The Challenge

I took over maintenance of Findologic's Search and Navigation Plugin for Shopware when Shopware 6 was still in RC (release candidate). The plugin had basic functionality but lacked production-grade quality, comprehensive testing, and proper CI/CD infrastructure.

Critical Pain Points

  • No automated testing infrastructure or code coverage
  • Plugin needed to support rapidly evolving Shopware 6 platform from RC through multiple releases
  • Manual release process prone to errors and inconsistencies
  • Enterprise clients requiring production-grade reliability and support
  • Open-source community expectations for quality and documentation

The goal was to achieve production-grade quality with comprehensive test coverage, establish automated CI/CD pipelines, and maintain compatibility across multiple Shopware 6 releases as the platform matured from RC to stable production versions.

The Solution

I rebuilt the plugin with a test-first approach, implementing comprehensive testing infrastructure and establishing professional development practices that transformed it into a production-grade enterprise solution used by major e-commerce operations.

Rock-Solid Reliability for Enterprise Stores

Every line of code is tested before it reaches your store. When Findologic releases an update, you can install it confidently knowing it has been validated against real-world scenarios and edge cases.

Rapid Bug Fixes and Feature Releases

Automated release pipelines mean bug fixes and new features ship in minutes, not days. When issues are found, they get fixed and deployed quickly without manual intervention slowing things down.

Works Across All Shopware 6 Versions

Whether you are on an older Shopware 6 version or the latest release, the plugin stays compatible. Upgrade your platform when you are ready, knowing your search integration will not break.

Transparent Development and Community Support

The plugin is open source with clear documentation and responsive issue tracking. If you hit a problem, you can see what is being worked on and when fixes are coming.

Results & Business Impact

Production-Grade Quality Achieved

Plugin transformed from RC-quality code to enterprise-grade solution with 100% test coverage, serving major e-commerce operations with confidence and reliability.

Automated Release Process

CI/CD pipelines reduced release cycle from days to minutes, with automated testing catching issues before deployment and ensuring consistent quality across releases.

Platform Evolution Support

Successfully maintained compatibility across multiple Shopware 6 versions from RC to 6.4, adapting to platform changes while preserving backward compatibility.

Community Engagement

Established active open-source community with comprehensive documentation, responsive issue handling, and professional development practices that became a model for Shopware plugin development.

Technologies Used

Shopware 5 Shopware 6 PHP 8 Symfony PHPUnit GitHub Actions CI/CD REST APIs

Project Details

Industry
E-commerce / Search Technology
Location
Austria
Project Type
Feature Development & Support
Duration
3-year contract (ended Feb 2022)

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