CrewMatters migration to a new tech stack

Seafarers, especially future seafarers, need to study a lot, master new techniques, gain knowledge of professional duties, principles of behavior at sea, etc. The CrewMatters platform is designed specifically for training young seafarers. It was a little outdated, but we fixed it fairly quickly.

Want to learn more about the project? Read the following sections.

When a platform has been in operation for more than a decade, it is still functional, although it loses its charm and innovation over time. Technologies, APIs, modules, and even the interface become outdated. In addition, the owner of the solution may have new ideas, product vision, and monetization methods. Are these not reasons for another large-scale update?

And yes, there was a lot to update. The client wanted not only to modernize the platform but also to move it to the latest technology stack with a number of new features for users and partners.

Since this project was more of a migration than a development from scratch, the list of wishes was appropriate, namely:

• Migrate the application and data from Xamarin to MAUI.
• Update the GUI and design, and add support for modern design themes.
• Include additional libraries to extend the functionality.
• Add two sections for academies and other specialized learning platforms.
• Synchronize and format existing data.
• Comprehensively test the application.

Since CrewMatters is a system for seafarers' training in the UK, it must comply with several standards, including GDPR and ISO, and have adequate protection of user and corporate data. Well, if it's said to be done, it's done!

First, we started to migrate the application from Xamarin to MAUI. For this purpose, we used a number of libraries and the C# programming language. In general, the development went smoothly, but this time, we faced some problems.

• The key challenge was the SyncFusion library, which contains controllers that are incompatible with MAUI. Actually, this is not a challenge, but rather a routine item that took up most of the time working on the project. We're not the type to cave into difficulties, so we manually rewrote these aspects for MAUI at an accelerated pace.
• The second nuance was the outdated notification system (PopUP), which also had to be manually re-created on the new technology stack. Yes, we did not include this in our preliminary calculations, so we spent a little more resources than planned.

And the cherry on top was a slightly updated design that supports the features of modern devices, their displays, effects, etc.

As a result of our cooperation, the client received a powerful modernization of the platform's technological base, additional functional blocks, and a fresher design. Thanks to this optimization, the product began to work faster and more stable, and new courses and training materials became available to users, which opened up a number of opportunities for monetizing the solution.

The project has now successfully passed pilot tests and is already being actively used by the platform's existing and new audiences.

Do you have a similar task or idea for implementation? Delegate it to the BuildApps team and get a high-quality, modern digital solution!