Exciting gaming experiences. Fair and smooth
ATG has been serving horse sports for over 45 years. All their surplus goes back to the owners, i.e., Swedish harness and thoroughbred racing. Responsible gaming is and remains ATG's most important sustainability issue. Since January 1, 2019, ATG not only offers betting on horse racing but also sports and casino games; something that was developed together with several great Kumpan team members.
Challenges with a giant as a customer
Laws, many teams, strict deadlines, and a large codebase; these are some of the challenges encountered when working with a client as large as ATG. To support the teams, Kumpan provided a scrum master who could act as the spider in the web between all the different groups and ensure the new Sports & Casino business area was smoothly integrated.
In addition to the scrum master, Kumpan also supplied UX designers and developers who worked on-site during the project. The developers' biggest challenge was working against a gigantic codebase where the code had to go through several tests and reviews to be published. This requires great caution and security from the developers. All this, combined with a relatively tight deadline, made the case a tough match – but of course, it was no problem for our stars!
From a design perspective, the task was to create a new section on the website without departing from ATG's existing style on the horse racing side. Doing this together with a team of other UX designers required substantial teamwork and many discussions on best practices, aesthetics, and optimal usability.
With the help of our on-site scrum master at ATG, the process for the new sports and casino division became more structured, leading to increased productivity within the teams. The scrum master ensured they transitioned from whiteboards and post-its to a digital platform (JIRA) for project planning, workflow setup, and application configuration. Retros, sprints, and daily standups also became part of the new way of working.
A streamlined process
In connection with the development of the new business area, developers from Kumpan helped to connect the application to a content management system, also known as a CMS. Along with the CMS, a link to Amazon Web Services was added to automatically upload material to the cloud, leading to better performance and lower operating costs. Big win!
To achieve a bulletproof application, tests are required. And what is smoother and more efficient than automated tests? During the development, we helped to develop functionality for test automation. With fewer manual tests, productivity receives another boost. We also optimized loading times where there was room for improvement. By reducing the number of network requests on the sports section, we ensured the user experience was even better!
Results were many
The obvious outcome of the work from our partners was, of course, that the sports and casino department was launched. Besides that, a number of different improvements and points were added, which we are proud of in our work. We could write several thousand characters about these, but instead, we keep it short and sweet and list some highlights below:
- A more optimized and productive work process via scrum
- Migration from whiteboard and post-its to JIRA
- Innovative features for users, such as random game picker and a popular matches section
- Faster loading times
- CMS connection to Contentful and automatic uploading of material to the cloud, which means a significant cost saving
- Upgrades in the codebase, including React-Redux and Emotion
- Optimized and shared build scripts via Webpack
- Implementation of changes due to COVID-related legislation
Given the list above, it is probably no coincidence that the collaboration with ATG continues even after the launch of Sport & Casino, or what do you think?
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