Why?

This was for an in-house product at the agency I worked for. It was also one of the earliest projects I worked on at the company. It was a learning experience for both me & the company.

Relevant contributions

• Frontend development
• QA development

Major tools

Frontend:

• React
• Javascript
• AdminLTE theming
• SASS
• Instagram API
• Facebook API

Backend:

• PHP
• Yii2
• Docker

Testing:

• PhantomJS → Casper.js → nothing

Process

• Planning phase
  • This project was unusual because we worked directly with our client's project management team & their Jira board instead of our own.
• Working out tickets
  • We set up Docker containers for local environments.
  • I would work on the frontend feature & bug tickets.
  • Created automated user acceptance testing. until our testing frameworks were deprecated.

Hurdles

• It was a minor hurdle to implement the wizard from our codebase into our client's marketing site.
  • A different codebase controlled by a different team & company.
  • We worked with our team's connection point with their team to get it done.
• Our client was very adamant about implementing the Instagram & Facebook APIs, but when the APIs deprecated, the client refused to renew anything.
  • We removed the dead APIs from the wizard & backend panel.
  • There was no "diffuculty" per se', but it was very confusing & I still think about it a lot.
• I was mercilessly hounded & harassed to make automated user acceptance tests for this application.
  • This was the first instance of this type of tests our agency ever used.
  • I was an intern at the time & knew nothing about testing, & very little about early React.
  • I learned it & did it, but I have a very complicated relationship with writing tests because of it.

What did I learn?

• Using React, & implementing API calls with the Fetch API.
• User acceptance testing.
• Building with Docker containers.
• A little about PHP.
• The joys & eldritch horrors of early stage GANs image generators.

What would I improve if I did it again?

• Those APIs deserve to be re-implemented in the wizard. They added that extra 🧑‍🍳😙🤌
• Use Cypress for user acceptance testing.
• More support for accessibility in at least the wizard.