Expopartner
An exhibition coordinator for pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment manufacturers.
Time of development:
2.5 months
Team:
5 people
Technologies:
Objective
The exhibition coordinator Expopartner needs to create a new version of web-application in which clients will leave online applications (briefs) for participation in exhibitions. For example, the client in his personal account indicates a number of booths, handouts, the required area, and other parameters. Then the brief goes to Expopartner specialists - they calculate the costs and make a quotation (an offer).
As a result, exhibitors do not need to go through a complicated phone approval procedure by phone. The briefs are handled in electronic form, so the process of preparation for exhibition becomes easier and faster.
Limitation
Initially, the client came to us with the task of implementing an authorization form in an already implemented application. During the discussion we found out some specific moments:
- The client had an old version of the application. It became obsolete and he decided to update it;
- The client turned to another software company, that created the old version of the application and maintained it;
- After upgrade the new version of the application didn’t work correctly: its functions did not correspond to the business tasks of Expopartner;
- Due to lack of documentation confusion arose in the program code of different versions.
It became clear that implementation of an authorization form wouldn’t be enough, so we took the management of the entire project upon ourselves. To accomplish this, we held several meetings with both Expopartner and the software company. Besides, the project had a strict deadline for release.
As a result, we were required to:
- take the lead on the project and understand the business requirements of the client - what tools we need to implement before the release date, and which ones can be implemented later;
- make sense of the program code of different application versions;
- draw up detailed and clear documentation in order to make it more comfortable to maintain the application work in future;
- build a connection with Expopartner’s internal ERP system in order to place offers;
- implement the product on time.
Team
The following roles were required to implement 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 organized code deployment on Docker platform and uploading to Azure Cloud;
- Business analyst coped with the requirements of the client and defined features of the future product;
- Project manager supervised the progress of the project and organized interaction with the client;
- QA-engineer tested the workability of all application functions.
Implementation
In order to be in time for the release date, we had to abandon some features. For example, we made not a universal version for any company, but only for one particular Expopartner client - Takeda Pharmaceutical, a transnational pharma company from Japan. Besides, we brought the code to normal condition, structured its versions, and drew up a complete project documentation.
As a result, the client logs in to his personal account and forms a brief with the requirements for the exhibition. Then the brief goes to PostgreSQL database, Expopartner’s manager handles the request and calculates the cost of participation in the exhibition.
All data enters the computerized ERP system - here the offer is formed and sent to the client. After payment a place and a booth area are booked for a particular client and also the additional wishes are considered - handouts, demonstration monitors, etc.
The product was done to the designated date. Takeda Pharmaceutical can form briefs and receive offers, and the previous software company can maintain the latest version of the product on behalf of Expopartner. The next step is to improve the web application and make it universal so that every company can log in and generate a brief for its requirements. Moreover, a personal account for each company will have its own individual style - corporate colors, logos, and so on.