Clickacall - Web App, Back end infrastructure

Clickacall let people video call your business for free by simply clicking a web link inserted into your emails, website, SMS or social media. It allows you to easily track how callers reached you and setup group links that will ring all available staff in a team. No software & no signups necessary for callers.

Having already worked with the founder of Clickacall on a previous project i was given the job of building out the systems for this new venture. Initially this took the form of a proof of concept which could be demonstrated to interested parties and then eventually fleshed out into a full specification and final product. I developed the back end infrastructure including the database (MySQL) and REST API (Node.JS) as well as two front-ends. One for callers in responsive HTML and JavaScript (Vue.js) and one for agents using much the same but built on top of Laravel. Using RabbitMQ, a popular open source message broker for real-time communication, calls are sent via a separate dedicated server which acts as a centralised "point of truth" able to effectively route callers to the right agents, provide appropriate responses when no one is available and keep track of calls as they're happening in order to monitor usage allowances and end calls automatically. This in an ongoing project and will likely grow to include a number of new features in the future.

Panasonic Experience Centre - Android App

This was a particularly interesting project to work on. I was approached by Panasonic Business to develop a companion app to a 270 degree immersive projection experience used to demo reel products. Business guests would be provided with a device upon entering the theatre which could then be used to tap specially coded NFC tags which corresponded to different products to indicate they were interested in them. At the end of the experience they would receieve an email with the full details of each product.

The app needed to be able to work offline in poor connection areas (like in a theatre), support reading of NDEF NFC tags and sync both tag and user data to an existing CMS. This app was built for internal use only.

Supotco - Android App

I have been working with the founder of Supotco since 2015. Supotco is an end to end child protection application. It allows the parent to remotely track the location of their child, manage permissible websites and apps, log phone usage both incoming and outgoing and much more in an instant.

I have developed much of the apps backend/front end systems in Node.JS and built the pair of Android apps from the ground up (One for parent and one for child). Utilising web sockets for instant communication over the web, changes can be made on the parent's phone and immediately reflected on the child's device. There's also image capture and manipulation, custom user interface elements, live chat to both Supotco support and between families among other complex features. Due to the length of time I've been working on these apps and the many thousands of lines of code that make them up, the best way to test them out and learn about the many features is to download the app for yourself.

Moolah - Android App

Moolah was a short term loan provider specialising in the Kenyan market. Wanting to make applying as quick and painless as possible Moolah opted to provide services directly through its app. Users are presented with multiple personal information forms, each of which must be completed before their application can be processed. Once the user has submitted their application the details are sent to the Moolah admin panel where the current status of applications can be monitored and updated.

Developed from scratch over the space of a few weeks I worked with the owner of Moolah Capital to both design and develop the Moolah app, server based APIs (Slim PHP micro framework) and admin backend (PHP and Bootstrap UI framework) from scratch. This included the build and deployment of the company server infrastructure via Amazon Web Services.

Mali Spa - Web App

I was asked by a client to develop a bespoke client booking and management system for a spa treatments company. This system needed to allow users to login, select their preferred treatments, provide exact geo coordinates and then select from available time slots before completing their booking. The spa company then has their own admin control panel from which they can view/edit/delete bookings, clients, available therapists and more. Built entirely with PHP (without the use of bulky frameworks) and the Bootstrap UI framework the system is both fast and very flexible.

Loomit - Android App

Loomit is a kind of social network for fashion. Users can follow their favourite brands and get notified the minute new pieces are released to market. They can also watch the price of their favourite clothing and get alerted when it drops and more.

For this project I was tasked with creating the Loomit app from end to end. This included the server infrastructure, REST apis, admin back-end and the Android app itself. The development of Loomit posed some interesting challenges due to the way it gathers its data. In order to build its product database it must be able to pull information down from all of its partner brands, sometimes with 10's of thousands of products each with their own data format, varying update intervals and combine them into one Loomit database. Initially we tried to do this with PHP however it quickly became apparent that we were hitting the memory limitations of the server due to attempting to parse so many items so often. Having heard tales of the performance of Googles "GO" programming language i spent the next week or so learning the language from scratch and building an all new feed parser that reduced the total load time down from around 15 minutes to only 1-5 minutes and at the same time using only a fraction of the RAM.

Level Sensor - Android App

Vision Link are a company that provide solar powered 3G camera and telemetry systems. For this project they were looking to develop an app to support one telemetry system in particular, their water level sensors. These sensors allow customers, for example, local councils to remotely monitor bodies of water that may be of interest or even a regular source of flooding. Having this early warning system can give them more time to potentially save both people and infrastructure.

Built from scratch, the Vision Link app consumes customer's sensor data via a proprietary REST API as well as maintaining its own local object database for the purposes of being available even when an internet connection is unavailable. (A common occurrence when engineers are in the field installing this equipment.) The app also provides alerts in the event of dangerous water level conditions. In order to provide these alerts it makes use of Googles Firebase Cloud Messaging system. This allows the server to instantly send a notification to the user's device and provide alarm functionality even when the app is in the background.

I DO - Android App

I Do was a complete wedding app for mobile devices from Capital6Games. I Do allowed couples to not only plan their wedding day all the way from selecting venues, dinner menus, budgeting and photos of the day to providing useful functionality to the weddings guests. When setting up a wedding the organiser can invite guests to download the app for themselves where they'll be presented with their own user personal interface allowing them to RSVP, view wish lists, upload their own photos for everyone to see and more.

Working alongside Capital6Games I was asked to add new functionality to the app as well as tackling persistent bugs before its eventual release on the store. Working on the I Do app was particularly interesting as it is effectively two apps in one package. One for the organisers of the wedding and one for the wedding guests. Each feature that was added needed to be presented from both viewpoints. For example, the sit down meal organiser needed to be able to set the courses and view responses from their guests while the guests needed to be presented with their meal options, make selections and be able to specify any allergy requirements.

Gymster - Android App

Gymster was an exercise companion app that works a little differently. Instead of offering generalized workout plans, it offers tailor made exercise lists based on the equipment you actually own.

When the creator the Gymster app came to me, much of the app had already been developed. Instead of developing from scratch I was asked to aid with the development of the app. implementing the larger features they had been struggling with and working to improve both the stability and performance of the app. I have now been working with Gymster since June 2017.

Great British Bee Count - Android App

The Great British Bee Count app (GBBC) is a free app built for Friends of the Earth in collaboration with a varying collection of partners including Waitrose in 2017 and The Peoples Postcode Lottery in 2018. The GBBC app opens its doors once a year to rally the British people in the fight to save the dwindling global bee population. Users can record bee sightings with photos, get tips on making their garden a bee friendly environment and simply learn more about the many different breeds of bee out there.

Starting in 2017, working with TwoThirdsWater I was tasked with updating the existing GBBC app to provide an all new user interface as well as various bits of additional functionality. Including adding a sighting map, user registration and the ability to access the bee identification guide when the app is "closed" off-season. In 2018 I was again asked to work on the app to make further updates to the user interface, add a new on boarding flow and tailor the sighting screens to provide more data for Friends of the Earth's crack bee scientists.

Barnsley Card - Android App

Working for an independent client i was asked to build the Barnsley Card Android app. Barnsley Cards provide customers discounts on food, drink and shopping when they buy in and around Barnsley, UK. Using the Barnsley App, shops can instantly scan and verify the validity of a customer's card before applying discounts.

Within one day we were able to go right from discussing feature sets to agreeing on the design and having a fully functioning app available on the Google Play Store.