Project summaries ...

We have been fortunate to work with exceptional clients in a variety of businesses. Our strength has been in development by prototyping. This is a parallel process of definition, development, and deployment, rather than a sequential process where each step must be completed before the next step begins. Parts of the system achieve early functionality, which enhances the mutual learning process between client and developer, allows for corrections before too much is "cast in concrete," and helps the system pay for its own development.

The goal should be more than a "management information system" ... it should be a Leadership Information System! Traditional MIS systems were focused on REcovery of existing information. We believe that a properly designed system should also facilitate DIScovery ... it should enable its owner to "turn the cost of data into the asset of information."

Below are three examples of successes we can point to with pride. These are truly "Leadership Information Systems", and they were all developed via the "prototyping" process rather than by less flexible traditional methods. Contact us for particulars on other systems we've developed, and to discuss your company's information challenges.

Our longest-term client is NETA, the National Exercise Trainers Association. They're one of the largest education and certification organizations for fitness professionals in the United States. They run workshops nationwide, flying about 8 instructors out to various locations across the U.S. every weekend.

We built their original scheduling and registration system in 1994 using the DOS version of ADBM, and enhanced it incrementally over the next seven years. Migration to a redesigned system using the Windows version of ADBM was completed in May 2002. It supports up to sixteen simultaneous users, essentially in an inbound telemarketing function, via a local area network. Quick retrieval via ad-hoc queries to all information in the system is critical, and we've always been able to provide that.

NETA has a database of about 200K members, inquiries, prospects, sponsors, health clubs, and other industry contacts. They maintain about 80,000 registration records and about 80,000 merchandise invoices in their database for instant access to member requests.

The system provides registration confirmation, rosters, certificates, contracts, ASCII mailing data to their mail handler, and many other paper or electronic outputs. In addition, it publishes new HTML output weekly for the schedule and merchandise pages on their website (we also developed their website).

Beginning in the summer of 1991, working with a small group of students at the University of Minnesota, we developed the database that would eventually produce the Course Guide, accessible via the Enrollment & Course Information page. The Course Guide is an instructor-specific catalog of courses which contains the instructor's own description of course content, workload, test formats, and grading.

Over several years, it grew to include virtually all of the undergraduate course offerings at the University, and in the mid-90s we began directly publishing from the database to the web (these techniques were subsequently used at NETA and on other projects).

We had to combine large amounts of source data from several of the University's legacy systems with data that had never before been collected anywhere. These systems were not designed to communicate, so we had to develop ways to make the data compatible. We eventually incorporated the Class Schedule (times), Section status (open seats during registration period) and other related information into the Course Guide website.

This system was defined, developed, and enhanced "on the run," with new requirements being continuously defined and incorporated. In 1999, the functions and overall format and appearance of our system were incorporated into a new web-based student information system, which retains much of the "look and feel" of our original system. We're proud to have been instrumental in making this an integral part of the University's service to its students and faculty.

We developed of the first successful remote data entry (RDE) system for a clinical trial for Medtronic, Inc. The Ablate andPace trial (APT) was chosen for a pilot project. Half of the study was conducted via traditional paper forms, and the other half was conducted using an "intelligent forms" system on laptop computers. We designed the system to assist the clinician in recording complete and correct information directly into a database. The improvement in accuracy and turnaround time in getting clinical trial data back to Medtronic was dramatic, and we followed up this success with a similar system for another clinical trial (M-PATHY). These projects didn't involve massive data, but required a great degree of input control and error-checking to ensure that data was complete and correct.

In each of these cases, as well as many others, the success of the project was due to the involvement of client personnel directly and continuously in the development process. We believe that the prototyping process, with the full participation of the client at every step, is the only effective way to get a satisfactory outcome. It must begin with a clear understanding (on our part and that of the client) that getting an effective information system is a collaborative process, and that it's not like the acquisition of a product.

The fundamental assumption of this approach (known in the industry as prototyping) is that requirements can never be fully known at the start of a project, and that requirements do not remain stable over time. It embraces change rather than trying to prevent it.

Contact us! Let's talk about how we can help your organization "turn the cost of data into the asset of information!"