SumOfUs

Upgrade and improve Rails application while leveling up in-house team

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Challenge

Upgrade Rails Application, introduce more agile product thinking within team, improve codebase and CI/CD pipeline

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Services

Ruby on Rails, Javascript/Typescript, Team & Process Improvement, DevOps

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Outcome

thoughtbot worked with SumOfUs to upgrade and improve their Rails application, and optimize their CI/CD pipeline all while leveling up the in-house team.

About SumOfUs

SumOfUs is a community of people from around the world committed to curbing the growing power of corporations.

They foster a community that runs campaigns to hold the biggest companies in the world accountable. They use technology to support their internal workflows which include campaign and petition management as well as contact information for their team and community so they can continue to keep individuals informed and engaged.

Screenshots from the SumOfUs Website

Screenshots from the SumOfUs Website

The Challenge

SumOfUs operates via a Rails application, managed by a small in-house product team.

They were looking to bring on a development partner to make more substantial progress on the items in their backlog, remedy current challenges, optimize their code base, and introduce some fresh, product-oriented thinking.

Being familiar with thoughtbot’s playbook and process for delivery, they knew bringing on the thoughtbot team would also introduce improvements to foster a more agile way of working and introduce team mentorship along the way.

SumOfUs Screenshots

SumOfUs Screenshots

The Solution

Rails app upgrade, development processes optimization, and CI/CD pipeline improvements

Given thoughtbot’s expertise in Rails, one of the first items we tackled was upgrading the Rails app to Rails 7 and Ruby 3. As a part of that effort, thoughtbot reviewed the codebase and looked for ways to optimize as a part of the upgrade. Another platform enhancement we highlighted and completed was rolling out improvements to the CI/CD pipeline.

As we moved forward with updates, and new features, we paired closely with the SumOfUs team to discuss the implementation and worked together to address so that they felt more confident managing the platform moving forward.