eco travel

Wayaj and AltexSoft: Improvіng the Code Base of the Carbon Footprint Calculator

Business domain
Travel
Services
Engineering Services
Technology
JavaReactAmazon Web ServicesAngular

Background

Wayaj, our partner from the US, offers tools and services for individual travelers and hospitality businesses dedicated to minimizing CO2 emissions and supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

One of Wayaj’s core products is the Carbon Footprint Calculating Engine, which allows travelers to measure CO2 generated during their trips and offset the harm through verified nature restoration programs. The tool has a standalone version for end customers and also comes as a white label solution for embedding into the websites of eco-conscious hotels.  

The company sought assistance from AltexSoft when it appeared that the engine didn’t run because of errors at different levels. Our task was to make the product work properly.  

Challenges

First, we conducted a thorough tech audit of the engine. Based on the results, AltexSoft formed a team to solve the following challenges:

  • Achieve system stability
  • Cut code maintenance spending
  • Simplify the product use for B2B customers
  • Expand into European markets 

Value Delivered

Refactoring the code base

Refactoring the code base

During our collaboration, we stabilized the software that had glitches and failed to operate correctly. Our specialists, among other things, refactored the existing code and made security and UI/UX improvements. We also built an entirely new CI/CD infrastructure on AWS, which enabled a predictable development process.
Translating part of the code base from Node.js to Java with ChatGPT

Translating part of the code base from Node.js to Java with ChatGPT

One of the main problems we faced was that previous teams used different technologies to build the product. The backend had Node.js and Java parts, which made it more costly to maintain the system since experts in both languages were needed. We applied ChatGPT to translate the Node.js portion to Java. As a result, the client received a consistent сode, which requires fewer support resources.
Enhancing existing features

Enhancing existing features

We rebuilt critical features to bring transparency to their operations and reduce complexity. For example, our frontend engineers repaired a module that customizes the carbon footprint calculator according to a hotel’s design. This dramatically simplified the integration of the white label tool with third-party websites — as a separate page or popup widget. Also, we fixed issues with payment processing, extended payment reporting, and made it easier to onboard new clients.
Adding localization

Adding localization

Wayaj planned to expand their services to other markets — namely, they had partner hotels in Spain, France, and Greece. To meet the cultural, linguistic, and other requirements of the target regions, we localized the carbon footprint engine. This way, we created new opportunities for Wayaj to boost revenue and drive sustainability initiatives in Europe.

Approach and Technical Info

The active collaboration lasted about nine months and involved a business analyst, a UX designer, 2 backend developers, 2 frontend developers, 2 QA engineers, a project manager, and a software architect with DevOps skills.

The tech stack included Java, Spring Boot, Hibernate, MySQL, Liquibase, and AWS for backend; React and Angular for frontend.

 

JavaReactAmazon Web ServicesAngular