Front End Engineering Project - Network Rail

Network Rail Front-End Development Project

Overview:

I had the opportunity to develop a custom front-end solution for Network Rail, aimed at enhancing their user interface and improving overall user experience. This project involved a comprehensive process from initial requirement gathering to final deployment.

Key Responsibilities:

Requirement Gathering and Planning

Design and Prototyping

Development and Implementation

Testing and Quality Assurance

Deployment and Maintenance

Project Breakdown:

1. Requirement Gathering

The project began with a series of meetings with Network Rail stakeholders to understand their specific needs and objectives. I documented these requirements in detail, including functional and non-functional requirements, user stories, and use cases. This documentation was crucial in guiding the development process.

2. Planning and Design

With the requirements in hand, I created a detailed project plan outlining timelines, milestones, and resource allocation. Using design tools like Figma, I developed wireframes and mockups to visualize the UI and UX. These designs were refined through feedback sessions with the stakeholders to ensure they met their expectations.

3. Development Setup

I set up the development environment by installing necessary tools and frameworks such as Node.js and npm. I initialized a Git repository to manage the project's source code, ensuring version control and collaboration.

4. Front-End Development

HTML Structure: I crafted a semantic HTML structure to ensure the application was accessible and SEO-friendly.

CSS Styling: Using SASS, I styled the application to be responsive, ensuring it worked seamlessly across various devices and screen sizes.

JavaScript Functionality: I utilized React to build dynamic and reusable components, enhancing the interactivity of the application. The component-based architecture allowed for efficient state management and modularity.

API Integration: I integrated the front-end with Network Rail’s backend services and third-party APIs using the fetch API. This enabled real-time data fetching and updating, which was essential for features like live train schedules and service updates.

5. Testing and Quality Assurance

I implemented a robust testing strategy to ensure the application was reliable and bug-free. This included:

Unit Testing: Writing unit tests for individual components using Jest.

Integration Testing: Ensuring the components worked together as expected.

End-to-End Testing: Using tools like Cypress to simulate user interactions and verify the application's behavior from a user’s perspective.

6. Deployment and Maintenance

Once development and testing were complete, I deployed the application using a continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline. This automated the deployment process and ensured that updates could be rolled out seamlessly. Post-deployment, I monitored the application for any issues and performed regular maintenance to keep it running smoothly.

Technologies Used:

HTML5

CSS3 / SASS

JavaScript / React

Node.js / npm

Git / GitHub

Jest / Cypress

Outcome:

The project was a success, delivering a modern, responsive, and user-friendly interface for Network Rail. The stakeholders were highly satisfied with the final product, which significantly improved the user experience for both internal users and the general public accessing Network Rail services.

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