Case study: Cars.com transforms with Elixir & Shape Up

The Mission

(we chose to accept it)

In order to power its next generation of products, Cars.com decided to retool its systems for a modern cloud infrastructure and to turbocharge development with Elixir & Phoenix.

And they didn't stop at technology: by adopting Shape Up, they were completely overhauling how they worked together as a team, too.

A lot of things were changing at once, and that's why Cars.com trusted Test Double to both scale up a high-performing team and help lay the groundwork for the future of their business.

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The Fix

Test Double helped Cars.com build more than a great software platform. We built a great team, too.

What began as a small group learning Elixir together eventually grew to over 50 engineers shipping features daily. Working side-by-side as peers created natural opportunities to teach others what our experience has taught us about quality software.

As members of a combined team, we arrived at a simple architecture, crafted a robust test suite, and designed code to be maintainable over the long-term.

By the end of the engagement, the Cars.com engineering organization was firing on all cylinders. That's because our consultants are committed to more than code; we help clients clear any hurdle–technical or not–along the road to greatness.

And success requires more than settling on the right syntax, it requires people to work well together. That's why we make it our job to model the behaviors of successful teams by demonstrating empathy, fostering collaboration, and promoting trust every step of the way.

CONSULTANTS

Tech & Techniques

Elixir
Erlang
Phoenix
LiveView
Kubernetes
AWS

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The Results

Our objective was to be a partner that Cars.com could depend on without becoming too dependent on us.

Because our promise to every client is that we'll leave your team better than we found it, our consultants excel at leading by example and making space for others to step up. We ask hard questions whenever the "why" of what we're doing is unclear. We think out loud as we consider edge cases and avoid potential pitfalls. And while we're open and honest when something isn't working, we also use it as an opportunity to come together as a team and improve.

We are grateful for the opportunity to help Cars.com transition from working in silos to uniting as a full-stack development team.

As their people shifted to remote work, we were eager to share what we'd learned as a remote-first company. And while we are proud of everything we've built together, the true measure of our success will be what Cars.com is able to build once our time together has ended.

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Contact our team

Icon of hands of different colors reaching up

Unite as full-stack development team around new technology

Ask hard questions to clarify complexity

Pressure test edge cases to avoid pitfalls

Coach team on remote work best practices

Testimonial

Deep Experience

Test Double just works. I never have to worry about the level of skill and experience. Test Double always has it. I also never have to worry about trying to work their way. Instead, they work in my way—but always seek to improve it.

Fred Lee

Cars

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Holistic Problem Solving

No task is too big or small, too glamorous or dirty—they are all handled with care and attention to detail. Test Double has been by far my favorite consulting experience in my career.

Greg Heidorn

Cars

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Empathetic Collaborators

Each and every Test Double agent brings a spirit of empathy, humility, and earnestness to their work. They bring new and exciting ideas to the team without a lot of fanfare or ego. They coach and educate without being corrective or judgmental. They empowered our employees to lead efforts and encouraged them along the way. They became part of the fabric of the team—not them and us, but one team.

Daniel Mackey

Cars