Value & Cost of Migration

Additional flexibility for theming

• Reduced custom theming overrides: The new token system offers enhanced flexibility, potentially eliminating the need for custom screens or journeys due to design limitations. This allows more customers to leverage the Backbase out-of-the-box journeys.
• Dark mode support: While Backbase doesn't yet support dark mode out-of-the-box, the new tokens facilitate project-level dark mode implementation, with an OOTB solution expected in the future.
• Multiple theme support: Switching themes at runtime is reliable and straightforward, enabling tailored experiences for different user segments, such as regular and premium users. journeys.
• Accessibility compliance: By defining tokens with sufficient contrast, the Backbase product is ensured adherence to WCAG 2.2 AA contrast requirements. Using the token guidelines, it is also much easier to achieve compliance for custom screens and journeys.

Faster development of new features

The new tokens are consistent in name and behavior across platforms, making their usage more intuitive and reducing the need for extensive communication between design, development, and QA teams.

Enabling Jetpack Compose and SwiftUI

Although Jetpack Compose and SwiftUI libraries are not yet available with the 2024.09-LTS release, the new token system is designed to support these technologies. This alignment will ensure seamless theming across all technologies used in an app.

Phase 1: Migrating Figma

Estimated cost: 5 days to learn the concepts + 4 hours per custom journey

Deprecated tokens are no longer available in Figma. Designers must migrate to the new token system to continue development. This involves creating a new theme and updating each custom journey.

Phase 2: Using semantic tokens for new custom development

Estimated cost: None

On Android, iOS, and Web, semantic tokens can be used to develop new custom screens without additional work, as they are automatically populated by the deprecated tokens.

Phase 3: Achieving more flexible theming in Backbase journeys

Estimated cost: 1 day per app

Configure the semantic tokens for more consistent and flexible theming of Backbase journeys. Designers can easily export logo, color, and font tokens from Figma by using the Visualizer, ensuring a quick handover to development.

Phase 4: Achieving more flexible theming in custom journeys

Estimated cost: 0.5 - 2 days per custom journey

Complete the migration by updating all custom screens and journeys to use semantic tokens. This involves a simple find-and-replace task for developers, although large journeys can take some time due to the number of tokens involved. If any custom tokens were added to the project, this is also the time to decide whether to keep them or migrate them to semantic tokens as well.