The Challenge

A client was acquiring information from outside institutions that needed to be mapped to equivalent material. They were using a manual process that relied heavily on one expert who was retiring and therefore, would be unable to support the system in the future.

The Solution

Because of our extensive custom development expertise and dedication to quality, we were the logical choice to develop the assessment and processing system. We built a web application that would accept electronic transcripts, set precedents and automatically map external data to equivalent internal items. Using the clients corporate standard for software development, the solution was built using .NET, C# and MS SQL Server.

Once the project was engaged the client indicated they were interested in additional core functions, such as authentication, authorization, data etc… were to be incorporated into the web service. We ensured the client’s IT department had the necessary skills and knowledge to implement the encapsulation of those functions without re-writing any code.

We selected an agile, iterative and incremental development methodology as it would place a high emphasis on ensuring business requirements are met without adding unnecessary features that can complicate the application; thereby adding to the cost and delivery date. This approach benefited the client as they were continuously involved in prototype demonstrations, allowing stakeholders to visualize the application and confirming our understanding and execution of their business requirements.

The Result

Based on MERAK’s development and consultation the client experienced the following benefits to their business:

  • Streamlined processes by developing a consistent system with existing procedure.
  • Eliminated manual effort.
  • Improved accuracy, consistency and efficiency of the assessment process.
  • Introduced a central precedented repository where data was automatically mapped to the precedent.
  • Implemented high value system requirements without incurring costs for unnecessary features.
  • Emphasized quality from a functional and usability perspective, through regular demo’s, testing and UAT.
  • Improved the client’s systems by supporting the transfer of other core functions to web services.