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For today’s digital-first organizations, delivering exceptional mobile experiences is no longer optional–it’s business-critical. But many engineering leaders are caught in a cycle of inefficiency: managing separate iOS and Android teams, dealing with inconsistent user experiences, battling feature parity lag, and struggling with slow development cycles.
As Shorebird founder and former Director of Engineering at Google, Eric Seidel, noted on the Build to Succeed podcast, it often feels like you’re writing everything twice–at double the cost, and half the speed.
Enter: Flutter
So, how to address this? Look no further than Flutter, Google’s open-source framework.
While many multi-platform solutions have long been pursued for their promise, Flutter has rapidly matured into a powerful framework adopted by major brands like BMW, Nubank, Betterment, Keller Williams, The Wendy’s Company, and the PGA of America. (Check out their stories on Build to Succeed!)
But adopting Flutter (or any transformative technology) isn't just about swapping code. It's a strategic shift that requires careful planning, leadership buy-in, and a focus on both people and processes.
The Case for Flutter: Beyond Code Reuse
The initial appeal is obvious: write code once, deploy natively to iOS and Android (and potentially Web, Desktop, and Embedded, as David Chen did at Agtonomy). But the leaders we spoke with highlighted deeper benefits:
- Sustainable Developer Productivity: Flutter's excellent Developer Experience (DX), including hot reload, robust testing frameworks, and top-notch tooling, significantly speeds up iteration cycles. It allows teams to focus more on what they're building, not just how, across multiple platforms.
- Cross-Platform Consistency: Flutter’s efficiencies extend beyond managing beyond the code. With one codebase, brands can achieve visual and functional parity across platforms more easily, reducing design drift, simplifying QA, and streamlining product and design cycles.
- Scalable, Flexible Teams: Flutter's gentle learning curve (especially for those with Java/C#/JS backgrounds) allows broader team contribution. You're hiring "product engineers," not just siloed iOS/Android specialists, enabling more flexible staffing and knowledge sharing.
- True Multi-Platform Potential: Flutter future-proofs your investment by supporting mobile, web, desktop, and even embedded devices, with the same codebase.
- Extended capabilities with Generative AI: AI is transforming the way businesses operate, innovate, and engage with customers. When paired with Flutter, it helps engineers accelerate development, test bold ideas faster, and create smarter, more intuitive user experiences.
Navigating the Transformation: Lessons from the Trenches
Switching to Flutter isn’t just a framework change–it’s a business transformation. Based on our Build to Succeed conversations with engineering executives who’ve led successful transitions, here’s a proven four-phase approach:
Phase 1: Strategic Alignment - Defining the Why
- Identify the Business Drivers: Whether it’s speed to market, development cost, or improving user experience, clearly define what you’re solving before choosing the solution.
- Listen to Your Team: Understand the pain points with the current tech stack from the people building your product. What works? What doesn’t? Their insights will shape the success of the initiative.
- Define With Data: Evaluate Flutter (and alternatives) methodically against your specific needs and criteria, and build small Proofs-of-Concept (POCs) to get buy-in. BMW’s rigorous evaluation began with skepticism, but ended in conviction, thanks to data-driven experimentation and measurable success criteria.
- Pilot With Purpose: Clearly map out what “good” looks like by establishing clear, measurable criteria for the pilot phase.
Phase 2: Executive Buy-In – Getting Started Right
- Build Leadership Trust: Leaders need to trust the engineering team's assessment and provide air cover for the necessary investment and potential short-term slowdowns. As Keller Williams’ Chris Synan put it, “Sometimes to go faster, you have to start by going slower.”
- Phased Investment: To de-risk the decision, propose a limited-scope pilot with clear objectives, resources, and timelines. Betterment’s initial Flutter project (their signup flow) proved value early, minimizing risk while building internal momentum.
- Leverage Expertise: Don't reinvent the wheel. Bring in external experts or internal champions to guide the pilot and establish best practices early.
Phase 3: Organizational Adoption – Leading Change at Scale
- Address the Human Element: Migrations impact identity. It’s important to acknowledge fears, communicate openly, and create a clear path forward.
- Invest in Training: Don't just throw your team into the deep end–plan dedicated training time. Structured training programs and hands-on collaboration (like Betterment’s internal design system sprint) foster team buy-in and build foundational skills.
- Iterative Rollout: Don't try to switch everyone overnight. Roll out the Flutter adoption team by team, using early adopters and experts to coach subsequent teams.
- Embrace the Duality: Accept that for a time, teams will work in both the old and new stacks. This is necessary to keep delivering business value during the transition.
Phase 4: Full Realization – Capturing the ROI
- Don't Leave Value on the Table: Many teams stop short of full migration, leaving legacy systems in place. As Sam Moore said, “everyone wants to go to the party, but nobody wants to stay and clean up.” This adds long-term complexity and undermines ROI.
- Prioritize Cleanup: Actively plan and resource the removal of the old native codebases and processes. This is where the long-term gains of efficiency, maintainability, and agility truly materialize.
Beyond the Code: Culture is Key
Nearly every guest on Build to Succeed emphasized that technology alone doesn't guarantee success. The underlying culture and shared values paramount, and the most successful companies cultivate:
- Trust & Empowerment: Teams need to feel safe to experiment, learn, and even fail during a transition. Teams that feel more trusted are more likely to take ownership and innovate.
- Alignment Around Outcomes: Empowered teams that own their outcomes are more likely to drive success. Driven by the PGA of America’s Michael Gyarmathy, the product triad is a perfect example of empowered teams collaborating together for innovation.
- Customer Obsession: The ultimate goal is better products for end-users. Technology is the enabler, not the outcome.
Is a Flutter Transformation Right for Your Organization?
Flutter is more than just a technical evolution–it’s an opportunity to rethink how you build, deliver, and scale mobile and multi-platform experiences. But realizing its full potential requires clear business alignment, a strong change management strategy, and investment in both technology and the team.
As the leaders on Build to Succeed have shared, organizations that embrace this approach aren’t just reducing costs; they’re accelerating innovation, increasing developer engagement, and delivering better products faster.
Ready to stop writing everything twice? Now’s the time to lead the transformation. Contact us to learn more.
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