Expopartner
A company that specializes in coordinating exhibitions for pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers of medical equipment. They help these companies plan and execute successful events to showcase their products and services.
Time develop:
2.5 months
Team:
5 people
Technologies:
Objective
The main goal of Expopartner, an exhibition coordinator, is to develop a new web application where clients can submit online applications for participating in exhibitions. For instance, the client specifies the quantity of exhibition stands, brochures, the necessary space for the stand, and other details in their personal account. Then this application is sent to the experts at Expopartner, who use this information to calculate the costs and prepare an offer for the client. This streamlines the process and eliminates the need for complicated phone approvals, making it more efficient and faster for exhibitors.
Challenge
The limitation of the project was that the client originally came to us with a request to add an authorization form to an existing application. However, during our discussions, we discovered some additional details that needed to be taken into account:
- The client had an outdated version of the application and wanted to modernize it;
- The client went to another software company, the one that had previously developed the outdated version of the application and was responsible for its maintenance;
- After upgrading the application, it was not functioning properly as the new version's features did not align with the specific needs and tasks of Expopartner;
- Without proper documentation, the different versions of the program code became difficult to understand.
It emerged that simply implementing an authorization form would not be sufficient, so we were asked to take full control of the project. We organized meetings with both Expopartner and the software company in order to move forward with the project. Besides, the project had a tight deadline for completion.
So, we had to take on certain responsibilities in order to complete the project:
- Assume control of the project and understand the client's business needs - determine the necessary steps and tasks to be completed before the set deadline, and prioritize which features to implement first;
- Understand the intricacies of the program code from different versions of the application;
- Create comprehensive and easy-to-understand documentation to facilitate future maintenance of the application;
- Establish connection between the application and Expopartner's internal ERP system to place offers;
- Launch the product on schedule.
Team
Such roles were required to develop the product:
- Two full stack developers implemented the frontend part in Vue.js and backend in PHP, making integration to PostgreSQL database and ERP system;
- DevOps engineer set up and managed the deployment process for the code using Docker and uploaded it to the Azure Cloud;
- Business analyst worked with the client's needs and identified the necessary features for the final product;
- Project manager was responsible for overseeing the progress of the project and organized interaction with the client;
- QA engineer ensured that all features of the application functioned correctly
Realization
To meet the deadline, certain features had to be removed from the final product. For instance, we tailored the application specifically for Takeda Pharmaceutical, a transnational pharmaceutical company from Japan, rather than creating a generic version that could be used by any company. We also organized and streamlined the code, creating a clear version history, and generated comprehensive documentation for the project.
Therefore, the client logs into his personal account and inputs the details for the exhibition.Then, the request is sent to the PostgreSQL database where an Expopartner manager processes it and calculates the cost for participating in the exhibition. The offer is then created and sent to the client through an ERP system. Once payment is made, the space and the exhibition stand are reserved for the client, and any additional requests such as brochures or demonstration monitors are taken into account.
The product was completed by the specified deadline. Takeda Pharmaceutical can create requests and receive offers, while the previous software company can continue to support the last version of the product for Expopartner. The next step is to enhance the web application to make it adaptable for use by any company, enabling them to log in and create a request for their specific needs. In addition, each company will have a personalized account with their own distinct design elements such as corporate colors, logos, and more.