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Amac is the only Apple Premium Partner in The Netherlands. With 48 locations, repair services, B2B, B2E and support, they are the Dutch source of Apple devices and accessories. For 10 years, Amac has offered iMember, a training program in which their customers could learn more about using their Apple devices and getting the most out of the possibilities. The software hadn't been updated for a few years and looked its age. Once the business decided to shift the proposition for iMember, it was renamed to Amac Training and included new offerings to customers, like a strip card or single sessions instead of a membership.

The Amac Training project was created to replace a 10-year-old system used by customers to schedule appointments with Apple trainers. It enables customers to get assistance with their Apple devices or learn more through one-on-one sessions. The previous system, managed by a third-party, had become outdated and lacked the flexibility for new company requirements, leading to the development of a new and modern tool. The project failed in an earlier attempt due to a lack of technical knowledge and experience in the previous team lead. The original rebuild relied on outdated practices like stored procedures in Microsoft SQL Server. Heavy database dependency led to scalability and maintainability issues. The project was restarted without the previous team lead, and I took over as the project lead.

As the project lead, I was responsible for:

• Collaborating with Dolphiq, a Laravel-specialized company, to ensure quality development and project kick-off.
• Working closely with internal stakeholders, like the Retail Services lead, to integrate requirements and feedback.
• Leading a second developer, focusing on backend architecture and deployment to the Azure cloud environment.
• Managing communication between all involved parties, ensuring smooth delivery within the set time frame.

Tech stack

• Backend: Laravel, PHP, MySQL.
• Frontend: Vue.js.
• Cloud: Deployed on Azure with CI/CD pipelines for automated testing and deployment.

Challenges

• Dealing with stakeholders resistant to new technologies or methodologies.
• Rebuilding the backend from scratch in four months after a failed initial attempt.
• Working remotely from Finland during the project, which required excellent coordination and communication.

Results

• Seamless (and finally automated) customer registration process.
• Improved scheduling system for Apple trainers and customers.
• Employee-friendly interface, reducing manual input and errors.
• Scalable backend architecture ready for future features.

In the end, the first version of the project was delivered on time and migration was done within one day. All data was migrated from the old system to the new one, and the old system was shut down.