Hello! My name is Dmitrii Vashkulat, and I’m the Head Of Operations at FiduciaSoft. Today, I’m going to tell you about a newly started project for our client from the U.S.
Exactly a year ago, our company received a request for a project related to mobile app development and geolocation. Considering that FiduciaSoft had rich experience in developing mobile applications and working with geolocation, we accepted the request and started the project. By the way, at that time we had been working on a similar project that used GPS and was to display the vehicle movement data on the web interface.
A week after receiving the request, we sent the cost and time calculation document (Business Requirements Document) to the client. Having studied our experience and calculations, the client chose FiduciaSoft as the contractor to do the project. The only thing left was to receive the funding. And this was the moment the global pandemic started influencing the world. Many companies suspended both small and large projects, and this happened to us as well. Our client came back in a year, when the situation stabilized, informing that the funding for the project had been received and we had to start immediately. For our part we had already made the necessary preparations and were ready to start the initial phase of the project. Once the data about a project is collected, we start gathering the team for the required work. Since the described project was suspended for a year, the originally recruited team has already been engaged in another task. Given this, we had to form a new team. But to tell you about this phase in detail, let me first describe our future product.
App features and the client’s tasks
A few words about the task. Our client introduces another taxi booking application, but with some special features:
- First and foremost, the service will be offered to the residents of a particular region of the United States. That is, the design and functionality of the app must meet the cultural expectations and religious beliefs of the main group of users.
- Clients will be able to book a taxi both in the app and by phone number.
- Clients will be able to pay either via the app or in cash.
- The main base of drivers must meet certain requirements. These drivers will receive the orders first. At rush hour, other drivers who work for more than one taxi service may take orders as well.
The application, like other taxi booking applications, will consist of two parts: one app for the end users, and another one for the drivers. Also, there should be an administrative web portal. To process the phone bookings, the receptionist part will be developed. Finally, the admin portal should be divided into four major sections:
- Administrators
- Receptionists
- Setup
- Reports
It will be challenging to design calculating of the taxi fare depending on the day of the week, time of day, workload and the number of drivers available at a given moment. The price will also depend on the type of the vehicle the user chooses when booking. Besides the system management, the admin panel will be used to generate comprehensive reports.
Gathering a team and choosing technologies
Every stage of the project is incredibly important and requires the maximum engagement and commitment, so that the final result meets the expectations. That’s why we pay special attention to one of the key stages – forming a development team. Team Lead, Scrum Master, Developers and QAs – all these people are carefully selected to do the best job possible. We have already hired a skilled UX/UI designer.
Development technologies
FiduciaSoft specializes in developing and customizing applications for different types of business, and the main programming language that we use is .NET. During the last six years, FiduciaSoft has been utilizing Xamarin. This technology allows us to implement the most challenging mobile app tasks and make our products cross-platform.
For this project, we suggested applying the following set of technologies:
- Using MsSQL for the database.
- Using Microsoft .NET for the server part. This technology is a perfect solution for REST API development.
- Either Microsoft .NET + Bootstrap or Angular + JS will be used in the admin portal development. Both combinations give enough flexibility for development and potential customization in future. For this reason, we are still considering our best choice.
- Technologies from paragraph 3 will determine the end user app. We suggest applying .NET + Xamarin or JS + Angular combination to develop the mentioned app. Both technologies allow to use the same code for Android and iOS.
Current results
The first stage is almost completed: the development team has been gathered and prepared to proceed with the project. Right now, we are working on the first Proof of concept.
To conclude, I’d like to say that we have started successfully with this project, and in the near future a specifically designed taxi booking app will appear on the U.S. market. We will publish more information about this project soon.
And if you have a similar project, or, perhaps, a completely different task that is not related to any of the mentioned aspects, send your request or call us! We will process your request and prepare the suitable and reasonably-priced solutions and technologies for the timely implementation of your project.
Dmitrii Vashkulat (Linkedin)
Head Of Operations at FiduciaSoft