Challenge
TripJunction founders Miho Beck and Taedjin Kim-Doron came to us at Roobykon with the task of creating a convenient, modern, and functional digital platform that would highlight the core values of their project and provide a seamless and intuitive user experience. Drawing on our extensive background and expertise in e-commerce marketplace creation, it took us just five months to construct a solution with all the functionality the client required. Since the project was aimed at the global market, the most important goal was to create an interface that would be accessible to users in every corner of the world. Our designers and developers honed every UX and UI element to technical and aesthetic perfection. CHALLENGES 1. Thoroughly analyze all aspects of the future platform's functionality, planning out a viable marketplace ecosystem that would enable safe and intuitive interaction between the platform and its users. 2. Develop a globally-accessible, reliable, and scalable platform. 3. Select and integrate a payment solution that would work with the platform’s business model and in its target markets. 4. Rework the standard Sharetribe OpenSource admin panel and user account to provide all the functionality demanded by the platform. 5. Sync the platform with a WordPress-based blog.
Solution
1. After discussing all key project objectives with the client, Roobykon performed a business analysis and compiled product specifications. This important groundwork paved the way for seamless user experience by letting us ensure the architecture was all set up for future scalability. It also enabled us to determine the requirements for the MVP. 2. We built the project using the OpenSource version of Sharetribe – lowering cost and time expenditure in comparison to building from scratch, while still giving us great flexibility. 3. Service providers were to be located in Japan, while bookings would be made worldwide, so we integrated Stripe Connect API to enable electronic payments across the regions served. We also integrated a special version of this API for corporate accounts, thus enabling companies as well as individuals to act as service providers. The legal data entry template was adapted to comply with Japanese regulations. 4. To create a secure user interaction system, we made it mandatory to upload identity-related documents. Phone number verification via Twilio adds to this. 5. A great deal of work went into ensuring users would be able to interact comfortably with and within the system. Key steps included: • Enabling guides to save incomplete listings in a 'Drafts' box, to work on later. • Adding reservation management functionality, letting users manage all their existing bookings along with browsing the number of booked services for a specific date. • Developing and implementing а new feature letting guides set multiple periods within a single listing during which a service offer is active, enabling them to offer a service several times over the course of a day without the need to create multiple separate offers. This feature also lets guides manually set their availability, and specify the number of guest places available for particular dates and timeframes. • Creating an ‘identity-verified user’ badge to help foster trust and security. • Updating the admin panel with an additional 'Staff' role, allowing varying levels of access to be assigned to different administrators. • Making it possible to approve and reject listings within the admin panel, ensuring users see only thoroughly checked services. 6. Multi-language support was part of TripJunction from the start, with English and Korean the first versions to be developed. As development got underway it transpired that as standard, Sharetribe supports Korean only via machine translation – but Roobykon worked closely with the client to ensure that all content, including notifications and emails, was accurate. 7. Once completed, the platform was synced with a Wordpress-based blog. Sharetribe doesn't support newsfeed management, so the admin panel was updated to enable publishing of article previews which can then be redirected to the blog. 8. The platform's unique and intuitive design allows it to stand out from the crowd, making for greater product and brand recognition.
Results
Creating a platform individually tailored to the client’s needs, our team at Roobykon Software has produced a web system that combines B2C and C2C business models to reach out to a global travel community. In accordance with the original brief, we’ve: • Built a fully functional product that's easy to navigate and provides seamless user interaction. • Created a refined, scalable architecture that will let the platform grow into the future. • Launched a viable marketplace that will be able to meet user expectations, continually develop, and attract its target audiences from day one. Our work doesn’t stop here! Our team at Roobykon Software continues to collaborate closely with TripJunction, adding new functionality and preparing the platform for its launch on the Chinese market.
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