Softjourn

Ticketmaster: How Xamarin Benefits Ticket Scanning Apps

In the search for a less expensive and time-consuming ticket-scanning app, Ticketmaster approached Softjourn about investigating whether Xamarin mobile app development would fit its needs.
ABOUT THE CLIENT:
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Project:Ticket Scanning Application Development
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Industry:Ticketing
Date_iconClient since:
2016
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Headquarters:London, UK
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Technologies:
The Challenge

The client became concerned by the ongoing maintenance associated with supporting two native codebases and SDK updates. There was also a high cost in employing in-house iOS and Android developers.

The Solution

Wanting to find a less expensive, less time-consuming approach, Ticketmaster asked Softjourn to investigate whether Xamarin would meet its needs. Softjourn researched the cost of building a solution using Xamaring and if the benefits of using cross-platform solution outweigh the potential downsides.

The Result

After thorough research, our client was presented with the results and decided to continue working with Softjourn on developing an effective and reliable ticket-scanning application. 

The Challenge

For years, Ticketmaster has been using native iOS and Android ticket-scanning apps to scan barcodes. 

Over time, they became concerned by the ongoing maintenance associated with supporting two native codebases and SDK updates. There was also a high cost in employing in-house iOS and Android developers.

Softjourn has worked with ticketing and event management companies for almost 20 years, delivering a wide range of projects at both the functional and system levels. 

With our ticketing expertise and experience working with ticket scanner apps, we knew our experts could develop an effective solution using Xamarin for Ticketmaster.

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“200,000 tickets scanned within the first few months of beta testing with the Xamarin app. The response from our clients was really good. They compared the Xamarin scanning solution with their proprietary in-house ticket scanning app, and they saw a much-improved performance."

Ticketmaster’s Product Manager

The Solution

Phase 1: Project Analysis and Prototype Development

Ticketmaster wanted to know if Xamarin could deliver results while sharing code across platforms. 

Once Softjourn had the full application scope, they began to investigate if Xamarin would meet Ticketmaster’s needs. Softjourn proposed creating a prototype, requiring only a short amount of time and minimum resources. 

With a prototype, Ticketmaster could visualize the ticket scanning solution. It would help them decide on whether to proceed with a full-fledged app — or not.

Softjourn set a five-week timeline to create a prototype to show that Xamarin could work with a Linea-Pro device, Janam device, or a bring-your-own-device’s built-in camera for ticket validation. For Xamarin to meet Ticketmaster’s needs, Softjourn had to develop custom components to produce the same look and feel across all platforms.

The prototype showed that Xamarin was viable. Even though there were some UI and design limitations, Softjourn demonstrated that a Xamarin-developed ticket scanning app would require less maintenance than the native applications Ticketmaster was using. 

Softjourn also proved that Xamarin could be effectively supported by Ticketmaster's .NET team when there was a need for new features. These two factors significantly reduced both operational costs and required maintenance time. 

Softjourn’s prototype for ticket software development included:

  • Built-in camera ticket-scanning on iOS and Android devices
  • Ticket scanning via a Linea-Pro barcode scanner
  • Ticket scanning via one of Janam’s rugged Android devices

With Softjourn’s prototype, Ticketmaster could make an informed decision about moving forward with a full app development project. 

 

The Benefits

 

Phase 2: Ticket Scanning App Development

With the prototype completed, Ticketmaster gave Softjourn the green light to move forward with developing the ticket-scanning app using Xamarin. The development project took just over one month to complete. Softjourn implemented Ticketmaster’s design and workflow to ensure consistency and a high-quality user experience. 

Building basic app features and the following functionality that would support online scanning: 

  • Ability to run on iOS and Android, as well as Janam XM70 rugged handheld units
  • Initialization and setup
  • Login and authentication
  • Scanner association
  • Set venue
  • Set entrance
  • Entry, exit, and history
  • Recall the last scan

Phase 3: Adding Offline Scanning Functionality

After the successful development of the initial app, Ticketmaster asked Softjourn to develop an offline scanning mode functionality. With offline scanning mode, ticket scanning can continue even when the internet or network connectivity is lost. 

Scanned ticket data is stored in the device’s local memory. When connectivity is restored, the data is sent to a server, which updates the database.

 

 

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The Result

Offline mode is crucial to Ticketmaster’s clients as event organizers don’t want to create a poor patron experience by having to hold up admittance when network connectivity goes down. That way, we helped our client offer frictionless entry flow for all of their patrons and supported their development and growth. 

If you have a ticketing project, we can help you with - contact us!

Partnership & Recognition

Softjourn's IAOP 100 award
Intix Member
Microsoft Gold Partner
Xamarin Authorized Consulting Partner
Monax Parntership
Softjourn in the Inc. 5000 list

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