What is Pianola?

The 1-Sentence Description

Pianola is a framework that enables the rapid development of browser-based, tailor-made administration software.

Let’s break this down:

A Framework

Pianola is not a piece of software, but a collection of tools that makes developing software easier. It is based on a set of opinions of what every administration software and its element components should be capable of.

Developing an application with Pianola still requires coding knowledge - at the time of writing, this means knowledge of the php framework Laravel.

Knowledge of JavaScript is not a prerequisite for creating applications with the framework, but is a prerequisite for developers working “under the hood” on the core front-end application, as the latter is built in Vue.js.

Rapid Development

Pianola’s primary aim is to shorten the path from idea to iteration by pre-defining an app's basic functionality, providing a pre-built set of components, and transferring the configuration to a graphical user interface (GUI).

While Pianola aims to cut down on the amount of code needed to program an application (and thereby aims to reduce the learning curve), it should not be understood as a “no-code/low-code” application at the time of writing, as knowledge of back-end programming (in Laravel) is required.

However, the roadmap of Pianola is charted with a low-code paradigm in mind, and the long-term aim is to allow developers to implement an increasing set of features without having to code in other languages.

Browser-based

Pianola is a web application framework, i.e. the resulting application is not a piece of stand-alone software, but an application that can be opened in any modern browser.

This has the advantage of allowing Pianola applications to be accessed without any prior installation and from any location.

While Pianola creates applications with a “desktop-first” approach - meaning that they are optimised for their primary use in an office context with full screens - it also aims to make them fully responsive, allowing them to be opened on mobile devices and tablets.

2-Factor-Authentication is a core element of Pianola applications and can be activated with a simple switch in the configuration options.

Tailor-made

Pianola has opinions of how an admin application should work in general but makes no assumptions about the specifics of the business logic of the organisations that end up using it.

In other words, Pianola is not a fully-baked, off-the-shelf solution which can be used by companies straight away. It does, however, help create applications that are geared precisely towards the needs of the organisation; nothing more, nothing less.

By trying to identify features that every application needs, but allowing enough flexibility to configure the rest, it tries to strike an optimal balance. A balance which avoids reinventing the wheel with each application, but also avoids dictating to an organisation how it should work.

Read more in the next section about the role that Pianola tries to play in the tailor-made vs off-the-shelf dichotomy.

Administration Software

The primary audience for Pianola applications is the back-office staff of companies and organisations.

Pianola creates applications that allow an organisation’s employees to

interact with databases:

• create, read, update and delete data via form-based interfaces
• query data to return specific data sets
• export data for further use outside the application (e.g. Excel or Word)

trigger automations:

• manipulate this data in large numbers (e.g. assigning values to specific data sets)
• execute mass processes based on this data (e.g. mailings)

Pianola was originally developed to cater for the needs of the clients of Ballet Mécanique - these clients are typically cultural institutions with between 5 and 30 employees. However, Pianola’s use is not restricted to clients in the cultural or event domains, but can be envisaged for any organisation that needs a flexible way to manage and act upon its data.