.
Democratic & Transparency Services - Democratic engagement benefits from digital tools. We build councillor contact apps showing ward representatives with contact details and surgery times, meeting and decision apps with committee calendars, agendas, minutes, and decision notices, consultation apps enabling citizen feedback on proposals with comment submission and petition signing, election information with polling station finder, candidate information, and results, and Freedom of Information apps for request submission, tracking, and published responses. These apps improve transparency making government more open and accessible, increase engagement helping citizens participate in local democracy, and reduce administrative burden on democratic services teams. Transparency isn't just regulatory compliance - it's building public trust by making government activity visible and understandable.
Healthcare Beyond Clinical Apps - Healthcare apps serve patients, families, and healthcare professionals. We build patient engagement apps with appointment booking and reminders reducing did-not-attend rates, medication reminders supporting treatment adherence, test results access with secure messaging to clinicians, health information and self-care guidance, and symptom tracking for chronic condition management. Family and carer apps provide care planning with shared decision-making, appointment coordination across multiple services, medication management for dependent relatives, and safeguarding alerts when concerns arise. For healthcare professionals, we develop clinical decision support tools, care pathway guidance, referral management, and professional development tracking. These apps improve outcomes by supporting patients between appointments, reduce service demand through better self-management, and help professionals work more effectively. Our Kent Community Health NHS work demonstrates healthcare apps that genuinely support clinical teams.
Safeguarding & Vulnerable Users - Some government services support vulnerable people requiring extra care in design. We build apps with trauma-informed design avoiding triggers for users with difficult experiences, clear privacy controls allowing users to control what's shared, emergency exits allowing quick app closure for safety, simplified interfaces for users with cognitive disabilities or learning difficulties, and crisis resources providing immediate access to helplines and support. For safeguarding apps used by professionals, we implement secure reporting of concerns with appropriate escalation, risk assessment frameworks, multi-agency information sharing with consent management, and audit trails for accountability. We consult safeguarding leads during design ensuring apps support protection rather than introducing new risks. Apps supporting vulnerable people require extra sensitivity - we ensure technology helps rather than harms.
Environmental & Sustainability Services - Environmental services benefit from mobile apps improving service delivery. We build waste management apps with collection calendars for different waste types, missed collection reporting, bulky waste booking, recycling guidance, and garden waste subscriptions, environmental monitoring apps displaying air quality, flood warnings, pollution incidents, and noise complaints, parks and green spaces apps with park finder, event calendars, volunteer coordination, and tree mapping, and licensing apps for environmental permits, fishing licenses, and commercial waste. These apps help councils meet environmental targets, improve citizen engagement with sustainability, and reduce administrative costs. Our understanding of council operations means practical apps that work within operational constraints like collection round schedules and seasonal demand variations.
Training & Change Management - Technology only succeeds if people use it effectively. We provide staff training tailored to technical confidence levels, user guides and video tutorials for self-service support, super-user identification training enthusiastic early adopters, helpdesk handover including common issues and troubleshooting, and change management support helping organisations adapt processes around new technology. For citizen-facing apps, we support launch communications, create promotional materials, and advise on assisted digital support for those needing help using new services. We measure training effectiveness through user confidence surveys and support ticket patterns, refining materials based on actual support requests. Good training ensures your investment delivers expected benefits by ensuring staff and citizens can use apps effectively from day one.
Long-Term Partnership Approach - Public sector organisations need long-term support not just initial development. We provide flexible support arrangements including incident response for user-reported issues, proactive monitoring identifying problems before users notice, security updates maintaining protection against emerging threats, functionality enhancements adding features based on user feedback, compliance maintenance ensuring continued regulatory compliance, and capacity management as usage grows. We work within public sector budget cycles, supporting business cases for enhancements and demonstrating return on investment. Our multi-year relationships with Kent councils and Kent Community Health NHS demonstrate our commitment to long-term partnership supporting your digital services as needs evolve. We're in Kent - you can visit our Canterbury office, meet the team, and build relationships with people supporting your services.
Proven Delivery Credentials - Tinderhouse has 20+ years of experience building secure applications for demanding environments. Our work with Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust demonstrates healthcare app capability, Kent Connected for Kent County Council shows citizen service expertise, and Medway Council projects prove our understanding of local authority needs. We built Map My Tracks, a location-based app used by millions, demonstrating our ability to build reliable, scalable mobile applications. We're based in Kent, understand the region, and have established relationships with local public sector organisations. When you work with us, you're working with experienced professionals who have delivered successfully for organisations like yours, understand public sector reality, and are committed to supporting the communities we live and work in.
Our approach to government app development
Discovery & Requirements
We start by understanding your organisation, users, and objectives. Through workshops with stakeholders including service users, frontline staff, operational managers, and IT teams, we define user needs through research and observation, map existing service journeys identifying pain points and improvement opportunities, understand technical constraints including existing systems and infrastructure, identify security and compliance requirements specific to your service, and define success measures showing how you'll know the app is working. We help build business cases for budget approval including efficiency saving calculations, service improvement benefits, and implementation costs. Our discovery approach is collaborative, bringing diverse perspectives together while keeping focus on what will actually improve services. We're honest about constraints - if timelines are unrealistic or budgets insufficient, we say so early rather than overpromising.
Design & Prototyping
We design apps iteratively with user feedback at every stage. Our process includes user research with representative users (not just digitally confident staff), wireframes showing layout and navigation before visual design, interactive prototypes allowing testing before development, accessibility review ensuring design works with assistive technologies, and usability testing with real users in realistic contexts. For citizen-facing apps, we test with diverse demographics ensuring services work for all residents. For staff-facing apps, we observe current workflows ensuring apps support rather than disrupt work patterns. We refine designs based on feedback before committing to development, reducing rework costs and ensuring solutions meet actual needs. Good design is invisible - users accomplish tasks without thinking about the interface.
Agile Development
We build apps using agile methods providing visibility and flexibility. Our approach includes two-week sprints delivering working features regularly, sprint reviews demonstrating progress to stakeholders, adaptable scope responding to feedback within budget constraints, transparent reporting showing status, risks, and blockers, and continuous integration testing features as they're built. We create documentation meeting governance requirements including functional specifications, security documentation, test plans and results, and user guides. We work within your approval processes, providing papers for governance boards and presenting at key decision points. Agile doesn't mean uncontrolled - it means building the right thing through regular validation rather than discovering problems only after months of development.
Testing & Quality Assurance
We test thoroughly before launch ensuring apps work reliably. Our testing includes functional testing verifying features work as specified, integration testing confirming connections to other systems, performance testing ensuring apps remain responsive under load, security testing identifying vulnerabilities before hackers do, accessibility testing with assistive technologies and diverse users, and user acceptance testing with service users in realistic scenarios. For citizen-facing apps, we test across different devices (iOS and Android, various models) and network conditions (WiFi, 4G, poor signal). For staff-facing apps, we test offline scenarios and edge cases. We document test results providing assurance that apps meet requirements and are ready for launch.
Launch & Rollout
We launch apps using phased approaches reducing risk. Our strategy includes pilot with limited user group testing in production environment, soft launch with gradual rollout monitoring performance closely, communications supporting user adoption including promotional materials, training ensuring staff can support users effectively, and monitoring watching for issues during early adoption. We provide launch support including extended helpdesk hours, rapid response to issues, and daily monitoring of usage and errors. For citizen-facing apps, we often launch quietly allowing issues to be resolved before major promotional campaigns. Successful launches balance enthusiasm with pragmatism - getting apps into users' hands while being ready to respond quickly when problems arise.
Support & Evolution
Apps need ongoing support after initial launch. We provide incident response fixing user-reported problems, monitoring watching for technical issues proactively, security updates maintaining protection against new threats, functionality updates adding features based on user feedback, compliance updates ensuring continued regulatory alignment, and capacity management as usage grows. We support business case development for major enhancements, showing return on investment and efficiency savings. Our long-term relationships with Kent public sector organisations demonstrate commitment beyond initial delivery - we're here supporting apps years after launch, helping organisations get maximum value from their digital investments.
Our government app development credentials
- 20+ years experience: Building secure, data-intensive applications
- Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust: Proven NHS app delivery
- Kent County Council: Kent Connected app and website
- Medway Council: Local authority digital solutions
- Map My Tracks: Location-based app used by millions globally
- UK-based team: Canterbury, Kent and London offices
