Real-Time NotificationsEngagement & API performance at Edcast
My first real lesson in the difference between a feature that exists and a feature people notice.
The problem
The learning platform had no real-time channel to its users, and the API layer had accumulated the usual debt — N+1 queries, chatty service calls, and a test suite thin enough that regressions shipped.
The approach
I built the notification system from inception — real-time delivery plus an ActionMailer module for personalised email. On performance I reworked the web-service calls through services and middleware in the MVC architecture, and used eager loading to collapse the query patterns. I brought in RSpec and test-driven development for the new code.
The outcome
User engagement up 20%, API response time down 30%, query execution time down 50%, and bug incidents down 25% once TDD was in place. Email open rates rose 15% from personalisation. Recognised with the Rising Star award.