Ecologineers Review

The Ecologineers system provides a web application for users to query the Wattdepot database for carbon intensity readings. Readings for each hour are returned with a rating of red, yellow, or green assigned. Based on these readings, users are able to make decisions regarding their electrical usage. My job was to perform a review of the Ecologineers system. My full review of the system can be found here.

I found that the overall functionality of the system was good. The system met the functional specifications. It returns the reading and rating of a specified day's carbon intensity in hourly increments. A UserGuide, DeveloperGuide, and ReleaseNotes were provided on the project website. The design and implementation is good, however, the visual aspect of the web application could be improved. A more visually appealing user interface could be implemented which would greatly improve the web interface. There were a few bugs in the system such as entering a year that is far in the past or a year in the future. The testing implemented seems to only check "happy paths". Adding tests that check bad input and the functionality of the web application would further ensure the quality of the system. The Ecologineers team did a good job of not letting the system stay in a failed state for a long period of time. The "health" of the system was moderate. The group seems to be functioning ok, however, it may benefit from starting earlier on the development of the project. This could help improve the project's "health" by raising the churn and commit statistics.