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From local build to live release: Sibonelo Mdluli’s year of shipping real systems
Introduction
Software Development Intern Sibonelo Mdluli joined the DUT AppFactory in July 2025 to gain practical experience in software development. Just over a year later, the M&D Submission System he helped build has gone live for DUT students and staff, while he continues contributing to the development of the university’s Travel Application system.
There is a moment every developer remembers: seeing the software they have worked on move beyond the development environment and into the hands of real users.
For Sibonelo, that moment came in September 2026, when the M&D Submission System was deployed to production.
“It made me realise that I had grown from only completing student projects to working on real systems and features that DUT students and staff actually use,” Sibonelo says.
The experience marked an important milestone in his development, demonstrating how far he had progressed from academic programming projects to contributing to institutional systems that support the university’s daily operations.
Two systems, one goal: simpler processes for DUT
Sibonelo’s role at the AppFactory involves translating requirements into working software features on the DUT Forms Management System.
Two projects have been particularly important in his development: the M&D Submission System and the Travel Application system.
M&D Submission System
Sibonelo contributed to the development of the M&D Submission System, which supports postgraduate submission and administrative processes at DUT.
His work included student submission functionality, Research and Postgraduate Support (RPS) management, supporting documents, status workflows, reminders and notifications.
These responsibilities involved developing database tables and stored procedures, ASP.NET pages and controllers, document upload functionality, email notifications and application validations.
The system provides a digital process through which students and staff can submit and manage intentions and thesis documentation, while RPS staff can track submissions, monitor progress and issue reminders.
The September 2026 production release was a significant milestone for Sibonelo, providing the opportunity to see how the different components of a system come together to support real institutional processes.
Travel Application system
Sibonelo has also contributed to the ongoing development and enhancement of DUT’s Travel Application system.
His work has included application selection, student and staff submission processes, international travel requirements, approval stages, supporting documents, reporting, workflow routing and mobile-responsive interfaces.
These enhancements are intended to simplify the application process, improve the information available to applicants and ensure that submissions follow the appropriate approval workflows.
Working on the Travel Application system has provided valuable experience in developing software that must accommodate different user roles, business rules and approval requirements.
In addition to these two projects, Sibonelo has contributed to the NRF Grant Application and Postgraduate Contract Renewal forms, supporting changes to workflows, documents and database procedures.
Throughout these projects, he has worked with staff from the Research and Postgraduate and travel teams, who provided requirements, participated in testing and gave feedback on the functionality.
This collaboration has helped him understand the importance of developing systems that meet the needs of the people who use them.
Keeping workflows right while requirements change
Sibonelo joined the AppFactory to gain practical software development experience and apply the knowledge he acquired through his Diploma in ICT (Development Software).
Before joining, most of his development experience came from academic projects. Working on established institutional systems introduced a different level of complexity.
One of his biggest challenges has been developing and maintaining multi-stage workflows while requirements continue to evolve.
Both the M&D Submission System and Travel Application involve multiple user roles, approval stages, validations and database rules. Changes to one part of a workflow can affect other components, make careful development and test essential.
Sibonelo learned to approach these challenges systematically by testing each stage, examining the underlying data and stored procedures, obtaining feedback from the team and resolving issues before release.
Through this experience, he has strengthened his technical skills in C#, ASP.NET Core MVC, Razor, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SQL Server, stored procedures, Git branching and Visual Studio.
He has also gained practical experience in debugging, database testing, responsive interface development and understanding how different components of a large application interact.
Beyond technical skills, the experience has helped him develop greater confidence in communicating with colleagues, responding to feedback and providing clear progress updates.
These are important skills when working on systems that involve multiple developers, stakeholders and institutional processes.
Support from the team
Sibonelo credits his mentor, Thobani, and the wider AppFactory team for supporting his development.
Through code reviews, technical guidance and feedback, experienced developers helped him understand the existing systems and develop a more structured approach to solving problems.
Their support has also encouraged him to take greater responsibility for his work, investigate technical challenges and understand the wider impact of the features he develops.
Working alongside experienced developers has reinforced the importance of collaboration, continuous learning and delivering software that meets both technical and user requirements.
“Sibonelo has demonstrated encouraging growth since joining the AppFactory. His contributions to the M&D Submission System and Travel Application have given him valuable experience in developing complex institutional systems and translating requirements into working solutions. Seeing the M&D Submission System move into production is an important milestone in his development. What stands out is his growing confidence in taking responsibility for development tasks, working through technical challenges and responding to feedback. These experiences are helping him develop the technical and professional skills needed for a successful career in software development.” Said Mr Vanker
Looking ahead
Sibonelo hopes to continue building his career in software development, with a particular interest in backend development, databases and full system development.
Over the next few years, he wants to strengthen his technical expertise, gain experience in designing and delivering software solutions, and take on greater responsibility within development teams.
His experience at the AppFactory has given him a clearer understanding of what it takes to develop and maintain software in a professional environment.
His advice to future interns reflects the importance of curiosity, responsibility and continuous improvement.
“Ask questions, test your work properly and do not be afraid of making mistakes while learning. Take every task seriously, understand why the system works the way it does, use feedback to improve and keep learning from the people around you.”
Reflecting on his journey, Sibonelo believes the AppFactory has helped him make the transition from academic learning to professional software development.
“The AppFactory has given me the bridge between what I learned as a student and how software is built in the real world. It has helped me grow in both my technical skills and my confidence as a developer.”
Sibonelo Mdluli, Software Development Intern
Connect with Sibonelo on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sibonelo-tholinhlanhla