About Client
Custom Timer Job (RWL)
Australia
Insurance
Challenges
- One of the clients was using manual and offline Microsoft access file based solution to store their business data.
- They were maintaining different access files for different zones that they were operating in.
- All these zone-wise data files were disconnected and independent of each other.
- The client wanted an online system with data accumulated from all these independent access files.
- They also needed advanced filtering, and sorting facilities on these data; along with dashboard facility containing various widgets showing useful information related to data.
- Also, they wanted to control the data being shown to various users of system.
Technical Objective
- First and foremost, system needed to import data from existing access files; that too at a regular interval so as to keep both systems in sync until the older system is discontinued from use.
- More metadata needed to be attached to existing data.
- Email notifications were required to be sent on encountering certain data states.
- Filtering and sorting facilities were to be provided on data listing.
- Security restrictions were to be provided on the amount of data being shown to various users.
- A dashboard was needed which would display useful data aggregations.
Solution
- A custom timer job was developed to import data from access files.
- Mismatches and problems faced during import were logged and web parts were provided to search and manage these logs.
- Aggregate data from all zone based access files were stored together in SharePoint lists.
- Extra metadata fields were provided along with existing fields in SharePoint lists, which helped users to provide further details to existing data.
- A custom user-management web-part was developed based on business needs. This module took care of providing and removing appropriate SharePoint security rights to various users of site. A user could only see data for which he/she is authorized to work on.
- Custom web-parts were developed for listing various data. Custom filtering and sorting inputs were provided along with each data listing. Also, CAML query based paging was provided for each listing.
- Various web parts were developed to show widgets and charts to display user data.
- Lots of customization was provided to admin user through custom web-part properties.
- Site was provided with custom branding for better esthetics and enterprise look & feel.
Benefits
- The solution provides a great online platform for existing scattered offline data.
- User based security restrictions ensured data authorization.
- Import timer utility helped both old and new system to run simultaneously without any trouble.
- CAML based custom paging ensured best performance in spite of working on huge amount of data.
- Log management ensures easy tracking of import problems.
Technology Stack
