Case Study: Ingenico Magento extension

Project description

In 2011, Ingenico (formerly Ogone) was looking for a reliable Magento extension partner. We were able to convince by our experience in and comprehensive service portfolio for Magento extensions. Since then, Ingenico is one of our most loyal customers. Apart from the actual development of the Magento extension, we provide wide-ranging support for merchants, developers, and agencies who integrate the module. In addition, we continuously improve the extension and resolve any issues that might occur fast and reliably. This example shows that successful Magento extension implementation requires comprehensive support and regular updates.

Implementation

We are in close contact with Ingenico during the whole development process, emphasizing direct means of contact such as telephone, mail, and Skype. This quickly elucidates questions and tasks, allowing for efficient use of development time. The Ingenico extension is continuously being developed and improved. We resolve bugs and implement new functions into the extension – based on Ingenico’s instructions as well as our suggestions. There are about two or three releases each year.

Since 2016, we develop new features of the Ingenico extension using the agile project management method SCRUM. This includes a bi-weekly presentation of our results via webcast. The new functions are then provided to Ingenico in a staging system for quality control before being released to the public.

Ingenico additionally has access to our internal wiki for better overview and control. Here, our customers find information regarding current contacts, projects, and open tasks for the extension. Ingenico also has access to our ticket system JIRA, allowing them to see and create current sprint plans and tickets.

Challenges

There are always smaller and larger obstacles to overcome when developing extensions that connect an external service to Magento. An example is the subscription manager feature for recurring payments. The challenge lies in connecting Magento and the Ingenico platform with their very disparate requirements. Magento in part required data which the Ingenico platform could not provide, necessitating a lot of individual development.

A further challenge was the implementation of the new PCI-DSS version 3.1 regulation. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards regulate the processing of credit card transactions. The new version required that all payment-relevant data needs to be hosted on the sites or sources of the payment service provider. We needed to significantly change the extension’s process to comply with the regulations, so that the payment forms are not generated in the shop during payment, but rather get pulled from the Ingenico platform.

Extensive documentation

We have created detailed documentation for Ingenico – as for all extensions that we develop. In the beginning, this was formulated and updated by us for Ingenico. Now, we provide Ingenico with the technical details and their team updates the documentation for clients.

Publication

We have also taken over the publication of the extension on Magento Marketplace during the first years of our support for Ingenico. Since 2016, Ingenico has its own Magento Marketplace account. Now, we only provide Ingenico with the completed extension package or new version and assist them with the publication on Magento Marketplace.

Support portal

After publishing an extension for the first time, we begin with what might be the most important tasks in extension development. We start the technical support for the module – in collaboration with the Ingenico customer care team. Simple and smaller problems are solved by the Ingenico team; we competently support extension users in more complicated matters.

The demanding and customizable Magento Shop system makes professional technical support virtually indispensable. This is where we are an essential partner for our customers. Our customers – such as Ingenico – can focus on their core tasks and services thanks to our extension support.

We have established a support portal for the Magento extension to provide online merchants, developers, and agencies with reliable support on setup. Here, most questions are answered in a comprehensive and ever-growing FAQ database. Tickets can be created for individual questions which the FAQ cannot answer; these are replied to within 24 hours by our team.

Optimisation, bug fixing, and compatibility

Bugs and usability problems are immediately reported to us thanks to our direct contact with the extension users. This allows us to quickly respond. We gather these reports and implement solutions after consultation and discussion with Ingenico.

We additionally test whether the current Ingenico extension is compatible with each new Magento release or security patch. If needed, we make the necessary changes.

Impressions