Venue Management
Mobile app in the context of digitalization and automation of volunteering and venue management in the entertainment sector.
Need of the customer
Our client always relies on a large group of volunteers for various tasks during a live show. This can range from scanning admission tickets, managing the bar and food stands to helping to point out the right seat. Previously, there was no centralization of the volunteer data and separate paper processes were used. This made finding volunteers and communicating before and during the show enormously difficult to organize.
Our client was looking for a central tool that coordinated the entire volunteer process in a structured way using a mobile application.
It would be possible to:
- assign tasks to a group of volunteers
- manage the access control of volunteers
- appoint a coordinator per volunteer group
- Establish a structured communication in case volunteers are late, sick, etc.
High-level solution
High-level, our solution consisted of several elements namely a backend service on AWS, a back office website and a mobile application. Following, we will go into more detail about each element.
Backend (AWS):
The backend service included:
- Venue management: the management of different shows and events in different locations was made possible in the backend service
- Sign-up and registration of volunteers through different volunteer organizations.
- Offering of different volunteer jobs per show (reception, bar, etc.)
- Access management: through this backend we link the right access to the volunteer so that this person only has access for the task he needs to perform.
- Through the backend the volunteers received all the necessary information (time, type of job, expectations regarding clothing, etc.) they needed to perform their task.
- Communication tool for all situations that could go wrong (‘I am late’, ‘I am sick’, etc.)
Back office web application:
The back office web application is used by employees to register shows, create and manage volunteer groups, etc. It is also used by the volunteers themselves. Coordinators can register here and create a team of volunteers. The website can also be used to manage access rights for volunteers.
Mobile application:
In addition to the backend and the web application, we also developed a mobile app in which volunteers can get an overview of their participation in shows. In addition, the app allows them to easily access the venue using a QR code. On top of that, the mobile app also consisted of several other functionalities. For example, volunteers can report defects or events during a show that can be picked up centrally by permanent staff.
Since not every volunteer has a smartphone, a ‘no-smartphone’ solution was also provided. The entire volunteer process is then managed offline.
From the mobile application, an integration was also made with external parties such as De Lijn. This way, volunteers can directly retrieve a ticket for bus or streetcar from their app to be on time at a show
Refleqt solution + deliverables
Refleqt was responsible for the complete functional analysis, functional testing of the entire application and performance testing.
Functional Analysis:
Through workshops we got a full picture of the customer’s pain points and defects. Iteratively we searched for solutions which finally resulted in different functionalities of the new application. At the start of the project, no functionalities had been discussed yet, but through workshops and an iterative way of working, the entire application was given functional shape.
Functional Testing:
- Backend: Refleqt ontwikkelde een volledige integratie testset en heeft de end-to-end functionele testen uitgewerkt. Deze testen werden volledig geautomatiseerd en mee opgenomen in CI/CD pipeline.
- Front-end: De backoffice website is enkel toegankelijk voor een beperkte groep van werknemers. Hierdoor werd er voor gekozen om de browser compatibiliteit enkel te testen op Google Chrome. De testen werden daarnaast ook geautomatiseerd met behulp van Selenium.
- Mobiele applicatie: for functional testing of the mobile app, Refleqt used their own onsite device farm.
This is a predetermined set of compatible devices (iOS, Android, Smartphone, Tablet, etc.) linked to a local test server on which tests can be run. This test server was also included in the CI/CD pipeline.
- For all the above levels, a Sanity Check and Regression Suite were used.
- In a Sanity Check, every change in the developer’s code is automatically tested via the CI/CD pipeline. Thus, these tests occur several times a day and aim to provide quick feedback to the developer.
- In a Regression Suite, all possible cases around, for example, ‘payment options’ are tested. This test is run 1x per day.
Performance testing:
Because there is always a large spike in the use of the mobile application at the start of a show as volunteers log in and retrieve their access code, Refleqt performed a load test on the application. The goal was to find out if the mobile application could handle this peak in load. Our customer can now be sure that his application will not fail in case of increased load at the start of a show.
Tools & Technologies
- Mobile App: React Native & iOS/Android
- Test automation: Java, Cucumber, Swagger & Swagger Codegen, JUnit, Maven, Appium, Selenium, onsite Device Farm
- Performance testing: JMeter
- Pipeline integration: Jenkins
Results
Volunteer management is now fully digitized, giving our customer much more control over volunteers who are scheduled to work at one of their events. At each event, hundreds of volunteers now use the mobile application across venues.
However, the application does not stand still, but is continuously improved and extended with new functionalities in new phases of the project. It has become very easy for our client to add new features to the application through Refleqt’s automated testing approach.