SendMyReminder

Logical Developers LLC
New York, NY USA

The SendMyReminder application was developed by Logical Developer LLC for both internal use and use by the general public.

SendMyReminder allows registrants to create a one-time or recurring alert for an upcoming event that he or she would like to be reminded of. Similar to the calendar feature in Microsoft Outlook, users can track and add new contacts and groups using this application. Users can also schedule events for themselves and invite other user contacts. Reminders are sent by email or by Short Message Service (SMS) to a cell phone.

The user begins by registering on the SendMyreminder.com website. A Captcha-enabled registration form prompts the user to enter their name, email address, password and cell phone number (optional). Next, an automated email is sent to the registered email address requesting verification. Once confirmed, the user can add reminders to the application by filling in the date, time, and description of each event. They may also specify their preferred alert method, either email or SMS.

The user can add a single contact or a group of contacts to their account in order to schedule and send event reminders. Contacts must authorize receipt of email from SendMyReminder.com to enroll.

Users can login to schedule reminders for various events.

Application size and scope

One Microsoft SQL Server database comprises 12 tables and two views, the largest table is the called "Reminders" and contains 280 records to date. The application contains approximately 30 web pages which are accessed by 160 users. Since we just launched this website, we expect the user base to grow to more than 1,000 by the end of next month.

The project

It took me six weeks, working part-time, to implement this project using Iron Speed Designer.

Code extensions and customizations

The SendMyReminder application contains approximately 250 lines of custom code. The major customizations included:

	Custom "Lost Password" function.
	Automated workflow emails with encrypted verification URLs.
	Combining date input and time dropdown into single datetime field upon saving of record.

The code customization took approximately three weeks of the development time.

In addition to in-house code customization, I incorporated a free third-party tool called Captcha. Captcha is short for "completely automated public Turing test to tell computers and humans apart" and is the most popular technique used to prevent computer programs from sending requests to Web servers.

Page layout customizations

I used the standard Shasta design theme in Iron Speed Designer. On the public pages, I added some text and graphics in a few custom styles. I also applied a custom header and two custom control buttons to the standard Iron Speed Designer sign-in page.

Iron Speed Designer impact

Using Iron Speed Designer saved me more than six weeks of development time, and easily $8,000 in development costs! We anticipate an increased amount of savings over time as we continue to enhance the application.

Next steps

In the future, I plan to add several new features to the SendMyReminder application. I am also working to launch a related website for project management.

Visit SendMyReminder.com

About the developer

Paul Modiano has been working in software development and IT for over 18 years. As the former CTO of UpdateThis.com Inc., he has spent 12 years managing software projects. He is currently the President of Logical Developers LLC, a web application development company and application service provider.