First Proposal for an Internet Based Consulting Agency Information System.
by Peter D.Chatterton, Oct 25, 1998
copyright P.Chatterton 1998
This system would provide instant graphical access to project and consultant information.
This could be used by project planners looking for consultants with certain skills or by marketeers looking for slots for someone with a particular skill-set.
User access would be by Applet on the company home page.
Projects Window
The user could sort project data by company or some other pre-determined method. Data would include graphical timeline information; assigned consultants, along with their principal skills, and unfilled requirements. Right clicking on a consultant would bring up detailed information according to the user's security clearance.
Consultants Window
Concurrently with projects, you could view consultants sorted by name or skill-set. Data would include current project (including graphical timeline), skill-set; experience and personal data. Some data would be accessible to a right mouse click, depending on the user's security clearance.
Security
Access would be restricted. Consultants probably could update their own data, while leaving a trace.
Project/consultant data could be added/updated on the fly by the right manager.
Personal/confidential data would be encrypted on the server.
Software
The whole system would be written in Java. Communications with the server would be via Java sockets and TCP/IP.
The server data would be stored in an object oriented database, organized by projects and consultants.
The users would require Internet Explorer 4, and up, or Netscape Navigator 4 enabled forJava 1.1. If this is unacceptable, the applet could be written using Java 1.0 at a performance cost.
The Future
Print-outs of tables and analyses.
Search agents doing the detail work of finding skill-sets or filling slots.
Support for other aspects of the consulting business.
The Applet
The current applet (60K JAR file, needs version 4 browser for Java 1.1).
The current version has some diagnostics for a message I uploaded to
comp.lang.java.programmer.
Please note: this is not yet finished.
This means that the program is not forgiving -- you have to do everything right
and it doesn't necessarily help you.
At present you can create a new Consultant and a new Project.
A Good Test for the Program
- Create a new project with a range from 1998-2001 and a new company name.
- Resize the Project window so it fills the bottom of the screen.
- Create a new consultant specifying the new project.
- Resize the Consultant window so it fits above the Project window
-- leave room for another consultant.
- Notice how both windows have new timeframes reflecting the new project.
One problem you might have is with Internet Explorer not painting the color in the new timeline;
this might be because the data was out-of-range.
- Select Sort by Name from the Consultants window.
- Select Sort by Skill from the Consultants window.