Work Already Done
Prototype and Club Automation Feature Assessment: Took a deep dive documenting every single feature that currently exists within both the Farm and Forge app prototype and Club Automation, with an analysis of how heavily each feature is used, which features provide the most business value, and how the existing user interfaces help or hinder internal workflows.
Requirements Gathering: Formal interviews were held with users of the app prototype and Club Automation to gather internal feedback on 1.) what existing features worked well, 2.) what existing features were business critical, 3.) what existing features required improvements, and 4.) what features that do not yet exist would provide the most business value. Interview answers were then synthesized and used to make judgments on what workflows to build and how to prioritize them, and synthesis documents were sent back to interviewees gather approval and to refine.
User Story Refinement: The existing requirements were further refined into concrete “user stories”, discrete units of workflow defining software features and behaviors that are necessary to meet Farm and Forge’s software requirements. User stories have been prioritized according to which provide the most business value and/or engineering efficiency. Throughout the development process, user story priority will be re-assessed as we integrate feedback.
Team Augmentation: To move swiftly and deploy software at a meaningful pace, given the scope of work required by Farm and Forge, we have decided to augment the development team with additional members. We received over 500 applications, and significant time was spent vetting candidates before making the decision to hire two very talented individuals. Mark Eikel, an experienced software developer, will be joining the team full time on June 29. Mark will primarily work remotely, but will be onsite one day per week. Rush Gorney, a recent Belmont graduate, will also join part time as an intern starting July 8. Rush’s primary focus will be designing user interfaces for other developers to implement in code. Rush will be onsite Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
Architecture Analysis: To enable effective, efficient engineering, with a focus on the dual goals of: 1.) rapid development and deployment of new features and 2.) building infrastructure that will not require significant re-building down the road, significant time was spent determining which technologies to use in building new applications and how to structure their code.
Software Development in Progress
Active development has begun on building our initial application, currently codenamed CourtCals to distinguish it from “the app.” CourtCals will be used internally to manage the calendars of coaches, tennis courts, and building resources, and externally by customers to book lessons and events. The primary goal of developing CourtCals is to enable Farm and Forge to cease using Club Automation entirely.
Features of CourtCals will include:
- Internal users can manage the schedules for tennis courts and buildings, blocking off time, creating events, assigning coaches, etc.
- If a coach requests time off in Rippling, their calendar will be blocked off on that date unless the request is denied.
- Improved handling of multi-session events and programs over Club Automation, including the ability to edit individual session or subsets of sessions within an event.
- Internal tools for booking meeting rooms or viewing available meeting slots of other Farm and Forge employees, with two-way sync with Google Calendar (if you book a meeting in Grandstand with other attendees, you and the attendees will automatically have the meeting added into Google Calendar).
- Customers can book lessons or register for events, viewing available timeslots with coaches, placing a payment method on file, and signing waivers electronically.
Development Timeline: The Software Development team’s goal is to launch an initial version of CourtCals in mid-Fall. This initial version may not have every desired feature, but our goal is to launch a product with the minimum number of features to be viable as a superior alternative to Club Automation. Following the initial launch, further features will be added and refined according to internal feedback.
Future Development
Following the launch of CourtCals, while continuing to build and refine that platform, the software team will begin the process of developing more applications to meet Farm and Forge’s internal needs. As currently prioritized, the next software applications to be developed will be:
- Internal tooling to handle school schedules, student location tracking, and attendance
- Athlete management software to track skills mastery and progress, host lessons, build training pathways, and send updates from athletic staff to students and parents.
Not In Development
During the initial requirements gathering phase, decisions were made regarding what features of the current prototype or Club Automation would be better improved upon by purchasing existing products over building in-house. The development team will create an internal dashboard linking these products to CourtCals, ensuring that users have access to all data in a single place. Based on our current business needs and development timelines, the following features will now move to outside platforms:
Customer Relationship Management: Sales and marketing staff will be moved out of the “Leads” section of the prototype and into the CRM HubSpot.
Student Medical Data: The development team is currently working with PT staff to find the right vendor to move the storage and communication of student medical records to a new platform.
Payment Processing: All payment processing will be handled by integrating with Stripe. Customer statements and other billing documentation that currently exists in Club Automation will instead be accessible via a Stripe dashboard.
Thank you for your patience as we build a foundation for future success. If you have any questions or concerns about the development process, please reach out.
Brent Sanderson Lead Software Developer bsanderson@farmandforgeclub.com