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Our Hallmark

Another Project Delivered on-time and on-budget

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About This Project

Trilliant Group was contracted by a client to supply a web-based metadata access portal to replace an in-house developed command-line application. The existing application stored files that had been accumulated from a wide range of projects, including raw telemetry data, control and configuration data, converted data, and result sets. The format of this data could vary from database backups, audio files, video files, real-time programming files, sensor data, project control configuration files and various electronic document files.

Due to the limitations of the current system’s dated technologies, it was desired that the storage employed be fault-tolerant and the surrounding application provide a mechanism to allow for user-entered descriptive metadata along with flexible search and retrieval capabilities. Current COTS technologies would need to be employed to ensure long-term maintainability.

Our client had a highly-experienced internal IT staff that simply did not have the time to undertake this development project themselves. However, their experience and competency was an invaluable asset to be tapped. With their input, primarily due to the vast array of client-developed detailed analysis tools used to investigate the result sets, it was decided that Trilliant Group would develop a “prototype” system that the client could then integrate with these existing tools.

Objectives

The development of the prototype project was to provide a tangible solution that could be reviewed by client personnel and demonstrated to end-users. Trilliant Group consequently developed a functional prototype for the client to implement the user access, search and organizational capabilities of the solution. Development was not undertaken to automate data feeds or metadata generation for the prototype, but which were both entirely feasible, though left as a task of the following production system effort.

Target Environment

Our client expressed a desire to utilize Windows IIS, SQL Server 2005, ASP .NET 2.0 Framework and C# programming language for this application. In view of our development experience in this domain, this was a readily attainable goal. For an operating platform, our client proposed to configure and supply a two-machine Windows 2003 cluster for the IIS server and a two-machine Windows 2003 cluster for the application’s database server for the metadata repository running SQL 2005. Exanet would supply the NAS storage for the actual project files. This environment is depicted below:

 

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Requirements Analysis / Project Investigation

Trilliant Group supplied a general cost and time estimate proposal after a number of conference calls with the client and Exanet. This was accepted, ordered, and the requirements analysis phase was then begun.

Trilliant Group personnel subsequently spent a week on-site with the client functional experts and management to accomplish the following:

• Definition of all client-specific terminology and acronyms
• In-depth knowledge of how the existing system is interacted with and functions
• Understanding of the entire process flow that generates all the data eventually stored
• Examination of the client’s extensive system reviews and end-user interviews
• Comprehensive discussions to prioritize the client-compiled list of new-system requirements
• Extensive “chalk-talks” with the client’s internal software leads discussing the various design ideas that might be employed and settling on the most acceptable choices desired
• Outline of tolerable limitations for the prototype
• Review of the client’s timeline
• Collection of appropriate test data
• Determination of the client’s desired communication channels and primary contacts

A detailed list of specific requirements versus nice-to-haves was constructed during this on-site visit. One special requirement uncovered was that the application had to incorporate basic functionality not normally expected with a prototype. Acceptable trade-offs were agreed upon in detailed functionality to meet this requirement and remain within budget.

Design

Trilliant Group knowledge experts conducted numerous discussions and technology tests to insure that the available .Net 2.0 Framework provided adequate controls necessary to meet the project objectives.

One prime design objective was to insure that the prototype provided a solid underlying framework as well as concrete high-level functionality. Most prototypes, by definition, visually represent the ultimate application but have no “meat” under the hood. It was agreed that this prototype would sacrifice some peripheral functionality and tolerate low-priority defects in order to provide the stronger framework and functionality while remaining within budget considerations.

Modularity was another prime design objective. The underlying framework should follow generally acceptable re-use criteria and abstractions that would promote yet unknown future compatibility to its use. Primary design features include the following:

 

 

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