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The
project capsules and case studies below are a sample of the applications
Xigent has developed for our clients. If you would like more information
or
a demonstration
of our capabilities, please contact us.
Also see our demo on how to automate news article management on a web
site or intranet.
Project Capsules
Metrix Instruments: Xigent deployed an end-to-end ecommerce solution
for this online retailer of handheld and wireless weather instruments.
See MetrixInstruments.com.
Institute for Alternative Futures: Xigent deployed an application for
customized web surveys for the clients of its consulting practice. IAF
can create and launch surveys, manage users, and show survey results. Case Studies
| Client |
| Social Technologies, LLC |
| Challenge |
| Design a web-based tool to manage client subscriptions
to research briefs and reports. Must provide clients with secure access
to research documents with search capability, and a process for staff
to quickly put new research online. Requires a large volume of older,
non-formatted text documents to be parsed and inserted into a database.
Additional requirements: secure client login, group access levels, full-text
search capability, on-the-fly PDF creation, intuitive interface, automated
administration, and daily data backup. |
| Solution |
Xigent developed an easy-to-deploy web
application using ASP (VBScript) and SQL Server with an intuitive
interface based on the Social Technologies web site design.
A document parser automates the task of
inserting Word and HTML into the database, which allows them
to be quickly searched and displayed to the user on a web page.
- Research reports are displayed as text or PDFs.
- Clients log in from the Social Technologies web site and can
access any of the three research categories to which they subscribe.
- Reports can be emailed directly from a web page.
- Administration functions are performed from a secure web area.
- Xigent hosts the application and the database, performs data
backup, and analyzes usage metrics.
|
| Result |
| Social Technologies can quickly make its research
reports available to clients online, reducing production and distribution
costs, and shortening the time of delivery from weeks to one day. Adding
new client subscriptions takes minutes. On-demand, online access to
Social Technologies’ research, with full-text search capability,
is a key selling point to its clients. Social Technologies has increased
Fortune 500 subscribers to its research tenfold. |
| Client |
| Social Technologies, LLC |
| Challenge |
| Develop, test, and roll out a secure web-based
research project management system, on an abbreviated 12-week development
cycle, for research scientists to request funding and provide
justification for external research projects. It must allow scientists
to insert, edit, and review multiple data screens quickly, and easily
navigate among interview steps. After requests have been submitted,
reviewers must be able enter comments and rank projects using a point
scale. |
| Solution |
Xigent designed the project management
database and workflow based on interviews with researchers and
spreadsheets of previous projects. The application was built using
ASP (VBScript) and Javascript for client-side validation, and SQL
Server database.
- The application uses a multi-step interview-style process
for research scientists to enter project descriptions,
categories, budget requests and focus areas, among other data.
- Project reviewers can search, review, rank and comment on
proposals; projects are then categorized and displayed by disposition.
- SQL queries provide multiple views of the project data and
allow the data to be exported in multiple formats.
- The application was beta tested by a group of scientists,
and rolled out five weeks later.
|
| Result |
| The research team benefits from a streamlined
project submission and review process which reduces time spent by
scientists on project management. Project data is easier to view
and can be
searched and sorted. Data protection is increased. |
| Client |
| United States Senate |
| Challenge |
| Integrate frequently used documents and
databases in U.S. Senate offices into centralized web-based intranet
application. Allow office staff to quickly access staff lists, voting
records, legislative projects, news articles, office documents, photos,
and calendars from a web browser. Streamline office processes such
as daily news article distribution (from clipping and copying to
scanning and displaying in browser), legislative project tracking,
vote tracking, scheduling, and data updating. Design intuitive user
interface and navigation to ensure ease-of-use. |
| Solution |
Xigent developed a scalable and customizable
intranet system for U.S. Senate offices with several modules that
can be added individually. All content is stored in the database
so it can be updated, searched, and archived.
- Xigent analyzed office files, databases, and workflow and
designed the intranet structure and SQL Server database.
- Existing databases and spreadsheets were imported to SQL Server.
- Data and files were divided into logical sections and navigation
was tested by staff to ensure that all content is easy to find.
- Search and sort features were designed for each content type
so it can be retrieved quickly.
- Press office operations were analyzed and a system was designed
to automate the capture, insertion, and display of daily news
articles, which are permanently archived for on-demand retrieval.
|
| Result |
| Key office data is centralized and available
to staff online anytime. Data is easily viewed, searched, and updated
by staff and is archived digitally, reducing administrative costs.
The press office has reduced by several hours the time required to
gather and distribute daily news articles, and benefits from an online,
searchable archive of articles. |
| Client |
| HelpingAmericansVote.org |
| Challenge |
| Create an engaging, interactive online
tool for predicting the outcome of the 2004 Presidential election
as part of a voter resources
web site. Users click on each state, then select the candidate predicted
to win; the tool calculates the running total of electoral votes.
Popular vote totals for each state in 2000 are displayed. Actual
Electoral College votes can be displayed for every previous presidential
election. |
| Solution |
| Xigent designed a lightweight and portable interactive tool using
ASP, Flash and XML. A color-coded U.S. map show each state’s
electoral votes, and changes color to show which candidate the user
predicts will win (or which candidate won in a previous election).
Bar charts graphically display the Electoral College vote totals.
User predictions can be printed or saved and viewed later. |
| Result |
| The Electoral College calculator is a tool to educate users on
the election process and is a key selling point for the HelpingAmericansVote.org
online program. |
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