Progressive web app development: 43% increase in staff management efficiency

Innowise has developed a staff management tool that successfully addresses all daily challenges in the transportation industry and helps drivers remain productive.

Customer

Industry

Transportation

Region

Europe

Client since

2017

Our customer is one of the leading European transportation companies.

Detailed information about the client cannot be disclosed under the provisions of the NDA.

Challenge: Optimizing workflow through progressive web app development

Efficient staff management is the key to success in any business, and the transportation industry is no exception. Since 2016, our client has been providing high-quality transfers and is considered a leader in the field. With more drivers being hired and business processes expanding significantly, it was increasingly difficult for the client to manage their staff on a daily basis.They were struggling with manually tracking employee shifts, availability, schedules, payrolls, training requirements and other essential staff management tasks. They were looking for a company to help them develop a robust solution that would streamline their entire workflow process and ensure efficient management of all employees. Innowise embarked on the task of developing a simple yet effective solution that would effectively track drivers and their activities.

Solution: Simplifying transportation staff management through progressive web app development

Innowise has designed a solution that helps to facilitate staff management in the best possible way. To easily manage all the necessary data about the drivers to maximize their potential and perform timely transfers, we have decided to bring a PWA.

As true experts in progressive web app development, our experts opted for this solution because it allowed for faster deployment, ensuring a quicker time-to-market.

This was important to the client as they had a limited budget and wanted to avoid any delays. Furthermore, they appreciated the user-friendly nature of PWAs, as they can be accessed without the need for downloading or installing an app, and even function offline.

User roles

The designed solution implies the following user roles:

Superadmin (the client) – assigns admins or removes them;
Admins (managers assigned by the client) – use a web app to manage users, monitor their activity, and assign events to them;
Users (drivers hired by managers) – use a PWA to choose events, participate in processes, fill out or upload necessary documents, track and evaluate their perspectives.

Web application

Admin dashboard represents a web application that has a wide range of tools for user management.

Once registered in the web application, admins can invite users to join the app via email and create events for them. The type of event created by the admin determines the documentation and types of subcontracts.

When the event is accepted, both the user and the admin sign the necessary documentation with price, time, and location.

PWA

PWA facilitates the communication between the administrator and the user allowing them to participate effectively in the workflow.

Once a user accepts an invitation from an admin to join the application, they receive a unique token that grants access to a custom registration page. After successful registration in the mobile PWA, a user fills in the personal data, the information about the driver license, and signs the necessary documents.

When all the data is collected, a user becomes a member of drivers’ community which allows them to get push notifications about upcoming events, track their activity in real time, sign and upload the documents necessary to perform transfers.

Back-end

NoSQL database has been implemented to ensure that documents and events display different types of information correctly. Moreover, thanks to its flexibility and high performance, it guarantees no interruptions or downtime in the application.

Offline mode

The mobile PWA supports the offline mode, allowing users to continue filling out and signing documents even if the internet connection is down or unstable. As soon as the internet connection is restored, the data is safely synced with the back-end.

Technologies & tools

Front-end

JavaScript, HTML, SCSS, Vuetify, Vuex, Vue Router, Firebase, PWA, Framework7 Vue

Back-end

Java 8, Spring Boot, Spring Data, Spring Security, OAuth2, Hibernate, Postgres, MongoDB, Liquibase, JUnit, Mockito, Swagger, Maven

Git

BitBucket

DevOps

BitBucket Pipelines, Kubernetes, Helm, Docker

Process

In our journey to provide high-quality progressive web app development services, our choice to develop a mobile Progressive Web App (PWA) stemmed from a strategic decision that considered its advantages over native apps, such as cost-effectiveness and compatibility across various operating systems. This decision reflected our commitment to delivering a comprehensive solution tailored to the transportation industry’s specific needs, emphasizing security, user experience, and maintainability.

Our development journey began by deeply understanding the client’s unique staff management challenges, with a focus on streamlining the tracking of drivers, schedules, payrolls, and other critical tasks.

When selecting our technology stack, we utilized JavaScript, HTML, and SCSS for building a versatile and compatible user interface. We leveraged Vue.js, along with Vuetify, Vuex, and Vue Router, to enhance the user experience and manage data states effectively. Firebase integration enabled real-time data synchronization and seamless interaction. To ensure offline accessibility, swift loading, and cross-platform compatibility, we developed a PWA. Furthermore, we employed Framework7 Vue to enhance the mobile interface, ensuring an intuitive user experience.

On the back-end, we chose Java 8 as our foundation due to its reliability and performance. We streamlined development using the Spring Boot microservices framework, which facilitated agile iteration and deployment. Efficient data handling and robust security were ensured through Spring Data and Spring Security. We implemented OAuth2 for secure authentication and authorization, while Hibernate served as our ORM framework for efficient data management. Databases, including Postgres and MongoDB, accommodated various data types. To manage database schemas seamlessly, we employed Liquibase for updates and version control. Rigorous unit testing with JUnit and Mockito ensured unwavering reliability. We documented our APIs comprehensively with Swagger and streamlined project management using Maven.

For version control and DevOps, we relied on BitBucket for Git version control, BitBucket Pipelines for continuous integration and deployment, and Kubernetes for container orchestration to ensure scalability and fault tolerance. Helm simplified application management, while Docker containerization enhanced deployment flexibility.

We fostered effective communication through an agile Scrum workflow, which included daily team meetings, bi-weekly sprint reviews, and monthly retrospective meetings. Client interactions were facilitated using Google Meet, and internal collaboration was streamlined with Slack.

Team

Front-End Developers

Back-End Developer

QA Engineer

Business Analyst

Results: 43% increase in business efficiency

As an experienced, progressive web app development company, Innowise’s team has successfully fulfilled the project’s requirements and developed an effective staff management tool to monitor drivers’ activity. The solution consists of an intuitive dashboard for admins and a user-friendly PWA for drivers allowing both to provide transfers of high quality. With more than 200 drivers and 100 admins registered in the application, the client achieved process transparency and increased business efficiency by 43%.

Project duration

3 months for an MVP
January 2017 - September 2017

43%

increase in business efficiency

200

drivers and 100 admins use the app daily for inner communication

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