Epson

Outcome

In close collaboration with client’s in-house IT department Computools’ experts solved project challenges and achieved the goals. A clearly structured interaction system made it possible to constantly stay on the same page and complete all tasks in full accordance with the requirements and wishes of the client.

Several key options we solved:

Monitoring the ink level in eligible printers in real time.
Auto notifications of the need to refill the cartridges.
Ordering necessary cartridges and arranging their delivery.

+ 95%

Throughput, Users

+117%

Average Order

+51%

Increasing Productivity

+ 76%

Increasing Revenue

- 64%

Reducing Costs

43%

Business Process Automation

Project Description

Epson is among the top manufacturers of inkjet, dot matrix and laser printers, scanners, and other electronics. Their award-winning innovations benefit both retail consumers and organisations in the government, medical, finance, and other sectors across the globe. An innovation-driven enterprise, Epson actively generates fresh ideas, aiming to supply the market with revolutionary products. One of such ideas was to provide customers with a hassle-free ink refill system and enable its resellers and distributors to build long-lasting relationships with the clients.Enter the ReadyInk System - the system which monitors the ink level in eligible printers in real time and automatically notifies both users and resellers of the need to refill the cartridges. The system also orders necessary cartridges and arranges their delivery to the store or the user’s door.To complete this time-sensitive, high-priority project, Epson’s Tech leaders of Epson entrusted the scaling of the internal IT department to Computools. Upon expertise-based talent evaluation of our software engineers, we assembled the team to complement Epson’s own in-house development talent of Epson. Seamless cooperation ensured the project was completed in time with zero compromises on performance and stability.

weaknesses

limited time to scale the internal IT department
Insufficient availability of qualified in-house engineers
Tight project schedule
Labor cost constraints

strengths

Market leading company with strong global demand for its products and services
Culture of consistent investment in innovation aimed at consolidating market positions
Fast ink top-up technology for clean and easy refilling
Well-honed logistics and delivery processes

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.

Communication:

Skype

Jira

Business Process Mapping

CONSULTING

Business Process Mapping was performed by the client. Epson Tech leaders had a clear vision for the design of the proprietary ink refill system. We received a detailed Business Process Map, covering all aspects of the ReadyInk System and its use cases for end users, electronics distributors and manufacturers. Our team was also provided with an extensive list of system requirements to implement in the course of Backend development.

DESIGN

Our client conducted extensive internal business process modelling exercise before making a decision to complement the in- house IT department with our outstaffing developers. A cross-functional team of business analysts and marketers worked together to devise a stable ink refill system to rival similar offers from competition. The resulting system design combined the benefits of a pay-as-you-go plan with the efficiency of automatic cartridge ordering.

ENGINEERING

We devised a step-by-step development plan to ensure the implementation of all critical features and principal components for the cartridge refill system. While the large-scale architecture planning was performed by the client, our team devised the backend architecture. This roadmap enabled us to commence the development process for Epson.

Digital Platform & Technology

Oracle Database

Oracle Database is the preferred relational database for international multimillion dollar enterprises. It possesses outstanding safety features to reliably protect data stored on the database from corruption and losses. Ease of Oracle database administration reduces the need for human intervention and curtails operational costs. The reduced computational complexity of the database ensures efficient resource consumption. Other advantages include cross-platform functionality and ease of updating and patching.

Backend Java + Spring Framework

Spring is a lightweight and transparent framework for Java applications. It ensures quick and cost-effective development due to extensive libraries of pre-built code. Spring Framework’s loose coupling and aspect oriented programming enable cohesive development. The Framework container provides configuration and lifecycle management capabilities while JDBC abstraction layer simplifies error handling by offering an exception hierarchy.

Specification

In tandem with the client’s in-house IT department, our team developed a detailed specification outlining both functional and nonfunctional requirements for an ink replenishment system. Based on real-life use cases and client’s technology preferences, it enabled us to map out the project’s sprints and releases.

Serial Number checkGoal 1. Check that Serial Number is not already registered and is eligible to participate in the program. 2. Get printer model.Entry points 1. Register Printer (the user is not logged in). 2. Add Printer (the user is logged in).Post conditions 1. Serial Number check is passed or failed.Main Flow 1. The user provides S/N. 2. The system checks that this S/N exists in the database. 3. If the S/N doesn’t exist in the database, the system requests printer SKU from Warranty Checker service. 4. If SKU is received, Serial Number check is passed. 5. The flow ends.Alternative Flows 1. If Serial Number exists in DB and has registration with Created, Activated or On Hold state. 1. The check is failed. 2. The flow ends. 2. If Serial Number exists in DB and has registration with any state other than Created, Activated or On Hold. 1. The check is passed. 2. The flow ends.

TEAM

We screened the pool of Computools software engineers to select the specialists with experience in Backend Java and Oracle Database development whose expertise would complement the client’s in-house team.

1. Computools team 2. EPSON

Business Analyst

Nikita Abelmasov

Team Lead

Oleg Svet

Java Spring Engineer

Igor Ryadinskii

Java Developer

Roman Tskalo

Quality Assurance Engineer

Mariia Boborova

EPSON internal team

30+ developers

UX Designer

Valeriy Panchenko

Oracle Database Engineer

Evgeny Mohnachev

Project Manager

Andrey Melnychenko

Team Lead

Project Coordinator

Software Engineer

BACKSTAGE

Our experts reliably produce quick and high-quality results due to a well-established internal communication and development flow. Face-to-face meetings, video, and audio-conferences establish efficient workflow between the team members that are spread around the globe.

Feedback Session

Discussions and feedback sessions finalize every sprint. The exchange of opinions and ideas enables our software engineers to develop innovative solutions and increases overall efficiency.

Brainstorming

To choose the most cost-effective and high-performance approach, our software engineers put their minds together in a brainstorming session. At this stage all ideas are welcome without criticism to promote innovative thinking.

Dev Meeting

Digital collaborative tools ensure our software engineers work in perfect sync with their in-house counterparts. Well coordinated collaboration at all stages of the coding and testing process increases the pace of the development.

Internal Communication Flow

Our engineers worked as a part of an international outstaffing team to ensure the timely launch of Epson ReadyInk software. Email, Skype, Git, and Slack communication channels secured efficient daily communication between the members of the team. Besides instant messaging platforms, audio and video conferences provided seamless communication and promoted mutual understanding among the team members.

Monthly feedback sessions were organized to exchange new ideas and ensure long-term improvements in communication among the international members of the team. Based on stakeholder analysis, we established the communication management plan in under a week and documented the process.

Project Management Methodology

To adequately address the project challenges and added complexity of working in a globally distributed, international team, our Scrum Master introduced Jira and Redmine platforms to manage resources, distribute roles among the team, and follow the tasks’ progress. At the onset of the project, our team outlined the preferred communication channels, adopted project management, and reporting systems.

The sprint-based project management methodology with daily Scrum meetings allowed us to follow the development plan keeping to the client’s requirements while staying flexible to overcome emerging challenges.

PROJECT TIMELINE

Background

First Sight

Client's business processes analysis
Identifying strengths & weaknesses
Setting goals with the client
Deriving Specification, Tasks & Deadlines

Strategy

Planning

Business process modelling
Technology selection

Project Management Flow

Expertise-based talent evaluation and 1 week team forming
Internal Communication Flow establishment
Project Management Methodology

Development Flow

Development Methodology

Implementation

System Implementation

System requirements’ analysis
Role Assignment Tasks Assignment

Software Development

Code Creating & Refactoring
Testing & Fixing

Launch

Verification of safety requirements
Item integration and Unit testing
System Launch
Deploy & Support

Engineering

To ensure continuous delivery, we assigned team tasks in the course of sprint-planning sessions. We created separate feature branches that were merged into Dev after successfully passing the code review. Jenkins continuous integration tool helped complete the build process, while QA engineers performed testing by deploying feature branches on test rigs. SonarQube was used as a linter. This approach ensured on time and on spec delivery of the stable and error-free product to the client.

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Japanese electronics company, one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers, as well as information and imaging equipment.

Solution:

Industry:

Outcome

Throughput, Users

Average Order

Increasing Productivity

Increasing Revenue

Reducing Costs

Business Process Automation

Project Description

weaknesses

strengths

Communication Framework

Skype

Jira

Business Process Mapping

Digital Platform & Technology

Specification

TEAM

Business Analyst

Team Lead

Java Spring Engineer

Java Developer

Quality Assurance Engineer

EPSON internal team

UX Designer

Oracle Database Engineer

Project Manager

BACKSTAGE

Feedback Session

Brainstorming

Dev Meeting

Internal Communication Flow

Project Management Methodology

PROJECT TIMELINE

Design

Engineering

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