Concerts & Sport Events Ticketing System

Project Overview

Industry: Entertainment & Event Management
Client: German Software House
Duration: January 2000 – October 2005
Scope: Module development and framework design for high volume sports and concerts ticketing platform
Scale: 20 million annual event ticket sales, ~1 million lines of code, 15 developers

Platform Context

A German software house undertook a greenfield modernization project to modernize it’s legacy ticketing infrastructure, which has dominated the German box office market at the time. The new Java-based platform was designed to handle 20 million annual ticket sales across entertainment venues, with sophisticated modules for financial transactions, venue management, box office operations, and customer interactions.

Our Engagement

HSEC contributed to this large-scale platform (~1 million lines of code) by delivering specialized modules and technical frameworks over a 5-year period:

Core Business Modules:

  • Finance Module - Accounting, revenue management
  • Callcenter Module - customer service interfaces
  • Box Office Module - In-person ticket sales and venue operations
  • Auditorium Plans Module - Venue seating management and visualization

Technical Frameworks:

  • 2D-CAD Component - Custom graphical editor for auditorium layout input (led development, built complete solution, handed to maintenance)
  • Swing/HTML Client Framework - Unified framework facilitating interaction between Java Swing desktop clients, HTML web clients, and EJB server components

Additional Contributions:

  • Project management consulting
  • Performance optimization
  • Production support for delivered modules

Development Approach

Methodology

All modules developed following Rational Unified Process (RUP) with:

  • UML modeling - Together/J, Together Control Center for design
  • Object-oriented design - Design patterns, OOA, OOD
  • Iterative development - Incremental delivery with stakeholder feedback
  • Quality assurance - JUnit, WinRunner, custom testing tools, user acceptance testing

Performance Engineering

Systematic performance optimization using:

  • JProbe Profiler - Java performance analysis and bottleneck identification
  • Eclipse Profiler - Memory and CPU profiling
  • Caching strategies - Strategic data caching for high-volume operations
  • Load testing - Validation of concurrent user capacity

Module Delivery Lifecycle

Each module followed consistent delivery pattern:

  1. Analysis & Design - UML modeling, architecture documentation
  2. Implementation - J2EE/EJB development on BEA Weblogic or JBoss
  3. Testing - Unit tests (JUnit), integration tests, user acceptance
  4. Handover to Maintenance - Complete documentation and knowledge transfer
  5. Ongoing Support - Production support for delivered modules

Delivered Modules & Frameworks

1. Finance Module

Scope: Complete financial transaction management
Technologies: J2EE, EJB, Oracle 9i, SSL
Deliverables:

  • Payment processing logic
  • Revenue accounting and reconciliation
  • Financial reporting interfaces
  • Secure transaction handling
  • Integration with payment gateways

2. Callcenter Module

Scope: ticket sales and customer service
Technologies: J2EE, Servlets, JSP
Deliverables:

  • Customer service representative interfaces
  • Real-time seat availability queries
  • Customer account management
  • Call logging and reporting

3. Box Office Module

Scope: In-person ticket sales at venue locations
Technologies: Java Swing, J2EE, EJB, Java WebStart
Deliverables:

  • Desktop application for box office staff
  • Point-of-sale ticket printing
  • Cash/card payment handling
  • Venue seating visualization
  • Real-time inventory synchronization

4. Auditorium Plans Module: 2D-CAD Component (Custom Graphical Editor)

Scope: Venue seating configuration and management
Technologies: Java2D, Swing, XML (DOM, SAX), EJB, custom rendering engine
Deliverables:

  • Interactive venue layout editor
  • Seating plan visualization
  • Seat placement and configuration tools
  • Seat categorization and pricing zones
  • Accessibility seating management
  • Integration with ticketing inventory
  • Custom 2D drawing framework
  • Export/import of venue definitions (XML)
  • Built from scratch, handed over to maintenance team, provided ongoing support

5. Swing/HTML Client Framework

Scope: Unified framework for client-server communication
Technologies: Java Swing, Servlets, JSP, EJB, XML, HTTP
Deliverables:

  • Abstract communication layer supporting both Swing desktop and HTML web clients
  • Session management across client types
  • Data serialization/deserialization
  • Error handling and retry logic
  • Enabled development teams to write client-agnostic business logic

Technical Achievements

Platform Success

Our modules contributed to an internationally-used ticketing system handling:

  • 20 million annual ticket sales across entertainment venues worldwide
  • High-volume concurrent operations during peak sales periods
  • 24/7 system availability for global venue operations

Module Contributions

Finance Module:

  • Comprehensive financial reporting capabilities

Callcenter & Box Office Modules:

  • Fast, responsive user interfaces for sales staff
  • Real-time seat availability and inventory management
  • Seamless integration with venue operations

2D-CAD Auditorium Editor:

  • Complete custom solution - designed, built, and delivered graphical editor from scratch
  • Intuitive interface for creating complex venue layouts
  • Flexible seating configuration supporting various venue types
  • Successfully handed over to maintenance team with comprehensive documentation
  • Provided ongoing production support

Performance Optimization

  • Systematic profiling with JProbe and Eclipse Profiler
  • Database query optimization on Oracle 9i
  • Caching strategies for high-frequency operations
  • Concurrent transaction handling without overselling incidents

Client Testimonial

Original (German)

“Der IT-Spezialist war maßgeblich an der erfolgreichen Umsetzung unseres Ticketing-Systems beteiligt. Seine Aufgaben bestanden im Entwurf und der Implementierung wesentlicher Teile der Applikation sowie in der Mitarbeit im Projektmanagement-Team. Er hat fundierte und breite Kenntnisse in allen Bereichen der Softwareentwicklung. Sein kompetentes und verbindliches Auftreten im Umgang mit Führungskräften, Kunden und Kollegen hat ihn zum allseits geschätzten Partner gemacht. Bei der Erarbeitung neuer Lösungen bewies er Kreativität und Flexibilität. Wir haben den IT-Spezialisten als stets zuverlässigen, fleißigen und gewissenhaften Mitarbeiter kennen gelernt.”

— Development Manager, German Software House (120 employees)

Translation

“The IT specialist was instrumental in the successful implementation of our ticketing system. His responsibilities included the design and implementation of essential parts of the application as well as participation in the project management team. He has solid and broad knowledge in all areas of software development. His competent and reliable approach in dealing with executives, customers, and colleagues made him a universally valued partner. In developing new solutions, he demonstrated creativity and flexibility. We came to know the IT specialist as a consistently reliable, diligent, and conscientious team member.”

Project Management Consulting

  • Contributed to project management activities
  • Requirements analysis and stakeholder collaboration
  • Technical risk identification and mitigation

Technology Expertise

  • J2EE/EJB architecture on BEA Weblogic and JBoss
  • Java2D graphics for custom UI components
  • Oracle 9i database design and optimization
  • RUP methodology with UML modeling
  • Performance engineering with profiling tools

Technologies & Tools

Application Platform

  • BEA Weblogic (multiple versions) - Primary application server
  • JBoss - Alternative application server deployment
  • Oracle 9i - Enterprise database platform
  • Windows 2000/NT/XP - Development and deployment
  • Linux - Server deployment

Java Technologies

  • Java - Core programming language
  • J2EE - Enterprise Java platform
  • EJB (Enterprise JavaBeans) - Server-side business logic
  • Servlets & JSP - Web application components
  • Java Swing - Desktop UI framework
  • Java2D - 2D graphics and custom rendering
  • Java WebStart - Desktop application deployment
  • JDBC & SQL - Database connectivity
  • XML (DOM, SAX) - Data interchange and configuration
  • SSL - Secure communications
  • VPN - Network security

Development Tools

  • Together/J, Together Control Center - UML modeling and design
  • Eclipse - Primary IDE
  • JBuilder Enterprise - Alternative IDE
  • ANT - Build automation
  • CVS - Version control

Quality & Performance

  • JUnit - Unit testing framework
  • WinRunner - Automated testing
  • Custom testing tools - Specialized validation
  • User acceptance testing - Stakeholder validation
  • JProbe Profiler - Java performance analysis
  • Eclipse Profiler - Memory and CPU profiling

Methodology

  • Rational Unified Process (RUP) - Software development framework
  • Unified Modeling Language (UML) - Design documentation
  • Design Patterns - Proven architectural solutions
  • OOA/OOD - Object-oriented analysis and design