Background:
I was involved in the CarBidNow project as a subcontractor for Nationwide Remarketing, a car-resale company based in Colorado. CarBidNow is one of their websites that enables users to sell their cars quickly. Users answer a series of questions about their car’s condition, enter their zip code and vehicle’s VIN, and based on this information, the site calculates an appropriate price for the vehicle.
My role in this project was to add finishing touches to the front-end work, coordinate the expansion of new features while maintaining consistency with the existing design language, and provide ongoing support. Additionally, I was responsible for managing and reviewing the code of a junior front-end developer during the support phase.
Requirements:
- Implement new features that interact with a client-supplied API.
- Adjust existing features to accommodate API changes.
- Create and modify graphics for new feature pages.
- Enhance documentation to facilitate the onboarding of new developers and ensure easier maintenance.
Implementation:
The website utilizes a Vue.js front-end and a .NET back-end, hosted on a client-managed IIS server. To facilitate collaboration with other developers, the code repository was hosted and shared on GitHub.
Challenges:
Coming into a project at the midway point presented its own set of challenges. Since I had not been involved in the project from its inception, I had to familiarize myself with the existing codebase, project structure, and design decisions that had been made. Understanding the overall architecture and logic behind the application required thorough investigation and documentation review.
One of the key challenges was getting up to speed with the development team’s established coding practices and standards. Each development team has its own coding style and conventions, and it was essential for me to align my work with the existing codebase to maintain consistency and avoid introducing inconsistencies or errors.
Moreover, troubleshooting and debugging issues that arose in the codebase presented a challenge. Since I had not participated in the initial development stages, identifying the root causes of problems and finding the most efficient solutions required thorough analysis and collaboration with the team members.