Web based Database Driven Application For Business Planning & Qualifying System Development
Client: A large Fortune-500 company.
Team: Two Java, Perl programmers.
Software Technologies: Java, Perl, Oracle 8i, mySql, Solaris, ASP, SQL Server, WindowsNT.
Duration: 3 1/2 - 4 months.
A Brief description: This project involved maintaining an online database of the Startup-Partner's of the company. Each Startup-Partner (generally very well known ISP/network providers and other large partner companies) is designated with access information to gain entry into a secured database of the company's web site in order to add information of Technology Startup Companies which they wish to sponsor. This first step is an applications process for getting qualified for the program. The system automatically verifies and qualifies (or rejects) the Startup applicants based on their data criteria (on the basis of certain pre-defined rules for qualification). Qualified Startup companies are then automatically invited to visit the companies Web site to enter more detailed business plan regarding their operations, financial plans and projections, management resources, etc. In turn these detailed data are then used by the company to involve and promote start-up applicant companies, provide funding, provide technologies, etc.
Development Phase I
Platform: WindowsNT
Database: SQL Server
Web Front-End Processor: ASP
The most critical aspect of this phase was time. All the 100-200 ASP files were developed in two to three weeks. Testing was done on the development server for 4-7 days. The initial development was done on a captive server. When the client team was satisfied with the functioning and performance of the system, it was implemented and deployed on the production server.
This phase was necessary because the client wanted to go live in a very short time period. The development team had an access to a production server where the application was implemented readily, since the team needed to develop this application very quickly. Once, this was completed, the team moved on to Phase II - which was targeted to the intended platform as originally planned
Development Phase II
Platform: Unix Solaris
Database: Oracle 8i
Web Front-End Processor: Java, Perl
This phase was developed using a slightly different platform (Linux/ mySQL/ Java, Perl) because the development team did not have immediate access to the Solaris/Oracle8i environment. The development basically involved porting the application to the Java Servlet front-end (since Java Servlets are faster, easier to program, easier to port and Java is a flexible open system technology) and some Perl programming (Perl was also chosen because it was freely available and quickly deployable). Once the application was ready on the development server and was tested, it was ported to the production server (Unix Solaris with Oracle8i) with no significant major issues. The application on this production server was then tested for three weeks and the minor issues were addressed and resolved within another two weeks. Client's testing team also participated in remote verification and testing in this phase. The system was then ready for final deployment. This involved the transferring the link to the application's URL from the Phase I NT Server to the Solaris server used in Phase II.
