About the project

Samsung Electronics America is an innovation leader in consumer electronics design and technology.

Prior to the implementation of the release management system, Samsung relied on a manual process to track the release cycle of its phones, binaries, and applications. This process proved to be labor-intensive, error-prone, and resulted in delays in launching new products and updates. Additionally, the lack of centralized control and visibility across the release cycle posed challenges in effectively tracking the status of each release.

Challenges

The implementation of the release management system for Samsung presented several challenges that required a deep understanding of the complex space and the broader operational landscape in which Samsung operates.

Additionally, our team needed to familiarize themselves with Samsung’s intricate processes, in order to accommodate to the client’s requirements for adding new features, integrations, and frameworks on top of the release management system. Our team worked diligently to ensure that the final solution met Samsung’s unique business needs while maintaining seamless integration with their existing processes and systems.

"Ascendro’s effective and timely development execution in building our Release Management system, has enabled MSCA to deliver the most robust device and service release information to all stakeholders. The release management is the central knowledge base within Samsung North America for proper device and service release deployments into the US market.Currently, we are building with the Ascendro the next version of a much more stakeholder integrated release management system."

Juergen Roeck

Deployment Lead, Samsung Electronics America

Solution

The company lacked the internal resources to implement the release management system, so the solution was to look for a partner with experience in building similar systems that can complement their development department. So, they got in touch with us.

After a thorough evaluation process, Samsung selected us due to our extensive experience in building similar systems, our technical expertise in the Yii2 framework, and our team’s ability to provide a cost-effective solution and to deliver the project on time.

Discovery phase

We have assigned our best consulting resources and engaged in an intensive discovery phase with the customer to add clarity and direction to the project. We have created rich technical specifications and detailed wireframes to capture the most valuable functions and flows for the application. Our UI/UX solution was also a key point in delivering a smooth experience to all stakeholders who were interacting with the application.

Implementation process

The implementation of the release management system went smoothly, thanks to our team’s technical expertise and experience in building similar systems. The project was delivered on time and within budget.
Our team established a close collaboration with Samsung’s project team to gain a comprehensive understanding of their requirements, and subsequently developed a tailored solution that fully addressed their needs. Regular updates were provided throughout the implementation process, ensuring Samsung’s project team remained well-informed of the project’s progress.

Ascendro managed to keep up with this high demanding project by assigning an experienced multidisciplinary team capable of delivering quality and adapting to the technical requirements. As a result, we have built the release management software that is currently the central knowledge base within Samsung North America for device and service release deployments into the US market.

Technologies used

Yii Framework and LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) for custom development

Balsamiq for wireframes within the product discovery phase

Graphic design, User Experience and User Interface creation for the best look and feel

HTML, CSS, jQuery and Responsive design for graphic design integrations

Selenium IDE for browser automate testing

Redmine as a project management and communication tool

Jenkins for continuous integration and automated deployments

Results

The release management system has provided Samsung with several key business benefits:

• It has significantly reduced the time and effort required for release management, resulting in cost savings.
• The automation of the release process has improved the accuracy and reliability of release data, reducing errors and minimizing the risk of delays. This has resulted in increased revenue generation for Samsung, as now they are able to release products and updates more quickly and efficiently.
• The system has improved the quality of service by providing centralized control and visibility across the release cycle, which has improved customer satisfaction.

Perspective

The Samsung Release Management System was implemented in two overall cycles: an initial proof of concept and a second full application. After the application was deployed and its correct function was ensured over a grace period, we handed the project over to Samsung’s own operation team.
Even though there aren’t yet any prospects for the future, our team is still connected at a business level with former department leads and project managers who were involved in the project.