Engagement: Software Development Team – Build of a new web/mobile reservation system with SEO integration for a Comoros-based travel startup.
Challenge & Risks: Akili Travel’s legacy booking site was outdated (poor mobile UX, no SEO), limiting market reach. Local hiring delays had already pushed timelines; the next tourism season was at risk. Data security (payments) and regulatory compliance (GDPR) were also top concerns.
Kontorva Solution: Kontorva’s senior software squad (5 full-stack engineers, including a cybersecurity expert; assumption: 2 seniors, 3 mids) jumped in. We held an initial sprint zero to finalise scope and set up cloud devops. Daily stand-ups and shared Confluence docs ensured transparency. Engineers were granted full access (via Kontorva’s Entity-of-Record) so they could own delivery. We applied an agile test-driven development approach: every feature had unit/integration tests before code review.
Key Deliverables:
- New Reservation Platform: Developed a responsive Angular website and React Native mobile app. Integrated Stripe for payments and MongoDB for inventory.
- SEO & Marketing Features: Implemented server-side rendering and meta-tag generation, plus an integrated blog.
- Analytics Integration: Deployed Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel for marketing insights.
- Quality & Security Measures: Enforced OWASP best practices; set up Docker-based CI to run Selenium tests on each commit.
Outcomes & Metrics: Kontorva reduced developer hiring time by ~45%, onboarding 4 devs in 10 days versus the 18-day norm. The revamped platform launched in 4 months, ahead of schedule. Within 3 months, website traffic increased 65% and conversion rate improved by 30% (measured via GA). Page load times fell by ~50%. There were no major bugs post-launch, and payment transaction success rates hit 99.5%. CEO feedback noted customer bookings doubled, attributing this to the faster, more robust site.
Operational Scope & Exit: The project scope was fixed-price for MVP delivery, with defined milestones and embedded exit criteria (documentation, tests, and client training). Kontorva handled cross-border developer employment (as EOR), managing payroll and compliance. Once the platform stabilized, Kontorva handed off all operational artifacts to Akili’s internal IT (assumed 1 retained liaison), while remaining on a 3-month support retainer to ensure smooth transition.