Yardstick’s original platform, first launched in 2012, served the business well in its early years. But with a growing user base and more complex requirements, the system faced increasing demand for an upgrade and a rethink of its workflows.
The design was not mobile friendly and lacked offline surveying, a critical feature for intercept surveys in the field. At the same time, the database architecture relied on a relational structure that required complex custom queries. This slowed performance, made debugging difficult and limited scalability. Together, these challenges highlighted the need for a modernised platform that could meet the evolving needs of the parks and recreation sector worldwide.
In 2024, Hello Better partnered with Yardstick Global to build the version 2 of the platform.
Hello Better delivered a complete refresh of the platform, reimagining it as a SaaS product with powerful new capabilities, including white-labelling for partner organisations.
At the core, we introduced a brand-new data architecture, moving from a relational database to a document-based model. This shift replaced hundreds of complex queries with just a handful of straightforward ones, making the system faster, more stable and easier to manage.
To further improve performance, we built a caching mechanism that renders reports significantly faster, while a new reporting engine was designed with a completely reworked algorithm. This engine introduced Excel-like functionality, allowing auditors to apply mathematical formulas and edit calculations directly when designing reports and surveys.
The platform was also rebuilt to support offline usage, enabling intercept surveys in the field with QR codes and short URLs for quick access. Combined with a streamlined mobile-friendly design, Yardstick now empowers professionals to collect, manage and analyse data with greater efficiency, accuracy and speed.
