Software Applications & Databases

Useful Information

Cost/Recharge Rates Policies What's Included ISU's Catalog of Software Applications Working Together Obtain Services

The Information Services Unit specializes in the development of custom software applications and databases for units of the Dean's Office and School of Medicine departments. This includes custom programming, database design, client-server and Internet/intranet software application development.

Over the years ISU has built a solid team of software professionals from various backgrounds who have expanded our creative potential. Our team possesses expertise across a wide range of the latest, most effective custom programming technologies, including .NET (ASP.NET, C#, VB.NET), XML, and many others. These technologies define the quality and reliability of the custom software applications that we develop.

Our effectiveness lies in clearly perceiving the business goals of our customers, choosing the most appropriate technology for meeting those goals, and efficiently designing and developing solutions.

We provide custom software development solutions for:

• Web Applications
• E-Commerce Websites
• Web-Enabled Business Processes
• Custom Software Applications for Windows
  

Our Development Process

We use the spiral iterative approach while developing a custom software solution. This method consists of four phases which are iteratively followed in order to work out all the problems before moving on to the next phase:

1. Planning: User Interviews, business requirements, design and feature specifications are gathered and reviewed with the client.
2. Risk Analysis: Identify and plan for risks to the project which are reviewed with the client.
3. Engineering: Development of the application.
4. Customer Acceptance: Customer has opportunity to work with the application and provide feedback.

• Thorough Documentation - We document the minutes of all meetings and share them with all stakeholders involved. We also develop documents that clearly state the requirements of the goals and requirements of the project.
  
  
• Complete Project Plan - Clearly defines each of the project phases and milestones, with specific deliverables for each milestone. This allows you to evaluate and approve each deliverable and stage of the project before moving further, providing complete control over the evolution of your project. A project plan also ensures total transparency during the project development cycle, so there are no unpleasant surprises.
  
  
• A Single Point of Contact - A project manager assigned to your software development project will serve as your single point of contact for all communication.
  
  
• Timely One-on-One Meetings - We schedule timely meetings with our customers throughout the development cycle and continually review the business requirements against the application functionality.
  
  
• Screen Prototypes - These help demonstrate the look and feel of the website. We also develop pilots as a proof of concept where required.
  

Our systems are based on Microsoft's powerful SQL Server 2000.

If your solution requires the database to reside on a server separate from other critical online applications, such as mail services, we can design and build your hosting infrastructure.

We fully appreciate the need for the security and integrity of your data. Customers will only reach data you want exposed, and access to sensitive confidential information will be secure. We can monitor your database server so that you will always know that your database is operating properly. If your solution requires monitoring at the file/table level, we will provide you with the assurance that your database is providing the correct information when required.