Work

Warranty Claim Services

Freelance Web Developer

Apr 2019 - Apr 2020

Full Stack
MongoDB
Express.js
Angular 2+
Node.js

Building an application from scratch for Warranty Claim Services utilizing MEAN stack technology. The development process included the creation of the back-end API, the front-end, and troubleshooting issues, resulting in a successful launch in November 2019, with Warranty Claim Services seeing a significant increase in business.

Date Published:  Apr 18, 2023

The logo of Warranty Claim Services

Job Overview

  • Designed, setup and maintained databases.
  • Designed and developed REST API.
  • Designed and developed Front-end SPA.
  • Weekly meetings with project manager for sprint planning and review.
  • Provided phone and email tech support to customers.

Building an Application from Scratch: A Success Story

Starting from scratch

When I first started collaborating with Warranty Claim Services (WCS), they were at square one, with no servers, databases, APIs, or UI. Not a single line of code had been written. Given my training at Seneca College, I recommended that we develop our application employing a MEAN stack, a technology that I was most proficient with, so that we could get up and running as soon as possible.

The Solo Endeavor

Things started off on the right foot! I initiated the development of the API, using Node.js and Express.js, and held weekly meetings with WCS to apprise them of the progress and obtain feedback on data structures and schemas. After the API was completed, we commenced front-end development. I chose Angular for the UI, as it was what I was most familiar with at the time. I also used ng-bootstrap to set up a prototype quickly, which we could work from. After a meeting with WCS, they approved of the prototype, and we began building the front-end.

During the development process, we received feature requests. This was expected, but at the time, I had no idea how to implement these features. Nevertheless, I persevered, conducting research and exploring possible solutions to prepare these features for our MVP. After many hours of research and testing, solutions were found, and features were implemented. The MVP was completed.

Troubleshooting

We commenced beta testing the application with one of WCS’s clients, and I monitored it for any bugs or issues that might arise. As expected, no beta test is flawless, and we encountered issues causing unexpected behavior when users attempted to submit data. We conducted investigations and discovered that these issues arose when compressing excessively large images. We decided to restrict the allowable file size and add validation for file sizes on our APIs, as users should not be submitting large images in the first place. This was an oversight on our part that should have been implemented from the start. However, we should only learn from our mistakes rather than dwell on them.

The Launch

The application was officially launched in November 2019, and it quickly gained momentum. In the first two months, Warranty Claim Services saw their online business increase nearly tenfold, from a handful of appraisal requests to 42 in December 2019, and then nearly doubling to 87 in January 2020.

Conclusion

Collaborating with Warranty Claim Services was an unforgettable experience that I am immensely proud of. I only hope to apply what I learned from this experience and surpass it in future projects. Building an application from scratch can be challenging, but with dedication and perseverance, success can be achieved.