SinglePoint

A web-based replacement for desktop application

SinglePoint Rating is a web-based application that replaces the successful WinRater desktop application. SinglePoint Rating brings all WinRater’s features, which customers love, to a modern and flexible web environment.xfive was asked by Boston Software Corp. (BSC) to create the front end for SinglePoint Rating. The BSC team implemented the back-end and API.When we started cooperating, the API endpoints were not finalized, which posed a significant challenge to our front-end developers.

A quick beta release

• A quick beta release: Agile approach allowed us to deliver the first application release (MAIP module) in April 2017. BSC was ready to start the external tests with a limited number of beta testers.
• Cooperation in different time zones: Despite 6 hours time difference, there was enough overlap to share knowledge and arrange necessary calls. The US team could review progress and prepare feedback when the Europe team was offline.
• Desktop-like experience: New web-based application brought new possibilities but also some challenges from its desktop predecessor; for example, how to allow users to review different quotes on different tabs within the same user session while keeping it secure.
• RMV lookup implementation: We used RMV to look up drivers and vehicle data to populate specific forms in the application. When the RMV service wasn't available during our working hours, we worked on new features or enhanced the existing ones.
• Older browsers support: While modern web applications call for using modern web browsers, we had to remember about users stuck with older systems. That’s why the app is also compatible with IE11.

Increasing front-end performance by 25%

When starting to work on the project, we decided that the best approach would be to develop it in Angular 2.0, which was released several months ago at that time.Throughout the project, Angular versions 4.0 and 5.0 were released. Because we prepared for the above scenario, we could upgrade the application to Angular 5.2 shortly after its launch. As a result, the performance of the application front-end increased by approx—25%.