Education CRM for School by Siembra

Introduction

Siembra envisioned creating an innovative web and mobile application to streamline the educational process for students, educators, and administrators. The goal was to develop a scalable, secure, and user-friendly platform capable of handling a large number of users while providing a seamless experience.

Project Requirements

Siembra is facing significant challenges with its current application infrastructure, leading to inefficiencies, security risks, and scalability issues. The existing application is built on outdated technologies and an overly complex architecture, causing delays and complications in development and maintenance. A comprehensive revamp is proposed to address these issues and ensure the application can scale to support a growing user base.

1. Complex Code Structure:
   • The existing architecture was overly complex, involving multiple databases, which made simple tasks 3-4 times more time-consuming.
2. Outdated Technology Stack:
   • The application relied on outdated technologies, including Python 2.7, AngularJS (unsupported since 2018), and PostgreSQL 9.3.17. This presented significant security risks and maintenance challenges.
3. High Maintenance Overhead:
   • Many issues required extensive reverse engineering, which took more time than developing new features from scratch. The architecture did not support easy scalability.
4. Inefficient Development Process:
   • Continuous patching and new feature development on a weak foundation led to a buggy process with frequent regressions, making it difficult to ensure consistent functionality.
5. Team Frustration:
   • The development team’s productivity and morale were impacted due to the time spent on reverse engineering and managing the complex codebase.

Solution

Team Formation

A dedicated team was formed to revamp the application:

• 1 Senior Python Leader/Architect
• 2 Mid-level Python Developers
• 1 Frontend Developer
• 1 Manual Tester

Development Freeze

• New feature development was frozen for 6 months, with a focus on bug fixes and essential data imports for the existing application.

Revamp Plan

• The project aimed to develop Siembra 2.0, a scalable and secure application using modern technologies. The revamp was estimated to take 6 months..

Implementation

• Technology Upgrade:
  • Transitioned from Python 2.7 to Python 3.9.
  • Updated the frontend from angular framework to react library.
  • Migrated the database from PostgreSQL 9.3.17 to version 14.
• Simplified Architecture:
  • Reduced the complexity of the code structure, consolidating multiple databases into a single, efficient database system.
• Scalability and Security:
  • Implemented a scalable architecture capable of supporting hundreds of thousands of users.
  • Enhanced security measures to protect against vulnerabilities inherent in outdated technologies.

Results

• Improved Performance:
  • The new architecture significantly reduced the time required for development tasks, enhancing overall performance.
• Enhanced User Experience:
  • The revamped application provided a seamless and intuitive user experience, meeting the needs of students, educators, and administrators.
• Scalability:
  • Siembra 2.0 was capable of supporting a large user base, ensuring future growth and scalability.
• Security:
  • Upgraded technologies and enhanced security measures reduced the risk of vulnerabilities and ensured data protection.

Conclusion

The successful revamp of Siembra’s application demonstrated the importance of modernizing technology stacks and simplifying architecture development to achieve scalability, security, and improved performance. The project not only addressed the immediate challenges but also positioned Siembra for long-term success in the education technology sector. We are feeling proud that we became the technology partner with Siembra and have been serving them since the last 4 years.