Case Study: Pavemint
Pavemint is a flexible, automated parking solution provider that aims to improve operational efficiencies in parking management. The platform offers digital parking solutions such as cashless payments, license plate recognition, data and analytics, and optimized ingress and egress.
Project Overview
Parking problems are a major issue in urban areas, causing financial and personal strain. According to a report by INRIX, searching for parking costs Americans 73 billion (about 220 per person in the US) a year. Drivers spend an average of 17 hours a year searching for parking spots. Campus parking is also a common frustration for students, with complaints including inconvenient parking, a lack of enough parking, and having to pay for it.
The imbalance between parking supply and demand is considered the initial reason for metropolis parking problems. Shortage of parking space, high parking tariffs, and traffic congestion due to visitors in search of a parking place are only a few examples of everyday parking problems.
Pavemint realizes these aspects of parking problems and provides smart solutions. Pavemint offers parking solutions including cashless payments, license plate recognition, data & analytics and optimized entry & exit points. The application also provides a chance for others to monetize their free parking space and earn extra.
Key Findings
We understood their system and the modules through the discovery process. Following two are the highlights of our key
findings;
Identifying System interactions & dependencies
Xeltec understood their system and identified areas for improvement by mapping their entire system using various techniques such as
• Event Storming
• Example Mapping
• Persona Analysis
System Reliability:
To minimize disruptions in payment processing, real-time connection and operations, a stable and reliable system was required for optimum operations and customer service.
Problem Statement
Xeltec recognized the following major issues with Pavemint which needed to be resolved moving forward.
Complex System to Understand
Pavemint integrates a lot of software components to function at full capacity. An unorganized structure with a lot of variable components made its architecture complex to understand & function properly.
02
Technical Debt
Since the application integrated complex tools, system complexity increases. This along with many other factors contributed to the technical debt which needed to be resolved.
03
Lack of Technical Documentation
Insufficient documentation of the Pavemint system’s technical aspects, including architecture, APIs, configurations, and integration guidelines, creates difficulties in maintenance & operations.
Implemented Solution
We understood the system and solved the above-mentioned issues in the following manner;
Organizing the Architecture
Engineers at Xeltec Implemented a component repository using a storybook. This posed several improvements allowing developers to;
- Showcase and organize reusable components in a centralized repository
- Promote code sharing and reuse across different projects, saving development time and effort.
- Work on individual components in isolation, enabling faster and more focused
We also implemented storybook techstack for streamlined collaboration and improved frontend workflow. This specifically helped with the mobile application. A Serverless framework was used to develop and deploy applications without the need to manage server infrastructure, resulting in reduced costs and improved scalability
02
Upgrading the Framework
To improve the functionality of the application, we implemented Single Sign On (SS0) for seamless authentication and access to multiple apps. SSO enables seamless authentication across multiple apps, allowing for easy access while increasing performance, productivity, user experience & security.
Migrating to GraphQL also helped in terms of efficient data fetching and improved development flexibility, leading to enhanced performance of the system. Gatsby was used to create high-performance websites with modern web technologies for Pavemint.
03
Migration to Graphql
Migration to Graphql helps address the lack of technical documentation by providing an introspective schema that serves as a self-documenting resource. This allows the user to query the schema to retrieve detailed information about available types, fields, and their relationships, enabling them to understand and work with the API without relying solely on external documentation.
Ongoing Support
Currently, our focus is on maintaining Lightpoint’s systems, scoping new features, developing enhancements, and supporting data-driven business decisions.
Results
By providing an efficient solution to the parking
problem, Pavement made several impacts on the
world in immeasurable terms. Some of which are,
- 438,912 gallons of CO₂ emissions avoided
- 1.53 million square feet of land made accessible
- 178,816 minutes (about 4 months) of cruising time saved
Pavemint now has a stage of happy customers whose life has transformed in a number of ways. No more anxiety and guess work, as pavemint makes sure you have easy ingress & egress anytime anywhere. In short, pavemint really does make a difference in terms of saving time, effort, space and environment all at the same time.
