Web App Redesign and Microsoft 365 Migration for a Membership Organization

• Project: Web app redesign, new functionality implementation, and MS 365 tenant-to-tenant transfer
• Duration: 2+ year
• Technologies: jQuery, jQuery Datatable, ASP.NET MVC, MS SQL, Microsoft Access, .NET Services, MS PowerShell, Azure Cloud Services, Sharepoint Online, Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI
• Target audience: The customer’s staff

The Client is a membership organization. They provide more than 30,000 members proficient in a variety of crafts and skills to implement works across construction and maintenance sectors.

Challenge

In essence, the Client’s application represented a content management system that allowed the company to track the works, progress, and contracts execution. There are about 50 new jobs coming into the data feed daily, with around 200,000 records in total.

It was obvious that supporting such a massive volume of data required a more efficient system that would have a more functional design and fewer dependencies on external tech solutions.

On top of that, the system was developed by a third party. At the time when Velvetech started to work on its redesign, there was almost no support for it. Thus, our team had to review the code, grasp all the particulars, and address the gaps counting solely on their own expertise and skills.

Process

Once we conducted a discovery meeting, we translated the Client’s needs and requirements into the actionable project plan that everyone agreed to approach iteratively.

To improve the system’s efficiency and enhance user experience, our team had to break the scope of work into several phases. As a result, the redesign of the application included the following activities:

• Third-party solution withdrawal
• Layout redesign
• Functionality extension

Later on, when the company was merging its two business branches, it also trusted Velvetech with the migration of its IT resources from one Microsoft 365 tenant to another. It came out to be a separate set of tasks distanced in time from the first project. However, we’ll describe it down below for consistency.

Knowing the value of effective communications to the Client, Velvetech supported every step of implementation with weekly status reports, meeting notes, quick feedback, and adjustments.

Telerik Removal

The first step of app redesign was to eliminate the use of some third-party instances. Telerik tool that helped manage the web app content was the number one priority to handle. The dependence on the software led to the increased time of data processing and system loading.

Addressing the issue, our team of backend developers implemented the functionality to fill in, filter, and change the data like job status, assignees, or locals — the specific territory where the work is executed.

The changes made resulted in improved system efficiency and set the ground for stable and continuous app work in the future.

New Search Page Implementation

One of the key improvements for user experience was the development of a new search page. Since the app is mainly used by the union members to track and manage their assignments, it was essential to provide them with a convenient tool.

To achieve that, Velvetech implemented two options for a search request — basic and advanced. The latter allows users to choose more criteria like deadlines, locals, type of work, status, etc. Fundamentally, it helps narrow down and further filter the myriad of results.

Moreover, we improved a saved search feature that speeds up the process. Now, a user doesn’t have to fill out the fields with the same data twice. Instead, it requires just one click of a button to show all the results in accordance with previously set criteria.

Layout Redesign

Having completed a large number of projects related to web app development, Velvetech suggested a new, more intuitive design of the system. Our expertise allowed us to swiftly change the layout and make it user-friendly, neat, and modern.

The interface got a new look and feel with enhanced logic. As a result, it helps boost the user experience and enhance the overall impression.

Find out how Website Redesign Helped a Media Company Grow Its Audience

MS Cloud Services Migration

As we mentioned above, at some point, the Client was merging its business branches. The new environment also entailed an altered approach to the company’s IT infrastructure management. One of the changes that required Velvetech team’s help was moving Microsoft 365 services from one tenant to the other.

A tenant is a dedicated instance of MS 365 services that includes users, applications, data storage, and some other settings. The company had two tenants with Sharepoint Online and Power Platform in use. The latter comprised Power BI, Power Apps, and Power Automate. All of these services and tools needed to be transferred to a single tenant in order to ensure the optimization of the company’s IT resources.

In general, there is a variety of third-party solutions designed to support tenant-to-tenant migration. They can get expensive, of course. However, being a Microsoft partner and having extensive experience in app migration enabled our team to implement it without turning to paid services, which allowed for saving project costs.

We’ve achieved it by creating and running PowerShell scripts and deploying a separate server. In and of itself, data import and export took around two days during the holiday season, so the downtime didn’t affect the Client’s business operations.

Outcome

As a result of the application redesign, the Client got a refurbished web system that could streamline the experience of its users. The intuitive design and extended functionality provide a smooth interaction between the company workers and the system.

The removal of third-party instances and enhanced functionality resulted in better system performance. Now, the company can rest assured that its administrative operations are supported by a robust and efficient tool.

Furthermore, Microsoft 365 tenant-to-tenant migration allowed the company to optimize its IT infrastructure and the use of resources. The successful completion of this task continued with a new set of deliverables to work on with the Client.

What’s Next

Our teams keep collaborating to make the web app even more flawless. We’re working on its improvements and new features implementation. One of the next phases of the project would be turning down MS Access to cease the system’s dependency on third-party solutions, enhance its durability, and elevate the loading speed.