Challenge

Build a system to support the collection and analysis of over 100 productivity and quality metrics for about 10,000 projects in a multinational organization. Generate dynamic graphical and tabular reports showing projects detail or summary information at any company, division or organization level. Provide user access to reports via corporate Intranet, using Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer web browsers. Load project data from web-based forms, Excel spreadsheets and import files produced by other project management tools. Implement a C3 compliant security system to control data access based on user permissions. Accommodate the diversified needs of the multiple companies comprising the client’s organization.

Solution

Using rapid application development techniques, the cyberThink team prototyped the major functionality of the system early in the requirements phase. By helping the users to visualize the end product, this expedited the requirements through a committee approval process. We designed a database with the flexibility to adapt to any type of future organizational restructuring and implemented it on Microsoft SQL Server. The system was deployed on multiprocessor Compaq servers with RAID storage.Our HTML experts used Microsoft Internet Information Server in conjunction with Active Server technology, VBScript and Active Database Objects to produce and innovative tree-style interface that allows users to easily navigate through a multi-tiered hierarchy. Session and state management techniques are used to allow users to save their preferences form session to session and to enforce the security model.

We made extensive use of JavaScript for web form field validation and client side data modeling. In response to our client’s need for the delivery of real-time dynamic graphical reports via the web, the cyberThink team developed a Visual C++ application that interfaces ISAPI with Crystal Reports. Using C + + and Visual BASIC, we also developed software to import and export data between the database and Microsoft Office applications. In addition, we wrote software to migrate data from the customers’ legacy systems and support ongoing feeds from external data sources.

The cyberThink Advantage

By tactfully managing the varied goals of the multiple user teams involved in this multi-million dollar project, we defined requirements that satisfied the needs of the customer’s entire organization. Our team used a result oriented phased approach to help the customer differentiate critical requirements from wish list items. This allowed the cyberThink team to deliver productive functionality to the client in a short time frame.