Women-Led Dev Team: Tormach Inc.

Introduction

At Shero, we value each team member, while also prioritizing diversity and inclusion in our industry. In contrast to the industry standard of 26.7% reported in 2022, our tech team consists of 33% women. Led by an all-female team, we partnered with our client Tormach Inc, assisting them with a redesign and re-engineering of their custom Machine Builder feature. The goals were straightforward: enhance the end-user experience for customers and limit the necessity to contact customer solutions. The actual project? Complex, just the way we like it.

Tormach is the premier manufacturer of affordable CNC mills and accessories. In 2001, frustrated with limited choices that were either too costly or too restrictive, the founders developed the prototype of a CNC mill that was compact, affordable, and highly capable. Since then, they have grown exponentially and manufacture not only machines but tools, equipment upgrades, and training solutions. Tormach’s extensive customer industry base includes research and development, education, short-run production, and general entrepreneurs. There is no one machine that fits all industry needs, so client’s having the ability to custom design the machines easily is crucial.

The original Machine Builder was intended to allow customers to do just that; take pre-configured machines and add customizations to fit their specifications. But, with the initial roll-out of the feature, the configuration process proved challenging and Tormach customers often struggled with navigating the system and required help from customer solutions. This was a big headache for Tormach and for the customer.It was time to take a second look at the Machine Builder feature and figure out how to redesign it for the end users so they can build their machines without technical limitations. We were hired to reconfigure and lift the restrictions.

Approach

Following a rigorous discovery process, our development team determined that Tormach’s extensive product offering required greater alignment and organization in order for the Machine Builder to operate effectively.

Our developers reengineered the Machine Builder to simplify complicated bundle products for clients by making the landing pages more user-friendly. The machine customisations are now more clearly showcased. The system now tells clients which components of the machine go together and with a few simple clicks, a customer can build a machine in minutes.

More intricate designs
Zoom-in product images
Mobile swipe animations
Drop-down menus
Customer can build a machine in minutes

Before, they would often have to guess which led to more frustrated calls to customer solutions. Take a practice run at building a mill here.

Results

The Machine Builder changed the user experience exponentially. Through this easy-to-use feature, a cumbersome process that once left customers frustrated has been simplified. The administrators of the Tormach site enjoy more independence and customers enjoy building machines easily. A win for end users and a win for Tormach!