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gudppl – volunteer management platform for students and employees

Easily verify volunteer hours for scholarship, university, and job applications, employee performance reviews, and CSR reporting.

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Case Details

Client: gudppl Pvt Ltd.

Project Duration: May 2023 – present

Tags: Volunteer Management, Social Networking

Client Website: gudppl.com

The Story

gudppl is a purpose-driven social network designed to connect volunteers with organizations and individuals in need of volunteer support. Its mission is to promote, inspire, and recognize volunteerism, creating a meaningful impact worldwide by fostering positive social interactions and collaborations.

The platform enables users to build verified service portfolios, enhancing their profiles for scholarships, university admissions, and leadership roles. Organizations benefit from streamlined volunteer management, automated impact reports, and tools to monitor and celebrate community involvement.

SmashTaps built gudppl from the ground up, employing a scalable, cost-effective, and efficient architecture that accommodates a growing user base. Our comprehensive services included Web Application Development, Mobile Application Development (iOS & Android), Quality Assurance, Project Management, Product Management, and UI/UX Design.

Client Background & Problem Statement

The client previously had a platform intended to connect volunteers with causes. However, the existing system was plagued by several critical issues including high cloud maintenance costs, instability of features, poor user experience, and scalability problems.

Recognizing these pain points, the client approached SmashTaps to rebuild the platform from scratch. The objective was to create a scalable, user-friendly, and reliable system that would provide a superior experience for both volunteers and organizations while reducing operational costs.

Our team conducted a thorough analysis of the client’s pain points, gathering detailed requirements to ensure that the new platform would effectively address the issues experienced with the previous implementation. This informed our approach to designing and building gudppl from the ground up, leveraging modern technologies and a structured product management process.

Objectives & Goals

Develop a scalable, user-friendly platform accessible via web and mobile (iOS & Android).
Enable users to create verified service portfolios for use in scholarship, university, and leadership applications.
Provide organizations with tools to monitor, verify, and celebrate community involvement.
Ensure data security, user privacy, and seamless user experience.
Promote and recognize volunteerism on a global scale.

Approach & Methodology

Development Methodology: 

  • Agile with iterative sprints for incremental progress and regular feedback loops.

Technologies Used:

  • Frontend: ReactJS (Web), React Native (Mobile)
  • Backend: NodeJS
  • Database: PostgreSQL, DynamoDB
  • Cloud Computing Platform: AWS
  • DevOps/Infrastructure Management: AWS CDK for Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  • Cloud Monitoring: AWS Cloudwatch
  • Deployment Process: Automated CI/CD pipelines using Github Actions
  • Authentication & Security: AWS IAM, AWS Cognito, JWT, SSL Encryption
  • Project Management Tools: Jira, Confluence
  • Collaboration Tools: Slack, Google Meet
  • UI/UX Design Tools: Figma, Figjam
Source: https://medium.com/@kerimkkara/mastering-scrum-the-secret-to-agile-success-in-software-development-7effe7f620a8

Challenges with Previous Platform

Before the rewrite, the client’s platform was facing several significant issues:

The previous platform required extensive maintenance efforts, resulting in increased costs and inefficient resource utilization.
Users experienced frequent disruptions and bugs, particularly when scaling or introducing new features.
The user experience was not optimized, leading to low engagement and user dissatisfaction.
The existing architecture struggled to support a growing user base, resulting in performance issues and degraded user experience.

Improvements Achieved Through Rewrite

The gudppl rewrite successfully alleviated these issues through a comprehensive, modernized approach leveraging Serverless architecture over traditional Microservices and a structured Product Management process

Reduced Cloud Maintenance Cost
By adopting AWS Serverless architecture, monthly cloud maintenance costs were reduced by approximately 70%
The pay-per-use billing model eliminated the need to provision and manage servers, resulting in lower infrastructure expenses and operational overhead.
Improved Stability & Bug Resolution
Enhanced stability with a robust architecture, resulting in significant reduction in reported bugs and near-zero downtime.
The isolated execution environments provided by AWS Lambda reduced the risk of cascading failures, enhancing overall reliability.
Enhanced User Experience
A complete overhaul of the UX design, leading to increased engagement and satisfaction, reflected by increased positive feedback.
Faster deployment cycles enabled rapid improvements to the user interface and experience.
Scalable Architecture
The new serverless architecture supports a growing user base with concurrent user handling capability. Automatic scaling of AWS Lambda functions allowed seamless handling of traffic spikes without manual intervention.
Proper Product Management Process
We followed a structured Product Management process from requirements gathering to implementation. Clearly defined requirements were captured, prioritized, and mapped to user stories. Agile methodology ensured continuous feedback loops, resulting in improved quality and alignment with client expectations.
Security Enhancements & Flexibility
Enhanced security through integrated AWS features such as Cognito for authentication and fine-grained IAM permissions. Increased developer productivity due to simplified infrastructure management and focus on business logic instead of server maintenance. (ex: CI/CD setup, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using AWS CDK) Greater flexibility to experiment with new features and roll out updates without impacting the overall application.
Positive Feedback from Early Adopters
High satisfaction rates due to user-friendly design and features from organizations already onboarded such as S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia, Disrupt Asia, Wycherley International School and SLTC Research University.

Features & Functionalities

  • Interest-Based Matching: Connecting users with like-minded individuals based on shared interests and activities.
  • User Profiles & Customization: Personalized profiles showcasing individual achievements and contributions.
  • Submit Volunteer Hours: Anyone who has volunteered for organizations can submit records of their volunteer hours to be verified.
  • Volunteer Record Management: Verification, amendment, and approval processes for volunteer records.
  • Impact Reports: Automatically generated reports summarizing contributions for personal and organizational use.
  • Admin Roles: Owner, Supervisor, and Coordinator roles to manage organizational profiles.
  • Cross-Platform Access: Available on both web and mobile (iOS and Android), enhancing accessibility and user engagement.

Impact and Results

Success Stories – Global Entrepreneurship Week

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gew-sl_the-global-entrepreneurship-week-sri-lanka-activity-7292780787433648128-L2us/

Global Entrepreneurship Week (https://gew.lk/) is an annual celebration that unites over 40,000 participants and 20,000 partners across more than 180 countries. As the largest global event series dedicated to entrepreneurship, it provides a dynamic platform for entrepreneurs, educators, policymakers, and innovators to inspire, connect, and drive impactful change. This year’s theme highlights the crucial role of entrepreneurship in revitalizing economies and developing sustainable solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. Hosted nationally by ICTA, the event drew support from dedicated volunteers across Sri Lanka.

Powered by the passion and expertise of volunteers, the Global Entrepreneurship Week Sri Lanka team recorded an impressive 466.4 volunteer hours, with 14+ volunteers coordinating efforts across all districts. This collaboration enabled the facilitation of 200+ activities, with even more individuals stepping up to host and contribute to GEW events.

The gudppl platform, used to track volunteer activities, allowed organizers to easily generate an impact report at the event’s conclusion, providing valuable insights into its overall reach and success.

Conclusion

gudppl successfully addressed the need for a unified platform to connect volunteers with meaningful opportunities. By creating a seamless and scalable ecosystem, gudppl empowers users to contribute positively to their communities while building portfolios that showcase their impact.