Testfast

Introduction‍

As the COVID-19 pandemic pushed global health systems to their limits, Germany faced an urgent need for efficient testing centers. Testfast emerged as a pivotal player, making a significant impact in crisis management. Through Testfast, we streamlined the testing process for both testing center staff and clients, leading to increased testing capacities. Despite early entrants in the market before daily COVID-19 tests became mandatory, our market research identified considerable room for improvement among existing providers.

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The Process: Simplicity Meets Efficiency‍

It all starts with a QR code scanned by the client's smartphone, directing them to a booking page. Here, basic details like name, email, address, and date of birth are captured. Post data entry, Testfast allows clients to promptly schedule a test center appointment and, if desired, later send the test result to the "Corona Warn App". Once tested, results can be effortlessly accessed online via smartphone.

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Challenges & Solutions:

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Mobile Accessibility & User-friendliness

Many existing software solutions were primarily desktop-oriented, making them impractical for mobile testing centers housed in vans, tents, or office containers. Additionally, many had user interfaces that were anything but user-friendly.

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Solution

Adopting a "Mobile First" approach and leveraging UI/UX best practices, we crafted a web app offering top-notch user experiences on both desktops and mobile devices. Its intuitive design catered even to less tech-savvy users. The "Mobile First" strategy was a no-brainer, given many operators' preference for mobiles over laptops due to their ease of use and reduced dependency on power sources. Especially for mobile testing centers in tents, storing and charging laptops posed challenges.

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Scalability & Email Reliability

Political decisions led to unpredictable spikes in test volume. This not only tested the technical infrastructure but also resulted in email test results being blocked by spam filters due to high email volume.

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Solution

Thanks to a scalable infrastructure based on AWS Docker containers, our software consistently performed regardless of user numbers. To sidestep email issues, we integrated multiple dedicated IPs, domains, and multiple email providers. We also employed whitelabeling and validated emails to ensure their existence and check for full inboxes.

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Features

Customer feedback was always at the heart of our development strategy. Regular dialogues with testing center operators enabled us to implement features aligning with actual user needs.

Multilingual Booking Page: Clients can input personal data, book a test appointment, and choose to transmit the test result to the Corona Warning App and Luca App. Data can be saved for easier future check-ins.
Notifications: Automated emails with appointment confirmations, cancellation options, and test result links.
Thermal Printer Integration: QR code generation for quick test result access and re-check-ins.
PDF Test Result Generator: Creation of official test results with all pertinent data.
Automatic Transmission: Positive test results are auto-sent to the relevant authority.
Access Management: Control over which staff can access which data.
Statistics & Export Functions: Easy test billing with the relevant authorities.

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Technical Details

Developing a scalable system that remained robust regardless of user numbers and rapidly introducing new features were our biggest challenges. Our software was crafted using cutting-edge technologies like React, Blitz.js, and Node.js, hosted on the AWS infrastructure.

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Conclusion

With Testfast, we didn't just fill a market gap but also simplified the testing process for thousands in Germany. Our solution underscores how technology and innovation can respond to pressing societal challenges.