In this article, we explain why an automation agency has a place in a project like charles, how it works on a day-to-day basis, and what direct benefits it brings to product quality and user experience.
charles: an independent political comparison site
Before understanding the role of automation, it is important to understand what charles is. It is France’s first independent political comparison tool, whose objective is to list all French political figures, with a focus on transparency and access to factual information.
Each figure has a detailed profile that includes:
- their political career,
- their public statements,
- the issues they address,
- and measurable indicators for comparing elected officials.
The application also allows users to:
- test their political DNA,
- compare elected officials,
- create and share their ideal government.
The quality and richness of the data are central to the project, which is based on public sources (National Assembly, Senate, Open Data), consolidated through automated collection and analysis systems.
Why use an automation agency for a project like charles?
A feature-rich tech project, powered by numerous data sources and targeting a large user base, requires structured technical management. This is where the expertise of an automation agency like Inflow comes in:
1. Structuring complex and repetitive processes
From the beta testing phase onwards, the team had to set up a series of repetitive tasks: distributing communications, collecting feedback from testers, configuring stores, preparing feedback channels, etc.
Rather than performing these actions manually over and over again, an automation agency steps in to design workflows that run automatically, ensuring consistency, speed and accuracy.
For example, for charles:
- the automatic sending of emails when a tester completes the registration form was automated via a custom script, triggered as soon as a new registration is recorded in Google Sheets;
- the dynamic download link always points to the most recent version, without manual intervention.
This type of automation frees teams from time-consuming tasks and allows them to focus on what matters most: the user experience and continuous product improvement.
2. Optimising beta test management
The initial objective for charles was to define a step-by-step method for managing the external beta test:
- choosing communication channels (Reddit, Instagram, LinkedIn),
- drafting messages to be distributed,
- selecting tester profiles,
- preparing technical requirements for the Apple and Google stores.
An automation agency structures all these elements into reproducible processes that can be:
- planned (publications, messages),
- triggered automatically (emails, notifications),
- tracked and measured (feedback, data analysis).
This role goes beyond simple technical execution: it involves optimising each stage of the launch to ensure product quality while accelerating its availability to users.
3. Ensuring the quality of the application
Beyond communication and management, an automation agency is also involved in:
- automated verification of user journeys: registration, login, navigation, etc.;
- detection of visual or functional bugs on different device configurations;
- automatic synchronisation of data from external sources to the charles infrastructure.
Automating these tests and validations is essential for a product that must remain robust as it evolves from public beta to official launch.
Conclusion: automation, a strategic ally for ambitious tech projects
The charles’ journey from beta to public launch perfectly illustrates why modern tech projects can no longer ignore the importance of an automation agency.
It doesn’t just optimise tasks: it structures, secures and accelerates product development, while allowing the team to focus on what really matters: impact and added value for the user.
👉 Do you have an ambitious project and want to leverage automation to go faster, better and further? Contact us to turn your ideas into impactful products. The Inflow team is committed to responding to you within 24 hours… we’re willing to take bets on it: contact@inflow-data.com
