Case Study

Industry Public Sector
Project Duration since 2023
Team 3 Devs, 1 ReqE/PL

  1. Challenges
  2. Project Journey
  3. Results
Operations & Support Effort reduced from 89% to
Development & Optimization Time improved from 11% to
Waste Reduction Full focus on feature development

LEAN-CODERS has been modernizing the API services of the Vienna Tourism Board since 2023 – a mature system landscape with high technical debt.

Legacy replacement - Quality assurance - Communication & planning structure

The result: a stable, scalable API on wien.info, the IVIE app, and the B2B partner portals running reliably – and a collaboration with WTV and another external IT service provider that is continuously improving.

Challenges

Backend landscapes that have organically grown over the years bring typical challenges.

  • High Technical Debt

    With the growth of the platform, the codebase also expanded – new features and bug fixes became increasingly complex.

  • Test Strategy with Expansion Potential

    The existing tests covered the API basics. Automated safeguarding of the business logic was the next logical step.

  • Requirements Management and Planning Structures

    In rapidly growing teams, the focus is naturally on speed. Together, we established structured processes and roadmap planning.

  • Collaboration and Shared Work Culture

    Every new development partnership takes time. We invested early in shared rhythms and communication formats.

  • Tech Stack Modernization

    The existing stack was pragmatic and suitable for the previous phase. With increasing demands, switching to standards like TypeScript or Keycloak became appealing.

slackpng.png Confluence.png Keycloak.png NestJS.png Postman.png microsoft-teams.png typescript.png prismic.png svelte.png hapi.png apicurio.png microcks.svg openapis.svg Miro.svg Go.svg „Logo von Node.js, das einen stilisierten grünen Würfel mit dem Schriftzug 'Node.js' in schwarzem Text enthält.“ Logo von PostgreSQL mit stilisiertem Elefantenkopf als Symbol.

Project Journey

Assessment & Building Trust

The first step was listening and understanding. We analyzed the system, mapped technical debt, and together with the WTV team created initial structures: clear responsibilities, a revised working mode, optimized Jira processes, and an initial testing concept.

In parallel: building mutual trust – the foundation for everything that followed.

Stabilization & Quality Assurance

Improvement of the Swagger documentation, establishment of a comprehensive testing strategy. Technical debts are made visible, prioritized, and reduced in controlled steps. Symptom treatment becomes structured root cause analysis.

Modernization of the Tech Stack

Migration from JavaScript to TypeScript for more type safety and fewer hard-to-find errors. Optimization of the synchronization logic to the source systems of the data. Introduction of Keycloak as a professional identity service – instead of a self-built auth system in Go.

Gelbe Ente mit Sonnenbrille hält zwei Spielzeugpistolen, darüber der Schriftzug „Pew Pew“.
Partnership & Shared Growth

Establishment of joint planning and communication structures, regular team retrospectives, joint team events. A client-service provider relationship evolves into a true partnership. My Vienna emerges – a sign of the growing trust between the teams.

Scaling & Continuous Improvement

The focus shifts: from operations & support clearly towards development and optimization. The platform is actively expanded with new features, and the budget for further development increases. LEAN-CODERS becomes a strategic partner for the platform's further development.

Results

The clearest result of our work can be seen in the shift in how the team spends its time:

Operation & Support 69% -> 14%

Optimization & Development 31% -> 86%

In 2023, nearly 70% of capacity was spent keeping the system running. By 2025, it will be just 14%. What used to tie up resources now allows for real development.

Stability & Quality

Replacement of existing systems: cleaner architecture, better traceability

PR process introduced: code reviews as standard, no more uncontrolled changes

Tech Stack Modernization

Migration from JavaScript to TypeScript: type safety, fewer hard-to-find errors, more consistent code

Replacement of the self-built Go auth service with Keycloak: professional identity management, maintainable and scalable

Processes & Collaboration

Strong focus on requirements engineering aimed at increasing ticket quality

Roadmap, prioritization, and structured planning established as work standards

Regular retrospectives and team events as part of the shared work culture

Scaling

Team growth from 1.5 to 3.5 LEAN-CODERS employees during the project

Budget for active further development increases – shift from support to feature development

LEAN-CODERS as a strategically integrated partner: free hand in technical decisions

Long-term Partnership

Since 2023 – ongoing. The collaboration with WTV is not a completed project, but a growing partnership.

LEAN-CODERS is not just a technical service provider but has actively contributed to the work culture, planning structure, and communication at WTV.

This is rare – and a true success story.

Christina lives for clear requirements – and is the reason why loose ideas turn into actionable tickets.

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