Employee-Data Word Plugin Integration
C#
.NET
Angular
Azure
MongoDB
Terraform
Docker
Employee-Data Word Plugin Integration — Coop Group (Switzerland)
Delivered a secure, full-stack data bridge for Officeatwork — designed, built & deployed solo in just four weeks.
- Date: 4-week build in 2023 · ongoing enhancements 2023-2025
- Roles: Solution Architect · Full-Stack Developer · DevOps
- Team size: 1
- Customer: Coop Group (Switzerland)
- Core Stack:
Backend: C# · .NET 6 · ASP.NET Web API · LDAP
Frontend: Angular · Tailwind
Cloud/DevOps: Azure Web Apps · Virtual Network · MongoDB · Terraform IaC · Docker · Azure DevOps CI/CD
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1. Problem
Coop’s HR Word-template plugin (Officeatwork) required live employee data. The existing LDAP directory was read-only and could not handle per-user overrides, leading to manual work-arounds and data inaccuracies.
2. Solution Overview
I built an end-to-end data-integration service with override workflow:
| Service | Purpose | Key Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Employee API | Expose LDAP data + overrides to Officeatwork | ASP.NET Web API · Azure Web Apps |
| Override UI | Allow authorised users to edit specific fields | Angular · Azure AD |
| Sync & Snapshot | Detect LDAP changes, expire overrides | Cronjob · MongoDB |
| Infra as Code | Repeatable, one-click deploy | Terraform · Docker |
Security: Private VNet peered to Coop intranet; Azure AD authentication & role-based override permissions.
3. Impact
- Shipped MVP to production in 4 weeks, passing all acceptance tests at first attempt.
- Enabled dynamic templates for 8 000 + employees, eliminating manual copy-paste workflows.
- Maintained > 90 % unit-test coverage (TDD) and zero production rollbacks.
- Continued paid enhancement requests for 3 years, demonstrating long-term customer trust.
4. My Contributions
Architected the entire solution; implemented backend, UI and Terraform pipelines; introduced TDD (> 90 % coverage); mediated between Coop & Officeatwork to resolve plugin bugs; led stakeholder workshops & demos.
5. Key Challenges & Mitigations
| Challenge | Mitigation & Result |
|---|---|
| Read-only LDAP but needing overrides | Snapshot + MongoDB overlay → non-invasive writes |
| Stale overrides after LDAP updates | Nightly diff job → auto-invalidate outdated data |
| Solo delivery under 4-week deadline | TDD + CI/CD pipelines → bug-free first release |
| Vendor plugin bugs | Direct liaison with Officeatwork → patches in 48 h |
6. Architecture Diagram
