Echelon — a year later. The top 3 challenges in building an enterprise web app
Building an enterprise web application is a complex undertaking, and the challenges that come with it can be daunting, even for experienced developers.
In 2022 we built a capital allocation app called Echelon. Today we will look back on our experience with designing and building Echelon.
When I look back at my notes, the primary challenge that stands out when building the product is creating a custom Gantt chart from scratch. We tried several free libraries, but they did not fulfill the requirements. After several attempts, our technical leader finally decided to start from scratch, which required extensive research and testing.
Gantt chart
When we started building this feature, we realized that the top 3 challenges we had to overcome were complexity, performance, and scalability. We had to ensure that the feature fulfilled all of its requirements and that it would be up to its standards.
- Complexity
In terms of complexity, we had to integrate features like drag and drop and Gantt charts from scratch, which required extensive research and testing. When developing these features, we had to research different libraries that could be used to fulfill the requirements. Based on the pros and cons of each library, we had to make quick and smart decisions without wasting valuable time. We also had to implement various validations to ensure users could not drop items in invalid positions or overlap them. Additionally, rendering objectives that spanned multiple months required significant effort to ensure they were correctly displayed and updated across different devices and screen sizes.
2. Performance
Regarding performance, we faced significant challenges when implementing drag-and-drop functionality and loading Gantt charts with many objectives. To address these issues, we used reusable components to streamline our code base. We extracted all the objectives into the parent component when the page loaded, reducing load times and improving the user experience.
3. Scalability
Finally, scalability became a concern as our application grew in size and complexity. We had to ensure that our application was flexible enough to accommodate changes in requirements and capable of handling increasing traffic and user demand.
Apart from all the top challengers, one of our key concerns was getting the application ready for enterprise-level users, which required heavy testing and bug-fixing rounds. We had to test our application in various situations and scenarios that promise to give the user the optimal experience throughout the application.
Building an enterprise web application is a complex and challenging task that requires careful planning, testing, and collaboration. However, leveraging the right tools and approaches makes it possible to overcome the challenges and deliver a successful application that meets the needs of the business and its users.
