Altertec is a leading Spanish company in the construction and maintenance of renewable facilities, specializing in wind and photovoltaic energy.
We began developing software for Altertec in 2012 when the company was much smaller than it is today. It was in a phase of rapid growth and urgently needed digitalization of its processes to keep up.
In this context, we created GPAR, a custom software, with the goal of achieving a complete digital transformation for the entire company.
Challenge or Need
The main challenge was the absence of any existing system. Additionally, team members were accustomed to working with paper. It became apparent that there was a significant need to scale the company and efficiently manage work orders, as well as various types of resources, both human and financial.
Proposed Solution
Development of a web application accessible from any browser and device. It was designed for all layers of the company, from field technicians to office staff.
Project Objectives
Create and maintain software for the complete digitalization of the company with the intention of improving efficiency and productivity. This included:
- User and role management
- Employee and collective agreements management
- Absence manager
- Employee calendar management
- Work order management
- Project management
- Economic reports and project analysis
- Warehouse management and traceability
Technologies Used
The initially proposed technologies and tools were PHP with Symfony Framework and MySQL as the database engine. Later, due to technical obsolescence and our specialization in Javascript, we completely migrated to Vue.js and Nest.js.
Methodology and Approach
Due to the project's extended timeline, different work methodologies were used. In recent years, Agile methodology was employed to enable constant adaptability throughout the development process.
The project evolved from a small core to its current structure, which includes many modules. Each software iteration can be considered a major creation or modification of a specific module.
We analyzed each problem in phases or functionalities, holding several meetings with key stakeholders to define requirements. Subsequently, we proposed a solution for client validation, and upon agreement, we proceeded with the implementation of the solution.
For the migration, an in-depth analysis of the existing code was conducted. Critical areas requiring immediate attention were identified, and a migration plan was designed.
Results and Benefits
Economically, the most significant point to highlight is the substantial return on investment achieved by Altertec. Office and personnel management costs were drastically reduced, allowing the company to grow without being burdened by minor task management.
In terms of control, they now have much more information about the company than they did before or that was very difficult to obtain. Additionally, the software's history provides security for work performed in case of potential customer claims.
In terms of migration, the software is now more scalable and adaptable. It is much easier to continue developing new features and enables the addition of complex integrations with third-party products that would have been challenging to develop with the previous technology. This includes improving the mobile interface and adding complex integrations with third-party products.
Learned Lessons
- Migrating between very different technologies (such as PHP Symfony to JavaScript) is a challenging task that requires careful planning and attention to differences between the two languages.
- Keeping the software up-to-date and avoiding technical obsolescence is crucial to ensure scalability and adaptability.
- Careful planning and proper team training are essential in migration and update processes.
- Utilizing best development practices is crucial to minimize future issues.
- Organizationally, planning deployments and understanding the needs of a company with various departments and diverse interests and proposals is vital.
- On a technical level, adapting to a large-sized company like Altertec posed challenges in terms of performance and data volume.
- In organizations of this scale, understanding the needs of different departments and empathizing with their interests and proposals is crucial.
- With such large data volumes, allocating time to address performance issues, which can be quite challenging, is essential. Database optimization is strictly necessary at this point.
Conclusions
With the migration completed, the software has improved in terms of performance, efficiency, and adaptability. This has allowed the company to manage its processes more effectively, enhance productivity, and adapt to changes and needs more flexibly.
Now that the software is built with JavaScript, a more current and adaptable platform, the company is better positioned to make future updates and improvements. This is a significant step toward ensuring the long-term sustainability of the software.
In summary, the project serves as an example of how software can evolve and adapt to the changing needs of a company. With careful planning and effective management, it is possible to tackle significant challenges like a complete software migration and emerge with a product that is more efficient, effective, and adaptable.
