Building a Fast, Modern Booking System For David Lloyd Clubs
The Challenge
To build a reservation system that could cope with a high number of bookings per second.
David Lloyd Clubs had an old tennis and exercise class booking system. They needed a bespoke modern one that didn’t slow them down. They wanted a system that worked seamlessly online as well as at reception and where you could book everything in one place.
We quickly uncovered the main challenge. Members want to book places at popular classes at the earliest opportunity, so the load on the system is concentrated in a few critical minutes each day when new classes are made available. The performance of the system, therefore, had to be guaranteed to cope during peak booking times.
Our Solution
We assigned a tech lead to performance testing from day one, even while the rest of the team was building the system.
We created comprehensive built-in automated performance tests. That way, we knew early on that capacity of the existing system needed to be significantly enhanced. Because we could test the system at scale, we knew how much capacity every iteration of the software could handle. That way, everyone was confident every step of the way as well as in the final release
The Result
David Lloyd Clubs now has a modern booking system that significantly reduces staff workload and makes their member’s lives easier.
They have complete control over the management of their classes and booking procedures and can tailor the experience to each member.
An early delivery of the core functionality reduced the risk in the project. It also gave us contingency to incorporate new features, exceeding the original specification.
By working closely with David Lloyd Clubs, we understood what they needed. By keeping them involved at every stage, they always felt confident in the outcome, and we were able to roll it out seamlessly.
Club members are delighted that they can now book everything easily in one place.
