The Custom GUI Development Process
Five-phase delivery designed for iterative review and technical transparency — each phase produces concrete customer-reviewable artefacts before the next begins.
Phase 1 — Requirements & Architecture Workshop
A structured session covering display hardware specification, target MCU/MPU, operating environment, UI flow requirements, brand visual guidelines, safety or regulatory constraints, and performance targets. Output: a documented requirements brief that the customer signs off before design begins. Duration: typically one two-hour session.
Phase 2 — UI/UX Design in Flint
Screen wireframes and high-fidelity mockups in Flint UI Designer — all screens, navigation flows, widget configurations, animation design, and data presentation layouts. A working Flint prototype (Windows simulator build) is shared for customer review. Iteration rounds are included until the design is signed off. See the rapid prototype service for cases where only this phase is needed.
Phase 3 — Sparklet Implementation on Target Hardware
Approved designs are converted to production Sparklet C code. Display driver and touch integration are completed in parallel with widget-level implementation. See the platform porting service for HAL detail. Weekly progress builds are shared throughout. Animations, state machines, and custom widget logic are implemented in iterative sprints.
Phase 4 — Backend Data Integration
The UI is connected to the application data layer — CAN bus messages, UART/RS-485 data streams, RTOS message queues, sensor values, or application state machines. Embien implements the Sparklet widget update calls and state machine transitions that respond to backend data events. The integration interface is documented for future in-house maintenance.
Phase 5 — Testing, Handover & Knowledge Transfer
Functional testing against the agreed requirements brief. Bug triage and resolution. Delivery of: Flint project source, Sparklet C code, HAL source, build system, test report, and architecture documentation. A handover session — typically two to four hours — walks the customer's team through the code structure, build process, data integration points, and workflow for future in-house changes.
