# The Story

The Client faced a common yet frustrating challenge of managing multiple calendar applications for his daily scheduling needs. Juggling Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, and Microsoft Calendar became an arduous task, leading the client to envision a solution: a unified calendar app that could sync all his schedules in one place. Eager to bring his idea to life, Client assembled a team of developers and embarked on the journey of creating this innovative application. However, despite his initial enthusiasm and aspirations, Client encountered significant challenges that hindered project progress and exceeded his budget. Seeking an effective solution to overcome these obstacles, he turned to Upwork to find the right project leader who could bring his vision to fruition. This is where our story begins.

# The Problem

Business Challenge: Client had overshot his budget by 200%, causing financial strain and putting the entire project in jeopardy. This financial strain threatened not only the project's viability but also Client's entrepreneurial aspirations.

Technical Challenge: The development team faced difficulties in coordinating efforts and maintaining efficient communication, leading to delays in project development. The initial development approach was inefficient, and the project was far from completion.

# Our Solution

Team Restructuring: We identified non-performing team members and made strategic decisions to remove them, streamlining the development process. This allowed us to rebuild the team with more capable and dedicated individuals.

Project Refocus: We shifted our focus to re-writing the application, employing best practices in software development, project management, and communication to ensure optimal efficiency and productivity.

Architectural and Technical Overhaul: I led the effort to redesign the application's architecture, ensuring it was scalable and robust. We reevaluated the entire tech stack, from frontend to backend, to optimize performance and functionality.

Cloud Deployment: We deployed the application on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) to leverage the scalability and reliability of Azure's cloud infrastructure.

# Technical Overview

Introduction: In our endeavor to create a unified calendar application that met the needs of our client, Peter, we assembled a team of highly skilled individuals, all handpicked for their expertise and commitment. This team worked within a SCRUM framework, promoting collaboration, iterative development, and adaptability to changing project requirements. As the lead architect, I played a pivotal role in overseeing and orchestrating all technical aspects of the project. UI Design: Our journey commenced with a laser focus on user experience, where I collaborated closely with our UI designer, providing clear instructions and guidelines to craft an intuitive and visually appealing user interface. To maintain design consistency and streamline the development process, we developed our own design system and UI library, aptly named 'velocity-ui.' This library served as the foundation for creating a UI that exceeded our initial design in terms of aesthetics and user-friendliness.

Sync Engine: A fundamental element of our unified calendar application was the Sync Engine, a crucial component responsible for seamless data synchronization between our application and external calendar platforms. To facilitate efficient communication and data transfer, we opted to utilize Azure Service Bus. The Sync Engine was meticulously engineered to effectively apply changes made within our application to other calendars and pull new updates from these platforms. Marketplace: Recognizing the importance of extensibility and customization, we incorporated a Marketplace feature into our application. This marketplace allowed users to explore and install various apps, enriching the functionality of our unified calendar application. This ecosystem of add-ons significantly enhanced the user experience and ensured our application could adapt to individual preferences and requirements. Technology Stack: React, NodeJS, Postgres, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)

# Results

Within just three months of implementing these changes and refining the development process, we successfully completed Phase One of the application development. This achievement marked a significant milestone, positioning Client's project for future success. In conclusion, by addressing the business and technical challenges, restructuring the team, optimizing development processes, and architecting a robust solution, we not only rescued the project from budget overruns but also laid the foundation for a successful and efficient application. Client now has a strong team and a well-structured application architecture to move forward with confidence, ensuring that his vision of a unified calendar app is realized.