Saltatus – App for dance schools

In a world increasingly shaped by digital innovation, every industry is reimagining how it operates. The fitness industry is no exception. From online workout sessions to digital wellness trackers, technology has profoundly impacted how we approach health and wellness. Yet, amidst this digital revolution, one aspect remained relatively untouched: the management and discovery of physical fitness spaces, such as dance, yoga, and fitness schools. That is, until SALTATUS arrived on the scene.

SALTATUS: A Revolutionary Idea

SALTATUS is more than just an application; it’s a revolution in the world of group fitness activities. By combining the marketplace model with a school management platform and a mini social network, it creates an all-encompassing solution that addresses the needs of schools, instructors, and participants alike. Imagine a place where you can discover new classes, book your spot, pay, and even engage with a like-minded community—all within a few clicks. That’s the power of SALTATUS.

What’s more, this unique platform doesn’t just cater to participants. It empowers schools and instructors by providing an appealing platform to showcase their offerings, efficiently manage schedules, handle enrollment and payment, and communicate with students and educators. In essence, SALTATUS is the digital heartbeat of the fitness community, driving interactions, transactions, and engagement in a way that was previously unimaginable.

This is the story of how GMI Software turned this revolutionary idea into a reality, navigating technological choices, translating user needs into functionalities, overcoming design challenges, and ultimately, creating a platform that’s set to redefine the fitness industry. Welcome to the SALTATUS journey.

Understanding the Customer’s Vision

The Birth of an Idea: The Customer’s Initial Concept

Every great innovation begins with a spark of inspiration. For SALTATUS, this spark was the vision of a platform that could seamlessly connect the diverse stakeholders in the fitness industry. The customer envisioned a space where individuals could explore and engage with group fitness activities like never before. Simultaneously, they saw an opportunity for schools and instructors to present their offerings to an interested audience in a compelling, efficient manner.

The idea was ambitious, to say the least. It meant disrupting traditional ways of discovering and managing fitness activities. It meant creating a platform that could handle complex operations while maintaining a user-friendly interface. But with GMI Software’s expertise in digital solutions, the customer was confident that their vision could become a reality.

Prioritizing Features for Maximum Impact

Given the broad scope of the platform, one of the first steps in realizing the customer’s vision was to prioritize features. This required a deep understanding of user needs and a strategic approach to product development.

The result? A focus on the most impactful functionalities. These included a comprehensive search and booking system for classes, a platform for managing schools, and a mini social network for community building. Additionally, the ability for users to switch context—from participant to school, and vice versa—was identified as a crucial feature. These prioritized features ensured that the platform would offer immediate value to users, setting the stage for future enhancements.

This phase of the project was a testament to the collaborative relationship between GMI Software and the customer. Together, they navigated the complexities of product development, always keeping the end-users’ needs at the forefront. The result was a clear roadmap for the SALTATUS platform, marking the first milestone in this exciting journey.

Navigating the Technological Landscape

To bring the vision of SALTATUS to life, careful consideration was given to the technological landscape. The chosen technologies were selected based on their ability to deliver the desired functionalities, performance, and scalability. Let’s delve into the technical aspects that power the SALTATUS platform.

Angular: Unleashing the Power of Progressive Web Apps (PWA)

SALTATUS harnesses the power of Angular, a widely adopted JavaScript framework, to create a Progressive Web App (PWA). Angular’s extensive ecosystem and robust features make it an ideal choice for building modern, responsive web applications. By leveraging Angular, the team was able to develop a platform that delivers a seamless user experience across various devices and platforms. The use of Angular’s PWA capabilities ensures that SALTATUS is reliable, fast, and responsive, even in low network conditions.

NestJS: A Scalable and Efficient Backend with Node.js

The backend of SALTATUS is built using NestJS, a powerful and scalable framework based on Node.js. NestJS offers a modular architecture that promotes maintainability, extensibility, and testability. It provides a solid foundation for building server-side applications, handling complex business logic, and seamlessly integrating with databases, APIs, and external services. With NestJS, the SALTATUS backend achieves high performance, scalability, and ease of development.

MySQL: Managing Data with a Reliable Relational Database

To ensure efficient and reliable data management, SALTATUS utilizes MySQL, a popular open-source relational database management system. MySQL provides robust transactional support, ACID compliance, and scalability, making it well-suited for applications that require secure and structured data storage. By leveraging MySQL, the platform can handle large datasets, perform complex queries, and ensure data integrity, all while providing fast and responsive access to information.

Full Calendar: Tackling the Complexities of a Multi-room Calendar

One of the most significant challenges in developing SALTATUS was creating a multi-room calendar system that could handle the complexities of managing classes across different locations. To overcome this challenge, the team integrated Full Calendar—a powerful JavaScript library for interactive calendars. With Full Calendar, the platform can display, manage, and interact with class schedules, handle recurring events, and provide an intuitive user interface for schools, instructors, and participants.

Custom Backend Implementations: Tailoring Functionality to Unique Requirements

While off-the-shelf solutions were considered, the SALTATUS team recognized the need for custom backend implementations to meet the unique requirements of the project. This approach allowed for greater flexibility and customization, enabling the platform to provide tailored features and functionalities specific to the fitness industry. By developing custom backend components, the team ensured that SALTATUS could handle the intricacies of class bookings, payment processing, and user management in a way that aligns precisely with the project’s objectives.

By combining these cutting-edge technologies, SALTATUS achieves a balance of robustness, performance, and user-friendliness. The carefully chosen tech stack empowers the platform to provide a seamless and engaging experience for schools, instructors, and participants, while also ensuring scalability and maintainability as the user base grows.

Through the skillful navigation of the technological landscape, SALTATUS emerges as a testament to the power of leveraging the right tools and frameworks to create a forward-thinking and innovative solution for the fitness industry.

User Stories: Putting Users at the Center

The Importance of User Stories in Product Development

In the realm of product development, user stories serve as a vital tool to ensure that the end product aligns with the needs and expectations of its users. They provide a simple, clear understanding of a feature from the perspective of the user, thus driving user-focused design and development.

For the SALTATUS project, user stories played a pivotal role in shaping the functionalities of the platform. They offered invaluable insights into the needs and behaviors of the different user roles: schools, instructors, and participants.

Translating User Needs into Functionalities: A Deep Dive into Select User Stories

In the world of product development, user stories serve as a crucial guiding force. They offer glimpses into the lives of users, highlighting their needs, desires, and interactions with the product. For the SALTATUS project, user stories played a pivotal role, serving as the cornerstone of product features and functionalities. Let’s delve into a few select user stories and see how they shaped the development of SALTATUS.

User Story: “As a school, I can add activity types for the selected location”

This user story was integral to creating the versatile functionality that allows schools to customize their offerings based on location. It led to the development of a feature that enables schools to add various activity types—be it dance, yoga, or fitness—to each of their locations. This feature not only provides schools with the flexibility to cater to diverse user preferences but also enables participants to find activities that align with their interests, conveniently filtered by location.

User Story: “As a participant, I can join regular classes that have not yet started”

This user story highlighted the need for a flexible class-booking system that accommodates the dynamic schedules of participants. As a result, a feature was created that allows participants to join ongoing regular classes, ensuring that they never miss out on an opportunity to participate in an activity they enjoy. This feature enhances the user experience by providing flexibility and convenience, key factors in a platform aimed at promoting active lifestyles.

User Story: “As a school, I can create cyclic/recurring activities in the schedule”

This user story presented one of the most significant technical challenges in the project due to the complexity of handling recurring events in a calendar. However, recognizing its importance to the user experience, the team tackled this challenge head-on, ultimately devising a solution that combines Full Calendar with a custom backend based on single time slots. This feature allows schools to easily create and manage cyclic or recurring activities, simplifying the process of scheduling and managing classes.

User Story: “As a participant, I can pay for classes online”

In the digital age, online transactions are a staple of a convenient user experience. This user story led to the development of a secure, easy-to-use online payment system, powered by Stripe – a suite of APIs facilitating online payment processing for businesses of all sizes. With Stripe, participants can pay for classes with just a few clicks, streamlining the process and making it easy to secure their spots in chosen classes. This integration ensures fast and secure transactions, providing an essential feature for the platform’s operation.

User Story: “As a school, I can see the status of my premium account”

This user story underscored the need for transparency and easy access to account information for schools. It guided the development of a feature that allows schools to easily view the status of their premium account, providing them with a clear overview of their subscription status. This feature enhances the user experience by providing schools with easy access to crucial information, helping them manage their accounts efficiently.

In each case, these technical user stories served as a blueprint for developing features that addressed real user needs, enhancing the overall functionality and user-friendliness of the SALTATUS platform.

Balancing User Desires with Technical Feasibility

Of course, not every user desire can be turned into a feature—especially when dealing with a complex platform like SALTATUS. Balancing user desires with technical feasibility and strategic objectives is a critical part of the product development process.

For instance, the story “as a school, I can create cyclic/recurring activities in the schedule” posed significant technical challenges due to the complexity of handling recurring events in a calendar. But understanding its importance to the user experience, the team tackled this challenge head-on, ultimately devising a solution that combines Full Calendar with a custom backend.

The use of user stories in the SALTATUS project was a testament to GMI Software’s commitment to user-centered design and development. By putting users at the center of the process, the team was able to create a platform that not only met but exceeded user expectations.

Overcoming Project Challenges: The Case of the Calendar

The Challenge: Managing a Multi-room Calendar

Every project comes with its own unique set of challenges. For SALTATUS, the biggest hurdle was managing a multi-room calendar. The platform needed to allow schools to efficiently manage and coordinate classes across multiple rooms. Moreover, it had to be user-friendly enough for participants to easily search for, book, and pay for classes.

This feature was one of the most complex aspects of the platform, not just from a user interface standpoint, but also from a back-end perspective. It required a robust and flexible calendar system that could handle recurring events, manage bookings, and facilitate payments, all while providing a seamless user experience.

Exploring Possible Solutions: iCal, Google Calendar API, and Beyond

To tackle this challenge, the team explored several potential solutions. They considered using iCal, an Internet calendar format used by several calendar and email programs, including Google Calendar. They also looked into leveraging the Google Calendar API, which would allow them to integrate the platform with users’ personal calendars.

However, neither of these options provided the level of customization and control needed to fully address the complexities of managing a multi-room calendar for dance, yoga, and fitness schools.

The Winning Solution: Full Calendar and Custom Backend Implementation

Ultimately, the team found the solution in a combination of Full Calendar—a powerful and flexible calendar library—and a custom backend implementation based on single time slots.

This approach allowed for a high level of customization and control over the calendar functionality. Schools could create cyclic or recurring activities, manage bookings, and handle payments. Participants, on the other hand, could easily search for classes, book their spots, and pay online.

Reflections on the Problem-solving Process

Overcoming the calendar challenge was a significant milestone in the SALTATUS project. It was a testament to the team’s problem-solving prowess and their commitment to delivering a user-friendly, efficient solution. It also highlighted the value of flexibility in software development—sometimes, the best solution is not a ready-made tool or API, but a custom implementation that precisely addresses the project’s needs.

In the end, the multi-room calendar not only became a standout feature of SALTATUS but also a powerful example of how technology can transform complex operations into user-friendly solutions.

The Power of Teamwork and Efficient Work Organization

Building a Remote Team for Success

In today’s digital age, the power of remote work is undeniable. For the SALTATUS project, a remote team of dedicated professionals was assembled, bringing together a wealth of expertise and a shared commitment to the project’s vision. The team consisted of a Virtual CTO/Proxy Product Owner, a UI/UX Designer, Full Stack JS Developers, and a DevOps specialist. Despite the geographical distances, the team worked in unison, driven by a shared passion for creating an innovative solution for the fitness industry.

Adopting Agile: Weekly Sprints and Scrum

The team adopted the Agile methodology, specifically Scrum, to manage the project. This approach allowed for flexibility and adaptability, crucial factors in a project with numerous complex features like SALTATUS. Weekly sprints were held, with each sprint resulting in a tangible increment of the product. These short, focused bursts of work allowed the team to maintain a steady pace and address issues or changes in a timely manner.

Leveraging Tools for Effective Communication and Project Management

Effective communication is the lifeblood of any remote team. To ensure seamless collaboration, the team used Slack for instant messaging, Google Meet for video conferencing, and Miro for brainstorming and planning sessions. These tools helped bridge the physical distance and fostered a collaborative environment where ideas could flow freely.

For project management, the team used JIRA. This powerful tool allowed them to track progress, manage tasks, and stay aligned on project goals. It served as the single source of truth for the project, keeping everyone informed about the status of tasks and the overall project timeline.

Overcoming Challenges and Delivering Results

The combination of a dedicated team, efficient work organization, and effective communication tools allowed the team to navigate the complexities of the SALTATUS project and deliver a platform that exceeded expectations. From handling the complexities of a multi-room calendar to translating user needs into functionalities, the team tackled each challenge head-on, driven by their shared commitment to the project’s success.

Looking back, the SALTATUS project is not just a testament to GMI Software’s technological expertise, but also a shining example of the power of teamwork and efficient work organization. It serves as a reminder that when a team comes together with a shared vision and a commitment to collaboration, even the most ambitious projects can be brought to life.

The Result of the Collaboration: www.saltatus.com

The journey of the SALTATUS project, from its inception to its launch, was a story of collaboration, innovation, and hard work. The result of this labor of love is a platform that is revolutionizing the fitness industry: www.saltatus.com.

The platform serves as a comprehensive solution that caters to the diverse needs of its users. It enables individuals to explore, book, and pay for classes in dance, yoga, and fitness schools, offering an unprecedented level of convenience and accessibility. Schools and instructors, on the other hand, are empowered to showcase their offerings, manage their schedules, and communicate with students and parents, all within a single platform.

The user-friendly interface, powered by Angular, provides a seamless experience for users, making it easy to navigate the platform and its many features. The robust back-end, built with NestJS and MySQL, ensures the efficient handling of complex operations, from managing multiple users and classes to facilitating online bookings and payments.

But the launch of www.saltatus.com is not just the culmination of the project—it’s the start of a new chapter in the fitness industry. With its innovative features and user-focused design, SALTATUS is setting new standards in the way we discover and engage with fitness activities. It’s showing us a glimpse of the future of fitness, where technology and wellness go hand in hand.

As we reflect on the journey of the SALTATUS project, we are reminded of the power of collaboration and the transformative potential of technology. It’s a testament to the vision of the customer, the expertise of the GMI Software team, and the collective desire to create a solution that truly makes a difference.

Reflections and Takeaways

Lessons Learned from the SALTATUS Project

The journey of developing SALTATUS was filled with learning and insights. It was a clear demonstration of how a strong partnership between a visionary client and a dedicated software company can lead to groundbreaking solutions. One of the significant takeaways from this project was the power of user-focused design and development. By prioritizing user stories and continuously seeking feedback, the team was able to create a platform that truly resonates with its users.

Furthermore, the project underscored the importance of flexibility in software development. Whether it was choosing the right tech stack or finding the best solution for the multi-room calendar challenge, the ability to adapt and innovate was key to the project’s success.

The Value of Customer Collaboration and User-Centered Design

SALTATUS is a testament to the value of close collaboration with the customer and a strong focus on user-centered design. The project was driven by a deep understanding of the customer’s vision and a commitment to translating this vision into a product that meets the needs of the end-users. By maintaining a strong customer focus throughout the project, the team was able to deliver a platform that not only meets but exceeds expectations.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Fitness with Digital Innovation

The success of SALTATUS is just the beginning of the digital transformation in the fitness industry. As technology continues to evolve, there are endless opportunities to further enhance the user experience and streamline operations for schools and instructors. 

In closing, the SALTATUS project serves as a example of how technology can transform an industry, create value for users, and drive growth. It’s a testament to the power of digital innovation and a shining example of what can be achieved when a vision is brought to life with technology.

Conclusion

SALTATUS, a result of the collaboration between a visionary customer and GMI Software, exemplifies the transformative capacity of digital innovation in industry applications. It’s a game-changer in the fitness sector, offering user-focused solutions to real-world problems, promoting active lifestyles, and redefining the industry standards.

This platform goes beyond mere functionality. It sets a blueprint for using technology and innovation to reshape interactions and community engagement within the fitness world. As the industry evolves, SALTATUS stands at the forefront, inspiring others to follow.

We invite businesses seeking similar transformation to partner with us at GMI Software. Let’s redefine industry boundaries together through digital innovation, setting new benchmarks for the future.