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Lycopodium

How Ribbon Gang helped Lycopodium evolve from legacy software to a mobile-first digital rail management system, seven years after building the original.

Custom Platform Development

Engineering

Python 3.10
Django
Flask

LYCOPODIUM
Rail Infrastructure Maintenance Management System (RIMMS)

01. What

Ribbon Gang has worked alongside Lycopodium for over seven years, having originally built the MMS (Maintenance Management System) that underpinned their rail infrastructure operations. Our long-term partnership evolved from ongoing feature development and maintenance into a full-scale digital transformation engagement, modernising the entire platform to create the new RIMMS solution: a secure, scalable and mobile-optimised system to power rail asset management across Australia.

02. How

The Challenge:

The original MMS platform, though powerful, had been built using Python 2.7 and Web2py — technologies that were no longer secure or supported. As the industry and technology evolved, Lycopodium required a future-proof system to handle increasing operational demands, compliance standards, and workforce expectations.

Why Ribbon Gang:

As the original developers of MMS and trusted technology partners for over seven years, Ribbon Gang had deep institutional knowledge of the platform, its users, and its business requirements. Lycopodium turned to us again, this time to lead the rebuild and elevate the product for the next generation.

Constraints:

  • Maintain continuity for users throughout the rebuild
  • Transition to Python 3.10 and a modern framework (Django/Flask)
  • Re-architect the platform for modularity, mobile use, and future enhancements
  • Deliver a minimum viable product in ~18 weeks

03. Our Approach

Our approach balanced continuity with innovation. Leveraging our familiarity with the original system, we worked closely with Lycopodium to map out existing workflows, identify opportunities for optimisation, and reimagine the user experience for today’s workforce, especially field staff who needed mobile-first tools.

Tools & Techniques:

  • Python 3.10
  • Django or Flask (recommended upgrade paths)
  • Figma for UX/UI mockups
  • Agile Scrum delivery over defined sprints
  • Custom feature development including Rules Engine, Asset Visualisation, Rostering, and Reporting modules

Creative Highlights:

  • Built a fully responsive and modular user interface to support both desktop and mobile workflows
  • Designed an extensible architecture for easy integration of future capabilities
  • Created intuitive dashboards and visual task management for on-site users

We’ve trusted Ribbon Gang with our rail infrastructure platform for nearly a decade. They understand our business, our teams, and our technology better than anyone.

Execution Highlights

Deliverables:

  • Detailed UX/UI mockups for desktop and mobile (Login, Tasks, Inspections, Dashboards)
  • Modernised feature set covering authentication, scheduling, work orders, reporting, notifications, customer management, and asset configuration
  • Full technical architecture documentation and phased implementation roadmap
  • Flexible resourcing options based on Lycopodium’s internal capabilities
  • Custom development estimates for every module, including risk-based contingency planning

Unexpected Wins:

  • Our longstanding relationship allowed for faster decision-making and seamless collaboration
  • End users responded positively to early prototypes, helping us improve mobile UX even before development
  • The new rules engine simplified complex backend logic that had previously required manual intervention

05. Results & Outcomes

  • Transitioned from a legacy codebase to a scalable and secure architecture
  • Delivered a future-ready MVP specification with robust mobile-first functionality
  • Reestablished system confidence across field teams, operations, and senior stakeholders
  • Reinforced Ribbon Gang’s position as Lycopodium’s long-term digital transformation partner

Ribbon Gang respectfully acknowledges the people of the Wiradjuri, Gadigal, and Kulin Nations as the traditional custodians of the land on which our company operates. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

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