CREELiT

Outcome

Computools applied state-of-the-art technologies, innovative approach and specialist expertise to execute rapid Digital Transformation for the client. The client noted positive changes in the operation of the online platform.

+69%

Throughput, Users

+63%

Average Order

+58%

Increasing Productivity

+68%

Increasing Revenue

-44%

Reducing Costs

+71%

Business Process Automation

Business
challenge

weaknesses

Non-integrated, conflicting business processes resulting in the loss of effectiveness
Slow interface response due to outdated architecture and mix of technologies
Poor user experience and interface design
Poor system and data security
Non-scalability of the system
Week internal information system.
Lack of important metric and data for building KPI and KRI.

strengths

Well-known brand with strong demand and target audience loyalty
Excellent quality of printed advertisement
Deep knowledge of customers’ needs and behaviour
Well-honed logistics and delivery processes

Project
Description

CREELiT’s online platform is used by more than 17,000 real estate agents in the United States to automate their marketing activities. With its ‘web-to-print’ functionality, real estate agents can significantly reduce their marketing efforts: an agent chooses a design template directly from the dashboard for anything from a business card to a billboard, and then easily customizes it, with their own details. Subsequent printing and scheduled door-to-door shipment happens automatically and effortlessly. CREELiT allows real estate agents to focus on their core business activity.

Wayne Creel, CTO and founder of CREELiT, had an ambition to grow user numbers from 17,000 to 500,000. Mr. Creel invited Computools to spearhead the necessary digital transformation, identify bottlenecks and enable growth. To meet his goals we conducted a thorough business analysis of the company’s current processes and identified both strengths to build on and weaknesses that had to be eliminated.

Digital Platform & Technology

To build a state-of-the-art platform, we have carefully chosen a set of technologies with exceptional performance and security characteristics. Our chosen technologies were also highly efficient in terms of total cost of ownership and support.

Express

A minimal and flexible Node.js web application framework that provides a robust set of features for web and mobile applications. Excellent performance and energy efficiency.

AngularJS

A front-end JavaScript framework. Developed and supported by engineers at Google, it allows to scale the team efficiently and quickly, providing engineers with a comfortable work environment in one style within the same system.

MongoDB

Perfect for work on the app server level and for storing user data, this database system has the ease of changing the structure and shading. Perfectly compatible with Node.js.

PostgreSQL

A powerful, open source object-relational database system with over 30 years of active development, it has earned a strong reputation for reliability, feature robustness and performance.

Communication Framework

Open and efficient two-way communication is crucial to the success of a digital transformation project. Following consultation with the client, we agreed upon a clear and unambiguous communication framework with scheduled regular face-to-face and online meetings and regular reports by email.

Our communication ecosystem also incorporated a structured documents environment and client access to Computools' internal task managing platform. This made both the general project roadmap as well as specific processes transparent and clear for all parties.

Skype

zoom

Slack

redmine

Jira

Specification

We created detailed specifications for tasks and processes with User Stories using the Behavior-Driven Development approach. It was based on the previously created CREELiT’s Business Process Map. At this stage we also produced a detailed and precise estimation of costs.

As System Admin I want to be able to see text field when I click button "Decline" on new sign up request so that I can type notes:

Decline Reason - "Why this request have declined?" - text field
Reason for the user - text field, required

As System Admin I want to be able to view the list of people that have tried to register but did not do the confirmation email.
To do that, I want to have a separate tab in Manage ->Users -> Sign Up requests named "Not validated" that will display the table with the next columns:
* First name
* Last name
* email

This data should be taken from the database and display all users that get an email but didn't follow the link yet.

System architecture

Team

To make the project a success, we have chosen 11 specific, named engineers with most appropriate expertise and experience from Computools’ talent pool:

1. Computools team 2. CREELIT

Business Analyst

Kate Vodolazkina

Team Lead

Oleg Svet

Project Manager

Andrey Melnichenko

Business Development Manager

Maryna Vishnyak

PHP Engineer

Igor Tsurikov

PHP Engineer

Snezhanna Mohnacheva

UX Designer

Valeriy Panchenko

UI Designer

Sergei Shmatov

Node.JS Engineer

Michail Bobrovskiy

PHP Engineer

Evgeny Mohnachev

Quality Assurance Engineer

Mariia Boborova

CTO

Operations Manager

Senior Executive

Backstage

There is a lot more activity behind the scenes at Computools than meets the eye. Each kind of meeting serves its own purpose, but all of them work towards a common goal - successful Digital Transformation of the client’s business.

Whiteboard Meeting

Whiteboard meetings are a great way to continuously align everyone's efforts on the quest towards perfection and a very effective tool for visualizing progress and obstacles.

Brainstorming

Collective brainstorming is a very effective technique designed to let the best ideas come to the fore. At this stage we strictly follow the "no-laptop” rule.

Dev Meeting

A special kind of meeting, it allows to take the collaborative process all the way to de-facto editing the code in parallel. This works especially well when our engineers engage with their client counterparts.

Internal Communication Flow

To support an efficient internal communication within the project team we have chosen Email for sharing reports and tasks; Skype, Zoom and Slack were perfect for addressing urgent issues, as well as for scheduling and conducting audio/video conferences. Redmine and Jira Project Management Platforms were used to for role assignment and progress control.

Project Management Methodology

We followed Agile methodology to ensure delivery in time and on budget whilst maintaining flexibility to address any emerging challenges. Our project management approach was based on Scrum with 2-week sprints.

Project timeline

CONSULTING

Defining Scope

Understanding Customer’s Business
Identifying Strengths & Weaknesses
Setting Goals

Product DESIGN

Digital Transformation Initialization

Business Process Mapping
Interactive Prototype Creation
Digital Platform & Technology
Specification, Tasks & Deadlines

Project Management Flow

Creating A Team
Establishing Internal Communication Flow
Choosing Project Management Methodology

Development Flow

Development Methodology

Product Engineering

Implementation

Environment Setting
Tasks Assignment

Application Build

User Interface Designing
Code Creating & Refactoring
Testing & Fixing

Application Launching

Environment Setting of Client’s Server
Migrating Users’ Data To A New Application
Client's Employees Training
Application Launch
Guide For Users
Continuous Measuring & Support
Measuring Digital Transformation Effect

Design

Working on product design, we primarily develop its architecture, as this has a great influence on how the design will be built in the future, and how ways of promoting and upgrading the product will be organized.

Implementation
On Client’s Side

Launch

We set up server environment at CREELiT’s site, installed the application and set up accounts and roles.

Transfer

We gathered all existing user data and migrated this data to the new platform.

Education

We trained administrators of the platform and prepared an intro for new users.

use link below to find
code sample

https://github.com/computools/Dependency-Injection

What our
client said

«The team has rapidly improved my product extensively. We are now about to exit private beta and on board over 500,000 users. I highly recommend Computools, they have been an exceptional partner and we will definitely continue to cooperate with them for the foreseeable future.»

Wayne Creel

President and CTO at CREELiT

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