Technology. Fraser STEPHENS. HLC 2008 Geneva. April 22, 2008

Transcription

1 Technology HLC 2008 Geneva Fraser STEPHENS April 22, 2008

2 Presentation Objectives Update participants on technical developments and enhancements to HELIOS Discuss some of the challenges that the pilots have identified Present a vision and roadmap for a sustainable future 2

3 The aims of HELIOS HQ and Field Perspective Deployment Online and Off-line Steady State and Emergency response environments Flexible deployment to fit whole sector: very large to very small 3

4 Achievements this year The Pilots Three different deployment models Thorough analysis of the software against business requirements Functional and technical enhancements Proof of interfacing HELIOS to an existing financial system Increased understanding of the challenges to the organisations 4

5 Achievements this year Real life interaction between agencies Shared online tools: Support website and Issue Tracker Regular conference calls Joint workshops and training sessions Sharing of expertise and organisation-developed materials Shared definition and prioritisation of enhancements. Release management and distributed testing 5

6 The Software 6

7 HELIOS Flexible Deployment Client (Internet Browser) Hosted in field Laptop Install LAN Data transfer Internet Internet Data transfer Hosted (Software as a service) Hosted at HQ 7

8 HELIOS Flexible Deployment Client (Internet Browser) Hosted in field Laptop Install LAN Internet Internet Data transfer Hosted (Software as a service) Hosted at HQ 8

9 Software Stack Server deployment Crystal Reports for.net ASP.Net 3.5 IE 6.0, others IIS 6.0.Net Framework 3.5 SQL Server 2005 Any OS Windows 2003 Client Machine Web Server Data Server 9

10 Software Stack Laptop deployment Crystal Reports for.net ASP.Net 3.5 IE 6.0, others IIS 6.0.Net Framework 3.5 SQL Express Edition Windows LaptopXP 10

11 Technical Platform Client Internet Browser (Currently certification is IE6, but works on others, such as IE7, Firefox and Safari Server Just completed migration Microsoft Windows 2003 Server Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Server / Express Edition.NET Framework 3.5 (ASP.NET 3.5) Developer Continued good relationship with Iris Logic - Blue Star Infotech Several functional releases this year -> increase expertise of HELIOS in off-shore team 11

12 OU Structure Suppliers Organisation HQ OU1 X Capital OUs OU2 WH OU3 WH Y Field OUs OU4 WH OU5 WH Warehouses OU6 WH Z A B C D E Beneficiaries 12

13 Track Waybill Tracking Project Management Projects Needs Appeals Request processing Request Order Sales Invoice Warehouse Stock request GRN Waybill Packing list Pick Pack Kitting De kitting Mobilization Procurement Purchase Order Purchase Invoice In Kind Donation Purchase Requisition Bids Request for quotations Comparative Bid Analysis Framework Agreement 13

14 Agency Deployment Software that handles complex business processes like logistics and shipping does not just 'plug and play'. Rather, it requires extensive effort to learn how the software works and then to integrate it into the way an organization does their day to day work. Source: FACTS Project Review and Case Study, Mark Surman, March

15 Agency Deployment Do not underestimate the effort required to: Map business processes Manage business change Prepare data (Item & Organisational Unit Codification) Train staff (and maintain with high staff turnover) Interfacing with exiting systems Extra challenges compared to commercial sector Geographical and cultural diversity Chance of disruption due to emergencies Different roll-out models Big bang (e.g. BA/BAA Heathrow T5?) Progressive By country / Organisational Unit By process 15

16 Roadmap x Online user documentation Printed user documenta Admin documentation Multilingual translations Current supported release Migration release - new platform, not.3.4? Candidate functionality productionised, but for server testing First new platform release with new functionality WVI Somalia Prep WVI Somalia WVI Zambia Prep Oxfam CRP WVI Zambia Oxfam Khartoum? Oxfam Yogyakarta? New Agency New Agency New Agency IMC Prep IMC Split Now

17 Current Investigations Online working - Optimisation for low bandwidth Software Workflow Very Low Bandwidth Offline Stand alone installs Inter instance data transfer Offline tools Deployment and support packaging 17

18 Future Development User interface study: task-based optimisation Flexible/Dynamic reporting Asset tracking module Tighter workflow integration Handheld/mobile devices and interfaces Wireless communication technologies (WIFI, Wi-MAX, GPRS) epaper off-line tools and HTML5/Google Gears for local storage Digital signatures Multi-lingual translations 18

19 Sustainability Open Source Management Modelled on other successful Open Source Projects Apache Plone Mozilla Keep building collaborative tools Foundation to defending HELIOS against commercial exploitation Extensible software architecture with protected core 19

20 Sustainability: Protecting the Core GRNs Donations Waybills Import scripts Export scripts RSS feeds Expertise Basic I/O WebAPI Helios Core Built in Reports Business Rules Additional Reports Scanned Invoices & Contracts Report formatting Contracts Reports Documentation Interfaces Authentication Business Rules Training materials Implementation guides Finance reports Electronic Business Systems HR systems 20

21 Sustainability Capacity to engage with more agencies Documentation (User and Admin) Training Materials Facilitator (training of trainer) Engagement Manual or Assistance Shared testing of releases (UAT) Translations (if required) 21

22 Summary HELIOS has had a great year... Extensive scrutiny from three differing pilots Gaps identified, enhancements made, investigations commissioned Migrated to latest platform User Group working well Community and Support Website growing...which is set to continue in 2008/9 Project has good momentum Release schedule with enhancements Foundation formation & Open source 22

23 Questions 23

24 Questions Time frame for the next agencies coming onboard? Resources for alignment of agency Supply Chain? Annual cost to use HELIOS? Voting rights in the foundation? Commercial use of HELIOS? Can we take the source code and modify the core? Quality of the Software - is it reliable? Will it run under Linux? 24

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