Rinodicionarios: The Making Of

It happens every time: when we welcome an intern (half of TICGAL’s staff started that way). We have to give them something to do to evaluate their suitability. Something meaningful that fills a need, and obviously, something that doesn’t compromise the organisation’s security or operations.

Unfortunately, internship periods aren’t always long enough to complete something truly useful. But this time, it was different. Our colleague Hugo Lorenzo managed to kickstart and successfully publish the Rinodicionarios App, a mobile client for Android and iOS for the Rinodicionarios project by Rinoceronte Editora.

The story

The team behind the code

Even in the age of AI, a software project requires many hands. Can one person do it all? Maybe, but it’s not very efficient. Everyone at the TICGAL team played a part: from Hugo at the start to Pedro Muñoz, Manuel Bazarra, and the rest of our teammates. Outside TICGAL, Berta and the other members of AB Comunicacións also did their part.

To everyone: A big thank you.

The project in numbers

• Born: March 14th (internally launched on the 16th) under ticket #39976. At TICGAL, this number means a lot.
• Planning: 1.5 months (which will end up being 2.5).
• Estimation: A 400% deviation from the original plan. I love it when plans come together.
• External Funding: 0 € (No public money, no strings attached).
• Revenue: 0 €
• Social currency: priceless.

Six years in a drawer

Since we started developing GApp nearly seven years ago, the idea of an app for the Rinoceronte dictionary was always on my mind. But it wasn’t all up to us. We had to ask for permission, sign papers, and above all, they had to want it.

Finally, the conditions were met. Today, we are happy to see our user base growing day by day.

Off to Cangas!

There’s an idiom in Galician: “A chorar a Cangas,” which is similar to the English phrase “Cry me a river.” Since Rinoceronte Editora is based in Cangas de Morrazo, we made an inside joke with this expression. It’s even funnier in Galician!

Back to the story, the first step was to ask the dictionary creators, Moisés Barcia and Anxa Correa, for authorisation. Without it, the project would have gone back into the drawer. Thanks again for making it so easy to work with you. Since a picture is worth a thousand words.

Curious fact: the first time I spoke with Moisés, he told me he already had “the app” on his phone. In a way, he did—he had a shortcut to the website on his home screen. It works, but the experience you get from a native app is in a different league altogether. I’ll let you be the judge of that.

Privacy by design

We decided, by design, not to store or process any personal data. Your history and favourites are saved locally on each device. No accounts, no profiles, no fuss. This is why neither your history nor your favourites are synced between desktop and mobile.

The inside story

Behind the scenes

Useless trivia I’m saving here before it gets lost in my overcrowded brain, plus a perfect excuse to sneak in the word synergy this time, for real.

• Pareto was right: The first version of the app was finished in 2 days. We were still making improvements and changes as of yesterday. Corollary: Never underestimate a development process.
• Continuous improvement: Moisés mentioned that Rinodicionarios is a living project, modified and expanded almost daily. I suggested adding the last modified date per the dictionary and word. In my opinion, a seemingly simple addition that adds a lot of value.
• Inspiration: When we drafted the app specs, we wanted to add extra value by including Word of the Day, history, and favourites. A few days after we shared the first version, those features were already implemented in the web version of Rinodicionarios too. At TICGAL, we call that getting inspired, and we love it.

Introducing TICGAL Labs

TICGAL Labs: Where the mad scientist gets a sandbox

In our GLPI-oriented world, it looks like not every idea deserves a chance to run. This is why we created this R&D sandbox: to ensure nothing stands in the way of innovation.

This is where we stress-test the ecosystem, develop our prototypes, and explore the “what ifs”, not always with our beloved GLPI in mind. Some of these projects will evolve into GApp features; others are just fun experiments or might become a product on their own. Like officially the first TICGAL Labs product: Rinodicionarios App.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a global corporation’s budget, but we have the TICGAL team’s passion, and that’s more than enough.

We will continue to build, break, and innovate, because: A cabeza non para.

Always The Roots

Not initially thought that way, but in the end, you know, everything we do for or in Galicia somehow reflects our company culture, and that sustainability is not a buzzword we can use to an extent. Simply, we do best to find a way to align what we need, what we want, and what’s good for the community. So, yes, exactly who we are: Local Roots, Global Reach IT

Nothing more, nothing less

And that’s it. I just felt like sharing this story. It’s our way of pulling back the curtain on the behind-the-scenes and celebrating a major milestone for our small team. If it inspires other people or organisations to keep pushing forward and betting on our language and our land, it will have been entirely worth it. If not, enjoy the app.