Pittsburgh Startup
Custom Software Development
Blue Archer is passionate about Pittsburgh’s startup community, so we’re very excited to be working with a recent startup to build a custom software solution that aims to disrupt a major industry segment. With an expected launch date in 2023, we can’t divulge the business model just yet, but we couldn’t wait to cover the tech.
Challenge
As with all of our custom software development projects, the first step involved working closely with the client to document all of their functional requirements. In addition to the functional requirements, the solution also needed to fulfill the following project goals:
- Highly Scalable and Extendable Software
- Efficient Development & Aggressive Schedule
- Fixed "Not to Exceed" budget
Solution
In addition to meeting the current requirements and budget, our team ensured the software architecture would be able to scale over time as well as be attractive to potential investors. Since Blue Archer provides long-term maintenance and support for our clients, our goals extend beyond a successful initial engagement.
Project Overview
During the software development phase of work, and while the technical team was laying the groundwork for the data layer of the software, our UI/UX (User Experience and User Interface) consultant worked closely with the client to finalize the wireframes and design of the entire interface. Care was taken to ensure the interface would be highly usable and flexible, and then finally reviewed by the technical teams to ensure it could be implemented properly. This process was highly iterative, and added transparency for the client.
Technology
- AWS (Amazon Web Services): Cloud-Based Solution
- -Microservices: A "Monolith First" architecture micro-services combined with a shared database
- AWS Amplify: Tools that streamline development and DevOps tasks like CI/CD and environment support
- Integrated Source Control: Bitbucket integrated with AWS Amplify
- AWS Lambdas: Modules of the software were built using lambda functions that encapsulate server-side logic, allowing for independent execution of code in the serverless architecture. Lambdas scale automatically with volume
- AWS Lambda Layer: Common code layer, used in this case for the extraction of the DB layer for injection into other lambdas
- Amazon RDS PostgreSQL Relational Database: Open source database service
- SQS (Simple Query Service): handles inter-process communications between lambdas
- Stripe Payments: Payment processing
- Amazon S3: Service used for storing resource files
- Amazon Cognito: User management and related workflows, leveraging Amazon Cognito Pools
- Amazon SES (Simple Email Service): Email handling
- Amazon SNS (Simple Notification Service): SMS text handling
- Amazon CloudWatch: Monitoring solution to ensure system health, including trace logs and alerts
Project Management
The scheduling of the UI/UX and design work was developed in coordination with the technical team to ensure they were able to move forward with the software development efficiently and on schedule. Detailed and concise weekly status reports were issued, with each module and key function split out individually to ensure clarity. As modules were completed, our business analyst who wrote the initial requirements tested for accuracy and usability.
Conclusion
We’ll be updating this case study upon public launch of the new system, which we expect to be sometime in 2023. Check back to learn more, or reach out to our team to discuss your own custom software needs.
Questions?
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