Client

Our client is a US-based IT company serving over 200 local government offices nationwide. Its mission is to cut down on paperwork for government agencies and make interactions with them clear, transparent, and efficient. Originally from Texas, the company has been steadily expanding to other states.

One of the central software systems in the client’s lineup is a tool for managing data, generating reports, and performing analytics designed for tax administration agencies. As the tool’s user base grew, the company required a tech partner to meet the increased customer demands.

Challenge

The client approached us with a marketable data management, reporting, and analytics solution for tax offices. However, having limited in-house resources, they struggled to accommodate the high demand for their product.

By teaming up with us, the client planned to scale up the solution to meet soaring user needs. They also wanted to make technology use easier for tax offices. This involved ensuring that all digital tasks, like extracting data from third-party systems, were simple and consistent.

Our team's primary goal was to streamline data gathering, entry, and processing so the solution could function in a smooth, straightforward manner.

Our cooperation

Our collaboration started in 2018 with a standard outsourcing model. However, as it progressed, our developers became integral to the client’s team.

Sharing tasks and responsibilities

While the product owner was on the client’s side, a large portion of the responsibility for development rested on our shoulders.

As mentioned, the solution’s core functionality focused on data collection and processing for tax calculations. And it was our task to automate all data-related processes, ensuring the smooth operation of this functionality.

However, we weren't alone in this. Our developers collaborated closely with the client every step of the way. Our typical process looked like this:

  1. We drew up a list of issues to be fixed.
  2. The product owner prioritized the tasks.
  3. We implemented the tasks one by one, as discussed.

We also benefited from a favorable time difference with the client: when it was morning for us, it was nighttime for them. This allowed for 24/7 product delivery, a significant advantage for this project.

Staying on the same page with the client’s team

We strongly believe that good communication is vital for success. That's why we maintained regular online meetings with the client's team. Here's what our communication routine involved:

  • Daily calls to keep everyone updated on project progress.
  • Regular technical meetings for developers to discuss technical challenges and brainstorm solutions.
  • Sprint planning sessions to manage tasks for the next sprint.
  • Sprint retrospectives to review what went well and what could be improved.
  • Backlog grooming meetings to review, prioritize, and refine backlog items.

Our team took a proactive approach, always offering valuable comments and recommendations on product development and issue resolution. The client greatly appreciated our input.

Scope of work

Overall, we were involved in 10 subprojects related to taxation in Texas. This included tools to search for tax returns from previous years and view estimated taxes for the next year, solutions for submitting claims to tax offices, and a website for filling amended tax returns online. We handled a range of tasks, with data management as a major focus of our work.

Data management

We managed vast amounts of data, ranging from hundreds of gigabytes to a terabyte, obtained daily from government agencies and registers through public APIs. Our developers downloaded and processed the data and then delivered the output to end-users in the required format. They worked with various databases and data structures used by providers and customers.

Other tasks

We also set up backend processes for data flow and manipulation, including conversion, processing, and storage.

Another task was updating the technology stack. The initial version relied on the outdated .NET Framework, and we upgraded it to .NET 6.

On top of that, we worked with C# for backend development, supported the architecture during product updates, and handled minor frontend tasks.

Results

Our team assisted the client in developing and expanding the solution’s core functionality, with a focus on data management. Here are the main results we achieved:

  • Digitized paperwork and automated essential tasks.
  • Enhanced taxpayer interactions with tax offices by providing clear insights into tax matters, increasing taxpayer awareness.
  • Implemented effective management of data provided by and shown to users.
  • Configured, improved, and maintained data services.