Dockyard: From staging environment to client demo platform

Our software engineers, Milica Koprena, Magdalena Šljivić, and Maja Đajić prepared a presentation about the Dockyard demo environment, our internal business management platform.

It all started as a project within our DevOps guild, where we focused on improving the staging environment (Staging 2.0). Later, when a client expressed interest, we created Demo 1.0 to showcase the app.

Internal business process management platform

As part of our recent engagement with a potential client, we prepared a tailored demo of our Dockyard business process management platform.

The primary objective was to provide the client with a fully functional environment they could freely access and experiment with, while maintaining strict safeguards to ensure security and protect sensitive data.

Fully accessible demo environment

The goal was to provide the client with a secure demo environment where they could log in, explore, and test the application – without exposing any sensitive or internal information.

To achieve this, we implemented a dedicated infrastructure setup inspired by practices shared within our DevOps demo environment setup, utilizing technologies such as Podman, AWS CDK, Ansible, Caddy etc. Key steps included:

• Isolating authentication and access settings specifically for test accounts to ensure data and user privacy.
• Leveraging existing test data from Dockyard while applying data anonymization techniques to protect sensitive information.
• A full UI/UX redesign across all five Dockyard applications, ensuring a unified and polished look and feel.
• Introducing a new feature tailored for the demo: dashboard visualizations with business statistics, separately available for admin and regular user roles.
• Demonstrating seamless integrations with external platforms like Google Calendar and Gmail, showcasing real-world workflow compatibility.

From Staging 2.0 to Demo 1.0

This approach enabled us to deliver a fully functional Dockyard demo platform within a tight deadline while prioritizing security and user experience.

It was a real test of how quickly we could adapt our platform to a client-specific use case – from setting up a dedicated environment and anonymizing data, to redesigning the UI and integrating new features.

For more insights on demo platforms, staging environments, and business process management solutions, explore our blog section.