Wi-Fi Alliance®
Overview
The Wi-Fi Alliance® needed a development partner that could create their vision for the future of the product
Wi-Fi Alliance®, the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®, launched their first web-based certification system in 2005. Over time, the certification process changed significantly, requiring new programs to be added and new mandates to be implemented. The impact of these, along with membership growth, stretched the original architecture to the point where it became apparent that a new system was needed. They needed a development partner that could create their vision for the future of the product.
We began by evaluating needed functionality.
With the goal of creating a robust and scalable system that could continue to grow without having to be rebuilt entirely, we began by evaluating needed functionality. The goal was to create a self-service process for Wi-Fi Alliance® members where they could submit a certification application and know the status without having to contact Wi-Fi Alliance® staff. This included the ability to see actual test results, specific test steps that passed and/or failed, access to historical data including the products certified in a given year, and pending applications in the pipeline.
The Language
The first step of the project was to determine the best software development language to use. While a system that was easy to maintain was important, the top priority for the client was security. We advised the client to what we thought would be the best solution and why so that they could make the most informed decision. Both of our teams decided to develop the system in Java.
Project Execution
We needed to make the system a guided process with an intuitive user interface for members. The old system wouldn’t alert members of issues until the very end of the certification process. We remedied this by breaking the process into multiple steps with dependencies written into a business logic layer, so that selections made in one step would drive what happened next.
Hyper-Agile®
We released code every two weeks, which allowed flexibility to make adjustments to the system as it evolved. With such a complex system, we knew that some requirements wouldn’t emerge until parts of the product were already being developed. Our approach allowed changes to be made during the development phase without destroying the delivery cycle.
Result
We helped Wi-Fi Alliance® achieve their vision of a user-friendly and robust system that can be modified as they grow.
With the first release of the new system, we helped Wi-Fi Alliance® achieve their vision of a user-friendly and robust system that can be modified as they grow. Wi-Fi Alliance® also realized significant improvements to their release process. Before, they utilized a waterfall approach, which demanded a great deal of testing, and created headaches in terms of getting things right. Now, when a request comes through, testing is much reduced and changes can be easily pushed out.