Open Source Online Grocery Store

Overview

Prior to engaging SciMed, our client, a research institution, relied on a limited internal application for studying consumer purchasing behavior in grocery stores. Their goal in partnering with us was to significantly expand its functionality, enhance its security, improve maintainability, and develop new features to advance their critical research. This upgraded Open Source Online Grocery Store has since been published in prestigious journals like the University of Chicago Press Journal and the Wiley Online Library.

Challenges

The client sought to evolve their existing application, both improving current features and adding entirely new capabilities. Attempting this internally demanded extensive resources and specialized expertise they didn't possess. Key challenges we were brought in to solve included:

• Modernizing and ensuring the long-term maintainability and upgradability of the current application.

• Implementing robust security measures across the entire system to protect sensitive research data.

• Designing a scalable and future-proof architecture that could easily accommodate new features and collaborations.

• Creating a truly open-source application to facilitate its use by other research institutions.

Our approach

Our work began by thoroughly understanding the existing application's architecture, capabilities, and limitations. We conducted in-depth technical tests on the system to pinpoint areas for improvement and identify core challenges. This detailed analysis formed the bedrock of our strategic planning.

To optimize costs and leverage existing investments, we focused on intelligently extracting and reusing as much of their original codebase and features as possible. Where the existing code was difficult to manage, we meticulously refactored and rewrote sections to ensure the application became significantly easier to maintain and build upon going forward. Throughout this intricate process, we maintained exceptionally clear and consistent communication with the client, ensuring every development aligned precisely with their expectations. As they put it:

I have only positive things to say about SciMed. They are extremely precise communicators, which means I always know what exactly has been done, how much it will cost, and when it will be finished by. Their work is also excellent, and I’ve never had a problem with any feature SciMed developed.

Once the codebase was robust and clean, integrating new research functionalities and performing ongoing maintenance became far more efficient. At this stage, we launched a minimum viable product, initiating vital feedback cycles with users. These iterative refinements continued until we delivered a comprehensive solution that perfectly fit all the client's complex data and workflow challenges, culminating in a successful, on-time, and on-budget product launch.

Results

Partnering with the client, we delivered a transformative application that not only met all their needs but also empowered their research into grocery purchasing behavior. As a direct result of launching this new Open Source Online Grocery Store, they have been able to:

• Significantly expand their research capabilities, enabling new avenues of academic inquiry that were previously impossible.

• Substantially improve the application's security, protecting valuable research data and user privacy.

• Conduct cutting-edge research by offering advanced tools they couldn't access before.

• Rigorously track and analyze research results, including the ability to download detailed logs of participant actions, leading to higher quality data and more precise insights.

• Foster wider collaboration with other institutions, solidifying the tool's position as a valuable resource within the academic community.

• Consistently adapt the platform to support emerging research topics, demonstrating its long-term viability and impact.