Requirement

To develop an ecommerce website enabling users to earn money recycling devices such as mobile phones, MP3 players and digital cameras.

Key functional elements included:

• Developing bespoke code to integrate with industry standard electronic device databases (CNET feeds)
• Developing a user-friendly and secure administration system to allow both the end client and their processing partners to process and manage the entire lifecycle of recycling electronic devices
• Integrating the system directly with the end client’s multiple payment gateways and systems

Technical Solution

The project was developed using entirely custom PHP code integrated with a MySQL database and using HTML and JavaScript for the user interface.

Additionally the project required a significant amount of integration both with external APIs and web services, raw data feeds and third party systems with no defined integration path.

Project Mechanics

Working very closely with the agency, end client and the end client’s technical fulfilment partners, the project took place over a one year period. Key stages of the project included:

• Working with the end client to develop a detailed functional and technical specification
• Developing prototypes of the look and feel and key functionality of the site to ensure that the various different external data and pieces of functionality worked seamlessly together before the main build started
• Working with the end client to create the most efficient and admin-user-friendly method of tracking price and recycling trends and enable administrators to make price changes ranging from a single device to a site wide price update at the touch of a button
• Planning the subsequent build phases and evolution of the site post launch

Conclusion

The project was exceedingly well received and Kieon worked with the client in development support and on-going maintenance for several years. The end client ultimately sold the branding concept to a private equity company in 2011.

Requirement

To build an educational website for a publisher specialising in educational material. Working with the end client from the outset to provide a full strategic technical development and support solution.

Key functional elements included:

• Creating a subscription-based e-commerce engine
• Integration with a third party live tuition supplier from booking tutoring sessions and checking availability of tutors to attending a tutoring session on the website
• Developing functionality to allow individuals at schools to register as users and allow tutors to assign specific tasks to specific pupils

Technical Solution

The website was built in PHP and MySQL with HTML and JavaScript elements. Content is managed through an open source CMS. Bespoke modules were also created to administer site users and ecommerce tutoring sessions.

Project Mechanics

The project ran for 9 months from initial planning to launch and involved working closely with the client and their creative agencies. Some key stages of the project included:

• Detailed requirement gathering with end client to understand their processes and requirements
• Building a bespoke ecommerce functionality to allow subscription registration and allow parents to sign up 1 or more children to individual accounts
• Integration with third party systems. This needed to be done via iframes, for which bespoke code was developed enabling the transmission of user data through this medium

Conclusion

The project was extremely well received by the end client and Kieon continues to work with them and provide on-going day to day support as well as greatly extending and enhancing the functionality of the site from its original build.

Requirement

To develop a subscription-based interactive online community and educational website for children to impart information on geography and world culture.

Key functional elements included:

• Developing a secure online community to allow schools and school children to communicate with each other in a highly controlled and moderated environment
• Developing an interactive resource for geography information, to be used by both schools and students
• Integration of Google Maps functionality with content uploaded by the end client to produce an interactive map that teaches users about specific geographical areas
• Developing a site that displays a full spectrum of rich content, from interactive games to maps and video content

Technical Solution

The general website content was developed using PHP and MySQL and content managed through WordPress. Additionally a significant amount of bespoke PHP code was created to integrate Google Maps functionality and to develop the community aspects of the site.

Project Mechanics

The project ran for 8 months from initial planning to launch, and involved working closely with designers and the end client. Some key stages of the project included:

• Detailed requirements definition both prior to and post the commencement of development
• Working in a semi-agile project-approach to adapt to changing functionality requirements
• Developing templates for the end client’s team to populate with rich content
• Developing functionality to allow users of the free trial to view specific content, and allow full access on a subscription only basis
• On-going application development and expansion upon original requirements

Conclusion

Kieon was able to work collaboratively with the client, defining functionality as development progressed and remaining within the pre-agreed timeline and budget. As a result, the client was more than satisfied with the end product.

The website has been a huge success, with subscriptions far exceeding the expectations of the end client, and was recently nominated for a leading education technology award. Kieon continue to work with the end client in expanding and supporting the site’s functionality.

Requirement

To develop a unique Facebook app in both Arabic and English, promoting the end client’s products to customers located primarily, but not exclusively in the Gulf.

Key functional elements included:

• To facilitate the dual English and Arabic language requirements of the app, a back end CMS was developed to enable editors to select the page language and edit front end content that appeared in the Facebook app accordingly
• Full integration into Facebook including functionality that only displayed the promotion once a Facebook user had ‘liked’ the page

Technical Solution

The application was built in PHP, MySQL and then fully integrated into Facebook as a Facebook application.

Project Mechanics

The project ran for a month from initial planning stages to completion and involved working closely with the agency to create a Facebook application that allowed the client to update content themselves during the course of the promotion. Some key stages of the project included:

• In-depth requirements gathering with the agency
• Developing an administration module allowing the end client to update content within the app without needing to use any Facebook functionality
• Facebook integration

Conclusion

Working closely with the agency, Kieon created an app that exactly met the brief, whilst providing the client with a user friendly method of allowing non-technical users to update content during the course of the promotion.

The promotion was a great success, with user registration far exceeding the expectations of the client.

Requirement

To implement a new design to the end client’s existing global employee intranet site reflecting revised corporate branding and including an entirely new look and feel, fonts and other styling elements.

Technical Solution

The intranet is built on the Microsoft SharePoint 2003 platform. Working within this, Kieon modified the relevant page templates and style sheets to implement the rebranded designs.

Project Mechanics

The project ran for two months from initial planning to delivery, and involved working very closely with the agency’s creative and project management teams. Key stages of the project included:

• Detailed requirements gathering with the agency to identify the changes needed and how they should be implemented
• Creating a copy of the Intranet in a local development environment on which to implement the styling changes and then packaging and deploying the changes back to the client’s environment
• Modifying the intranet page templates and style sheets to achieve the desired changes

Conclusion

By working very closely with the agency, Kieon were able to ensure the project was delivered on time and exactly to the specifications of the end client. In transferring a copy of the intranet website to a local hosting environment in which to modify the page templates, Kieon were able to guarantee a smooth transition from the existing design to the updated one, without disruption to day to day users.

The end client was extremely pleased with the end result and continues to be a major client of both the agency and Kieon.

Requirement

To maintain and support the end client’s consumer facing web presence, developed by Kieon, in 10 markets globally including 3 in North Asia, the US and Europe.

Key functional elements included:

• Providing a dedicated retained team to work full time on updating the website
• Liaising directly with the end client’s local market teams to carry out daily website updates
• Working with the agency and end client’s global marketing team to plan major site updates
• Providing technical consultancy for local digital marketing initiatives

Technical Solution

We supplied a dedicated team of content managers and website editors to work on day to day updates as whilst the content management system used was easy to work with, the volume of updates required was beyond the end client’s resource capabilities.

As the site was originally developed in Sitefinity, for extensions of functionality outside of day to day updates, the maintenance team were supported by Kieon’s Sitefinity team as required.

Project Mechanics

This is an on-going project in which Kieon continue to work closely with the end client and the agency. Some key stages of the project have included:

• On-going work with the agency and end-client to work on improving the site
• Half yearly reviews of overall progress to structure the workload over the following six months

Conclusion

Our extensive global experience working across multiple cultures and time zones has ensured the smooth running of this project.

Working to support markets ranging from Japan to the United States has presented an interesting operational challenge, as this means that there are only 36 hours within each 7 day period in which one of the end client’s offices is not open.

The agency and end client also benefit greatly from having a full trained team available as needed without the need to retain dedicated in-house resource.

Requirement

To develop a marketing and e-commerce website to promote the record label’s music and merchandise.

Key functional elements included:

• Implementing bespoke functionality for the artists signed to the label to add and update their biographies and discographies
• Implementing bespoke backend modules allowing the admin to manage the store, shopping cart, artist accounts and content
• Front end integration with PayPal

Technical Solution

The website was built using and open source CMS with PHP, MySQL and HTML, CSS and JavaScript used for the front-end.

Additionally artist pages were integrated with SoundCloud functionality, to allow visitors to the website to listen to audio clips.

Project Mechanics

The project ran for 3 months from initial planning to delivery, and involved working directly with the end client. Some key stages of the project included:

• Detailed requirements gathering with the end-client prior to commencement of the development work
• Full integration of the application with PayPal
• On-going application development and support

Conclusion

The website has been very successful in promoting the record label and its artists, and the end client is extremely happy with it. Kieon continue to work with the end client to develop the website and expand its functionality.

Requirement

To develop a hybrid online annual report mirroring the branding and design of the end client’s printed annual report, combined with the interactivity that the web allows and to offer shareholders a viable online alternative to receiving a print version of the report.

Key functional elements included:

• A separate annual report site accessible from the end client’s investor relations site was created
• General copy and content presented in HTML with accounts and notes presented as PDFs
• The option for users to download specific sections of the report’s contents in PDF format via a download centre

Technical Solution

Elements of the report were developed in HTML to ensure a high level of accessibility and ease of access for all users. Additionally the financials and notes were supplied by the agency as PDFs and added to the website to reduce the overall time required for development.

Project Mechanics

The project ran for approximately 8 weeks from requirements gathering to launch and involved working very closely with the agency at all stages of the project. Key stages of the project included:

• In-depth planning with the agency to ensure simultaneous delivery of the online and printed versions of the report, to offer shareholders a seamless experience in viewing the data
• Developing HTML templates and the site’s structure ahead of the content being released from the agency
• Populating content in phases to ensure that general content was in place as early as possible and then working in parallel with the agency’s team to populate financials, notes and last minute changes
• The project delivery team working in overlapping shifts to ensure around the clock availability in the period immediately prior to and post launch to accommodate last minute amends and content updates

Conclusion

Developing online annual reports requires absolute accuracy whilst delivering in very short timeframes in environments where frequent amends and updates are a given. Kieon’s extensive experience in delivering online annual reports, coupled with the flexibility of the project delivery team ensured that we were able to work seamlessly with the agency as an extension of their team to deliver the report on time exactly as required.

Requirement

To build an iPad app version of a children’s story book.

Key functional elements included:

• Create 3 versions of the story with 3 different levels of interactivity, ranging from fully interactive and narrated to children reading by themselves
• Taking an illustrator’s designs and translating them for use in an iPad app/online
• Synchronising narration with the functionality of the app
• Functionality allowing children to record their own voice and play it back
• Creating interesting areas of interactivity to better engage users

Technical Solution

The app is a native app, built in Objective C.

Project Mechanics

The project ran for 3 months from inception to completion, and involved working closely with a designer, author, illustrator and agency to realise their creative vision in a tablet environment. Some key stages of the project included:

• Working with the illustrator to advise on the translation of the illustrations to online and to define areas of interactivity
• Submitting the app to the app store, as well as overseeing and managing the process of its approval

Conclusion

The project ran very smoothly and both Kieon and the client were very pleased with it. Kieon continue to work with the client developing further similar apps. The app has been very well received by the app store and by literary critics.

Requirement

To build a global ecommerce solution to integrate directly into the end client’s global fulfilment partners systems. The solution was a first for Kieon, the fulfilment partner and end client alike. Site editors needed to be able to take product data from the fulfilment company’s systems and add rich content (user reviews, images, etc), for display on the website to create a richer user experience than the fulfilment partner’s data provided alone.

Additionally, there was a requirement to provide a brochureware solution for markets where the end client didn’t sell directly (a website toolkit/template) that could be used by distributors to create a coherent version of the end client’s global brand.

Key functional elements included:

• Direct real time integration with a third party global fulfilment solution
• Dynamically displaying product data according to language and territory
• Integration with other third party systems including user ratings and a separate product support database and forum

Technical Solution

The foundation for the application was a Sitefinity CMS integrated with a MS SQL 2008 database and JavaScript elements on the front end.

The CMS was used as a foundation for the application with a significant amount of customised .net modules created to integrate with the fulfilment partner and also provide the site administrators with the ability to edit all content including a wealth of detailed product data used on the site in multiple languages.

Project Mechanics

The project ran for 9 months from initial planning to launch and involved working closely with agency and technical teams from both the end client and their fulfilment partners. Some key stages of the project included:

• In-depth assessment of requirements with the end-client to fully understand the mechanics of their processes and systems
• Detailed planning of the database structure to ensure that it worked seamlessly with the data structure of the global fulfilment partner
• Prototyping to ensure that the proposed integration of the fulfilment company’s systems could take place
• Standard site development and localisation across multiple languages
• On-going application development and support

Conclusion

The site was well received and proved to be exceedingly successful, with the end client seeing up to a 30% increase in sales in territories where the new site was launched.

Kieon are currently in the process of rolling the new site and improved functionality out in 22 additional territories.