Optimizing DoorDash’s App Performance with Engineering Excellence

We faced significant challenges optimizing our app performance, leading to customer dissatisfaction and operational inefficiencies. Centizen’s ability to connect us with the right experts helped us resolve performance issues, reduce crashes, and enhance overall app stability. Their expertise played a vital role in ensuring our platform remains reliable as we continue to grow.

– VP of Engineering, Doordash

The Challenge

As one of the largest food delivery platforms in the U.S., DoorDash operates across iOS, Android, and web applications, serving millions of users daily. However, as demand grew, maintaining a seamless experience became increasingly complex.

Key Challenges Faced:

• Frequent app crashes and slow response times, affect customer experience.
• Performance issues during peak traffic hours, leading to delays in order processing.
• Limited automated testing, causing undetected bugs and inconsistencies.
• Shortage of specialized engineers, delaying critical fixes and optimizations.

DoorDash needed an experienced team to resolve these issues and ensure long-term stability. Centizen provided the specialized staffing support required to overcome these challenges.

Phase 1: Diagnosing Performance Issues (Months 1-2)

To understand the root cause of the problems, we conducted an in-depth analysis of DoorDash’s application performance.

Steps Taken:

• Analyzed system reports to identify patterns of slowdowns and failures.
• Reviewed customer feedback, discovering that 18% of complaints were related to app crashes.
• Assessed the internal engineering team and identified skill gaps in software performance optimization.
• Developed a targeted staffing plan to address missing expertise.

Once the challenges were identified, we moved forward with assembling the right engineering team.

Phase 2: Strengthening the Engineering Team (Months 3-4)

Centizen helped DoorDash build a highly skilled technical team to resolve ongoing performance issues.

Key Areas of Focus:

• Software Development: Optimizing backend processes and API response times.
• Quality Assurance (QA): Expanding automated testing to detect bugs earlier.
• Infrastructure Management: Improving load balancing to handle peak-hour traffic efficiently.

Within two months, we successfully placed the necessary experts, equipping DoorDash with the technical support required for long-term improvements.

Results:

Increased error detection speed by 40%, leading to faster issue resolution.
Strengthened automated testing, reducing post-deployment failures.

Phase 3: Implementing Performance Fixes (Months 5-6)

With the right engineers in place, we worked closely with DoorDash to execute key performance optimizations.

Actions Taken:

• Implemented real-time monitoring systems to detect and fix performance issues proactively.
• Automated regression testing, reducing undetected software bugs.
• Optimized database queries and API calls, improving response times by 35%.
• Improved cloud infrastructure to maintain smooth operations during high-traffic periods.

Impact:

• App crash rate reduced by 50%, improving user satisfaction.
• Faster response times, enhancing order processing speed.

Phase 4: Sustaining Long-Term Performance (Months 7-8)

Beyond fixing immediate issues, we helped DoorDash create a sustainable system for ongoing performance improvements.

Key Enhancements:

• Established a structured issue-resolution framework to maintain app stability.
• Optimized cloud resources, leading to a 25% reduction in server costs.
• Provided long-term engineering support to ensure continued app reliability.

Final Outcome: A More Stable and Efficient Platform

With Centizen’s staffing expertise and engineering support, DoorDash successfully transformed its app performance.

Key Achievements:

• 50% decrease in app crashes, leading to a more reliable experience.
• 35% improvement in response times, making order processing smoother.
• 25% reduction in operational costs, ensuring long-term efficiency.

Through expert staffing and targeted engineering solutions, Centizen helped DoorDash maintain a high-performing, stable, and customer-friendly application.