Leipzig, July 23, 2024 – Appsfactory, a leading specialist in digital transformation, has developed and implemented StandortTOOL 2.0 on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) and the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure under the umbrella of NOW GmbH. The tool serves as a nationwide planning platform for charging infrastructure and supports municipalities and investors in the construction and expansion of charging stations for electric vehicles.
"We are pleased that with StandortTOOL 2.0 we can make an important contribution to accelerating the expansion of the charging infrastructure in Germany," says Dr. Alexander Trommen, CEO of Appsfactory. "The tool is a valuable instrument for municipalities, investors and all other stakeholders who are committed to electromobility and sustainable future planning in Germany."
"StandortTOOL 2.0 is a comprehensive and user-friendly tool that will significantly simplify the planning of charging infrastructure in Germany," says Felix Steck, Team Leader Planning at the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure. "The tool provides valuable insights into the current status of the charging infrastructure and helps to identify suitable locations for new charging stations."
A Central Platform for Planning Charging Infrastructure
StandortTOOL is a web-based platform based on an interactive map and various graphics. These show the current status of the charging infrastructure in Germany and offer numerous filter options that users can adjust according to their individual needs. Currently, around 12 million data sets are being processed. The tech stack behind StandortTOOL for the high-performance processing of the data hosted on Amazon Web Services uses Java, SQL, Vue.js and TerraForm, among other things.
Comprehensive Functions for a User-Friendly Application
Appsfactory is responsible for the design, implementation of user acceptance tests, development and quality assurance, as well as the initial hosting of the web application in a total of five work packages - two of which have already been completed. In the design process in work package 1, the user flows and user stories were defined based on a comprehensive customer briefing. The conception of the flows was carried out in close coordination with the customer and was based on detailed wireframes. The navigation structure of the website was carefully developed to enable intuitive user guidance. Appsfactory created the User Experience (UX) for all agreed screens, including the interactive map with filter options, the graphical representations with filters, the content pages, the FAQ area and the news section. Based on these screens, the User Interface (UI) was designed to ensure an attractive and user-friendly interface.
Extensive User Acceptance Tests for an Optimal User Experience
In order to guarantee the user-friendliness of StandortTOOL, Appsfactory conducted two User Acceptance Tests (UAT) with different target groups. More than 20 participants were interviewed. The contents of the test sessions were evaluated in close cooperation with the customer. Based on the feedback received, the user experience (UX) and the user interface (UI) could be improved and adapted.
Challenges Mastered
The challenges of the project included working in the Amazon Warehouse environment and using a customer-side data warehouse. The goal of the second work package was to provide the tool by the BMDV charging infrastructure conference. The two work packages have resulted in a stable, user-friendly and efficient tool for planning the charging infrastructure in Germany.
More information about StandortTOOL 2.0 can be found on the official website: https://standorttool.de/
