The Client
Our client is Europe’s premier independent retailer of train tickets, collaborating with 48 train companies to facilitate over 100,000 journeys daily across 24 countries. They offer a comprehensive platform for purchasing train tickets online and via mobile apps, providing users with route options, fare details, and journey times.
The Challenges
The client sought to unify and streamline travel services into a cohesive and delightful passenger experience that would ensure strong user satisfaction, operational efficiency, and innovation.
Technology Needs
- Re-engineering the backend to support a modern, lightweight UI over REST APIs.
- Developing a rich, map-based front-end for web applications.
- Automating testing for improved quality and cost savings.
- Evaluating software under real-world user conditions to minimize modernization time and cost.
- Seamlessly integrating on-premise and AWS infrastructure, while efficiently managing updates and changes.
Business Needs
- Increase in ticket sales
- Repeat business generation
- Revenue growth
- Enhanced passenger loyalty
User Needs
- Hassle-free ticketing
- Fast and intuitive interface
- Reliable service experience
The Objective
The client aimed to redesign extended application functionalities and modernize the user experience to provide an omnichannel interface. Key objectives included:
- Moving from a monolithic user experience to an enriched and resilient UI developed on an open-source JavaScript platform.
- Migrating the application to a highly optimized Microsoft .NET Core Platform deployed on AWS for superior performance.
- Introducing scalable infrastructure to ensure zero downtime, creating a compelling market differentiator.
- Enabling flexible commute and payment options for both city and country-wide use.
The Solution
JK Tech reimagined the client’s e-commerce landscape and re-engineered business processes to elevate customer experience and revenue. Our dedicated ODC supported £3+ Bn in ticket sales with expertise across:
- UX Design
- Custom Development
- Mobility
- Testing
- DevOps
- Cloud Managed Services using Microsoft .NET Core deployed on AWS
We redesigned the UX for smoother workflows, particularly for ticket booking and payments, resulting in 3+ million app and website visits, boosting ticket sales significantly. The robust solution handled 5x expected peak traffic, ensured near-zero downtime, and maintained application error rates below 0.3%.
Security was enhanced through 3DS V2 compliance, securing online transactions with cardholder authentication. Additional protections included DDoS proofing and continuous security patching, ensuring 24x7x365 service availability.
Additional Key Implementations
- Developed responsive front-end with MVC architecture
- Back-end built using test-driven development and strict Agile adherence
- End-to-end automated testing based on industry best practices
- Agile development using a hybrid Scrum-XP model with DevOps integration
- Continuous Delivery enabled for rapid deployments
Engineering Practices
Our team followed lean and iterative engineering approaches including test automation and collaborative sprint planning via AV conferencing, stakeholder retrospectives, and structured team coordination.
Business Process Diagram
The Benefits
- Engineering transitioned to continuous deployment and frequent release cycles
- UX improvements led to a 7% increase in market share
- 70% reduction in development cycle time with CI/CD pipeline
- 10+ years of client collaboration helped optimize user journeys, increasing conversion rates by 10%
- 60% reduction in test cycle time through automated testing
- Accelerated passenger boarding and improved ticketing operations
- Reduced cash handling at kiosks and wait times for ticket purchase
- Added passenger features like route planning, booking history, and ticket refund options
