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B–Three: Professional Services

At B–Three Solutions, we assist medium–to–large organizations to align their business goals, processes, and technology. We propose solutions that are consistent with business logic and justified by cost-effectiveness.

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A start–up company patented an idea for a financial service that it would provide to client firms. A client firm would arrange with each of its regular customers to deposit into separate retirement investment accounts the rebates, sales discounts, and other monetary promotions that usually go directly to the customers.

For the start–up company, the basic idea had real potential, but their first implementation of it was labor–intensive and paper–intensive. The start–up company asked B–Three Solutions to transform the system into a web–enabled application.

B–Three designed and implemented an application that enables client firms to upload sales data and related information. Investment account deposits, fees, and distributions are then calculated automatically. The web–based application is fully integrated with the QuickBooks accounting package, thus automating the generation of client invoices.

On this project, two commercial off–the–shelf software products (KnowledgeLake Capture and Microsoft SharePoint) were modified and integrated with legacy custom software (previously developed in–house by the City of Pittsburgh) and new custom software (developed by B–Three).

Objectives and Requirements
The objective of the project was to construct, for the City of Pittsburgh, a new image repository for tax documents.  The new repository replaced a system that was not web–enabled and was hampered by batch processing requirements.  The City required a new repository that was fully functional and easy to maintain, and able to be expanded and adapted to the City’s changing needs.

Another key requirement was to integrate the new repository with the City’s Integrated Self–Assessed Tax (ISAT) system, a legacy application developed in–house.  ISAT users required these capabilities:

Design and Development
B–Three began the project with a series of meetings with City personnel, and then distilled those discussions into a detailed Design Specification for the City’s approval.  The document included detailed definitions of the requirements for integration of the two off–the–shelf software products with the custom software of the legacy application.  On the basis of those detailed definitions, the necessary software modifications were later developed.

Microsoft SharePoint was the commercial software foundation on which the image repository was built.  Through SharePoint and .NET, B–Three created a series of web services that provided the necessary integration between the image repository and the ISAT client interface.  Another commercial software product (KnowledgeLake Capture) was then incorporated into the solution to provide scanning, viewing, and annotation capabilities.  Extensive system testing was conducted, to ensure that the software modifications had been successfully integrated with the legacy application and the two off–the–shelf packages.

Watched Directory Module
After completing this integration, B–Three enhanced the repository with a Watched Directory module.  This custom application monitors a specified directory.  Each document saved to the directory is automatically imported into the image repository via SharePoint.  After this component had been integrated into the repository, the system was again tested and tuned.

Legacy Data
After all the new software had been thoroughly tested, thousands of tax documents were extracted from the old repository, transformed as necessary, and loaded into the new system.

Documentation and Training
In preparing the technical and end–user documentation, B–Three created material that would mesh with the documentation provided with the off–the–shelf software.  The new material covered the modifications made by B–Three.

With the documentation in hand, B–Three provided training to end users and system administrators.  Because this was the City’s first SharePoint system — and the forerunner of other SharePoint applications — it was particularly important to provide thorough training for the system administrators.

After training had been completed and all the legacy data had been imported, the new system was put into production.

A nonprofit company in the healthcare field, with a significant presence and high visibility in two major metropolitan areas, contracted with B–Three Solutions for a project to upgrade its internal decision-support reporting.

The client firm had a large number of internal reports — some created in Impromptu and others using Crystal Reports — running against an Oracle 10g database.  The client engaged us to convert approximately 100 key reports to Cognos 8.

A critical step in organizing the work on the project was up–front analysis of the complexity of each report.  During the conversion process, a number of the client’s most complex reports were enhanced, with improvements to the internal business logic, the efficiency of execution, and the presentation of the report data.  Beyond that, database improvements were identified and implemented to improve overall system performance.

Working on a fixed–fee, fixed–timeline basis, we brought in a team of developers and finished the project ahead of schedule.  For fixed–fee projects of this nature, our contract with the client includes a one–year warranty on the software we develop.  Before the report conversion project had even reached its midpoint, the client firm expressed its satisfaction with the work by contracting with us for two other projects.

This was a multi–phase systems development project which brought about a major transformation in the law enforcement systems of the City of Pittsburgh.  B–Three produced an integrated hardware/software solution, utilizing .NET forms for the user interface, with an Oracle database on the back end.

This breakdown summarizes the work managed by B–Three Solutions:

Replacing Paper Reports
The first phase was to computerize the incident reports that are filled out by officers investigating crimes.  Paper reports were replaced by data entered directly into an Oracle database.  The application — the Automated Police Reporting System (APRS) — was initially rolled out to networked desktop computers in police stations throughout the City.  This phase had the impact of standardizing and upgrading the City’s crime data, streamlining the report approval process, and automating the propagation of data to other applications.

Beginning in this phase of the project, B–Three worked with Police Bureau personnel to develop and provide on–site classroom training for the users.  This aspect of the project was critically important to ensuring a smooth transition to the new system.  Pittsburgh’s police force includes more than 900 officers, and they were making the switch from a paper’based system to computerized reports.

This critical transition was addressed in the training associated with the first phase of the project, in which B–Three rolled out the desktop version of APRS.  The officers became familiar with the standard features of the report screens, such as drop–down lists and auto–population of fields in subordinate reports.  Just as important, they learned about important procedural points, such as the process for supervisor review and approval of reports.

“Mobilizing” the Application
The second phase produced a fully functional version of APRS that enables police officers to enter their reports via Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs — laptop computers equipped with Sprint Air Card technology) in the squad cars.  Incorporated into this application is the Remote Data Broker (RDB), a software product developed by B–Three Solutions.  The RDB is unique, because it does not rely on a persistent Internet connection.  The entry of report data by an officer is not affected by the loss of a connection.  The system will “push” the reports back to headquarters when the software detects a valid network connection, thus ensuring that data is never lost.  The RDB also handles the rollout of software upgrades to all of the individual MDTs in the field.  There is no need to bring the units to a central location for upgrading, or for support staff to travel to each unit.

Upgrading GIS Application
MapStats, a GIS application, was upgraded.  The Police Bureau uses the MapStats crime plotting system to analyze trends in criminal activity and deploy its resources effectively.  MapStats utilizes the ArcSDE component of ESRI’s ArcIMS environment.  Crime data comes from the APRS Oracle database.  B–Three upgraded MapStats to Version 9 of ArcIMS, and also updated the census data used by the application.

Empowering Crime Investigators
The Modus Operandi (MO) system was created for use by Pittsburgh’s crime investigators.  The MO system operates against a data warehouse in which hundreds of thousands of APRS reports have been optimized for searching.  Customized algorithms give investigators the ability to perform complex queries against the data.

Creating eCitations Module
After APRS had been in use city–wide for more than a year, the application was expanded to include an eCitations module.  By means of eCitations, a police officer in the field can enter, print, and issue non–traffic and traffic citations.  The design of the application will readily accommodate an anticipated future upgrade — scanning of the barcode on a driver’s vehicle registration.

Built for the City of Pittsburgh’s Bureau of Building Inspection (BBI) by B–Three Solutions, the Automated Code Enforcement application enables a building inspector in the field to receive an enforcement assignment (often based on a citizen complaint telephoned to a municipal services call center just a few minutes before), and then file a report — complete and enforcement–ready — from the field after carrying out the inspection.

Managing Wireless Communications
The Automated Code Enforcement application replaces a paper–based system with custom software installed on Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs — handheld computers equipped with Sprint Air Card technology).  The MDTs communicate from the field to BBI headquarters via the Remote Data Broker (RDB), a software product developed by B–Three.  The RDB is unique, because it does not rely on a persistent Internet connection.  The entry of data by an inspector is not affected by the loss of a connection.  The system will “push” the inspection report back to headquarters when the software detects a valid network connection, thus ensuring that data is never lost.  The RDB also handles the rollout of software upgrades to all of the individual MDTs in the field.  There is no need to bring the units to a central location for upgrading, or for support staff to travel to each unit.

Transforming Internal Workflow
The old paper–based system required an inspector to return to the office with the paper forms, look up ownership details for the property, and type the inspection report into a desktop computer.  Using the new system, the inspector enters the data at the site of the inspection (obtaining the necessary ownership details by clicking a link to the City’s real estate database), transmits the finished report, and moves on to the next inspection.  During the day, as new cases are assigned, they show up on the inspector’s MDT.  According to a City press release (09/17/2008), the application “will cut the time it takes for inspectors to process code enforcement violations from four days to one.”

Upgrading Service to Citizens
The Automated Code Enforcement application is integrated with the Mayor’s 311 Service Center, which receives a wide variety of calls from citizens.  A complaint routed to BBI for investigation can now be rapidly transformed into an enforcement assignment for an inspector in the field.  Inspection reports that identify violations generate the appropriate citation letters, ready to be printed and mailed to property owners.  At each stage in the process, the status of the complaint is updated in the 311 system, so that the individual who submitted the complaint can readily track the City’s handling of the situation.

The application is also integrated with the Disruptive Property Management system, which monitors all properties in the City for recurring violations.  Any property that incurs three separate violations within a 180–day period is identified for possible prosecution under the City’s new Disruptive Property ordinance.

Background:
The City of Pittsburgh’s court scheduling system, referred to as “PayCops”, is an Oracle application that enables the City to efficiently schedule its police officers for court dates.  The system takes into account the pass days of the individual officers, the scheduling requirements of the court system, and the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.  It considers all of those important factors in arriving at a schedule that minimizes the cost of overtime for court appearances by officers.

The PayCops application requires the exchange of data between two municipal entities — the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.  The County administers the municipal court system, within which the City officers must make their court appearances.

When PayCops schedules an officer for a court appearance, it automatically sends an email to that officer, and inserts the court date into the officer’s Outlook calendar.  Thus an officer who logs into the Automated Police Reporting System (APRS) to enter any City police report will automatically be reminded of any court dates on their calendar in the next three days.  From APRS, that officer has a read–only interface into PayCops to view their entire court schedule.

For payroll purposes, court appearances by police officers must be tracked.  Before the SmartCard enhancement was implemented, this record–keeping was handled manually.  Arriving at the courtroom, the officer would check in with the court.  Upon leaving the courtroom, the officer would check back out.  These events were recorded on cards, which were then sent to the Payroll department, to be matched against each officer’s court schedule.

Building an Integrated Solution
The project to develop a SmartCard enhancement to PayCops came about in the fall of 2008, when all City police officers were issued new identification cards that included scannable magnetic stripes and barcodes.  The City sought to replace the paper court appearance cards with an integrated hardware/software solution, utilizing scanning technology and custom modifications to the PayCops software.

B–Three Solutions worked with the City to achieve this integrated solution.  An NCR kiosk was installed at each municipal court location to handle the check–in/check–out function.

For check–in, the officer scans his or her SmartCard ID and answers a few questions through touch screen prompts.  For check–out, the officer again scans the card and answers several questions via the touch screen.

B–Three performed the necessary modifications to the Oracle database, and wrote the custom code to capture the check–in/check–out data and match it up with the full schedule of court appearances.  To provide for the possibility of a damaged SmartCard or a malfunctioning scanner, B–Three created a manual check–in/check–out interface that could collect the required information.

B–Three also wrote the custom software to interface with the NCR kiosk equipment, such as camera/DVR support, mag stripe and barcode reader, and a receipt printer.

To complete the integrated solution, B–Three created reports for use by management and by the Payroll department.

In late September 2009, Pittsburgh hosted the G–20 economic summit meeting.  To meet security requirements for this important event, the City arranged for approximately 3,000 out–of–town officers to supplement its own 900-officer police force.  In advance of the event, the City asked B–Three Solutions to develop a system that could track the work of non–Pittsburgh law enforcement personnel during the period of the G–20 summit.  City law enforcement personnel would also make use of the system.

During the summit, law enforcement officials needed to be able to account for every officer, tracking their shifts and duty location assignments and recording the hours worked.  This data would be of immediate use to law enforcement officials making personnel distribution decisions.  Once the G–20 summit had concluded, the data would provide the basis for overtime pay to the officers, and for reimbursement to the City for extraordinary personnel costs associated with the summit.

A city will typically have about a year to prepare for hosting the G–20 conference, but Pittsburgh had only three months’ notice.  This limited timeframe demanded a fast–track approach to all preparations for the conference.  B–Three began the design work on the G–20 time tracking system a week before the project officially started, and continued that accelerated pace throughout the design, development, and testing of this mission–critical application.

The completed system represented an integration of:

Every out–of–town officer would be issued a G–20 ID Badge.  The badge would include the officer’s name, a unique ID, and a corresponding barcode.  The G–20 ID information would be stored in a special G–20 personnel database.  City personnel had already been assigned similar ID badges, with their ID information stored in a City personnel database.

About six months prior to beginning work on the G–20 system, B–Three had developed an application for tracking court appearances by City police officers.  An officer checking into or checking out of a courtroom would stop at a kiosk near the courtroom and scan the magnetic stripe on his or her ID badge.  The system would record the appropriate time entries in a database, and police administrators could run various reports against the data.  B–Three and the City determined that an application developed along these lines would meet the requirements for the G–20 time tracking system.

B–Three created an application that would read in a barcode from an ID Badge, find a match for it in either the City or non–City database, and insert the appropriate time tracking records.  In case of a problem scanning the barcode, the officer would be able to manually enter his or her ID number.

The G–20 time tracking application was installed on dedicated PCs at personnel check–in points situated at locations throughout the City.  By means of B–Three’s Remote Data Broker (RDB) product, the system included a queuing capability to transfer the time data to a central server.  The queuing capability avoided reliance on a persistent Internet connection.  The recording of time data was not affected by the loss of a connection.  The system would automatically “push” the data to the server when the software detected a valid network connection, thus ensuring that data was never lost.

B–Three managed the project to a successful rollout within the specified timeframe.  Throughout the G–20 summit, the system achieved the City’s goals for the project.

B–Three Solutions was contacted by a firm which markets software for entry and reporting of bridge inspection data.  This client asked B–Three to develop all the input forms, detail reports, and summary reports required for inspection of a set of bridges for a government agency.

The first requirement of the project was for B–Three developers to rapidly gain a working understanding of the client’s bridge inspection software.  With this basic knowledge in place, B–Three began developing the input and output modules that would be integrated with the core software.

The input module consisted of 17 components.  Input forms were generated with custom form-building software.

Working in ActiveReports in a C# environment, B–Three developed 15 different summary reports, and a complex detail report consisting of 15 sections.

The project was completed on time and on budget.

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police uses the MapStats crime plotting system to analyze trends in criminal activity and deploy its resources effectively. MapStats utilizes the ArcSDE component of ESRI’s ArcIMS GIS environment. Crime data comes from the Oracle database of the Automated Police Reporting System (APRS).

Most of the City’s police activities are organized and administered through geographical zones made up of a number of contiguous neighborhoods. As originally written, the zone boundaries were built into the application. When the boundaries changed, code revisions were required.

B–Three developed and implemented an input–driven Redistricting Tool that can be utilized to reconfigure and maintain the zone structure in MapStats. With this utility, the City’s system administrator can make any necessary revisions to the zone structure used by MapStats without program modifications.

This modification significantly improved the City’s ability to adapt the software to changes in geographical zone boundaries.

For an insurance agency, B–Three created a SharePoint Image Repository system to enable the firm to manage insurance records for approximately 16,000 customers. The solution incorporates hardware, commercially available software (Microsoft SharePoint), and custom software, in order to integrate document management with enterprise operations.

Pre-Development Steps
The first stage in every system development project undertaken by B–Three is a series of meetings with the project sponsor and selected users, to ensure that we have a detailed understanding of the client’s requirements. The scope of the project demanded careful planning — particularly a critical-path analysis — to work out the proper sequence of tasks and the points at which testing would be required.

Once the requirements were documented, B–Three developed hardware/software specifications, evaluated and purchased required hardware, and installed and configured the servers. The document management system includes the capability of capturing and archiving scanned documents, utilizing a scanner/copier/printer.

Development and Installation
The customized document repository system was created in SharePoint. New database architecture was designed and set up. B–Three designed and documented the user interfaces for the image repository, using .NET. Prototyping sessions were conducted with client personnel to pin down the details of the screens, in terms of both data content and layout. Application development, unit testing, and system testing were then completed. In conjunction with system testing of the repository, automated backup procedures were developed and tested.

Data from legacy databases was then imported using scripts.

Finally, security processes and procedures were defined and incorporated. After preparing technical and end-user documentation, B–Three provided training to end users and system administrators. The repository was then put in production.

In just a few weeks, we installed a system which protects the company from data loss and enables rapid retrieval of customer records. After eliminating dozens of file cabinets where paper records had been stored, the insurance agency can now make more effective use of its office space.

A firm providing professional healthcare services to a large number of community hospitals asked B–Three to propose a solution for efficiently generating its internal reports.

Pre–Proposal Analysis
The client firm receives a substantial volume of medical data each day.  Initially received in XML format, the information is translated into fields and records and stored in a transactional database.

During the pre–proposal analysis, B–Three determined that a data warehouse, structured to optimize generation of reports, would be the key component of the solution.  B–Three would also develop six internal reports to the client firm’s specifications.

Data Security — HIPAA Compliance
Having completed other projects for clients in the healthcare field, B–Three is familiar with the strict requirements for privacy and data security mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

On this project, to ensure compliance with HIPAA, B–Three imposed a number of restrictions upon its software development procedures, including the following:

Software Design and Development
When the project got underway, B–Three designed and built the data warehouse — using SQL Server and SQL Reporting Services Server (SRSS) — and installed it in a testing environment.  B–Three then began to develop Extract/Transform/Load (ETL) routines to populate the data warehouse with records from the transactional database.

While the work on the ETL routines was going on, B–Three began to develop the six internal reports specified by the client firm.

On each new report, B–Three worked with client personnel to test the report and confirm that it met the firm’s specifications.  As this process went on, B’Three also prepared the documentation describing how to add, edit, and administer the reports.

When it came time to put the data warehouse into production, B–Three modified the firm’s daily processing routines, so that the data warehouse would be automatically updated from the new records that are added to the transactional database.

With the roll–out of the data warehouse and the six new reports, B–Three wrapped up a project that provided an efficient and cost–effective internal reporting system for the client firm.

Soon afterwards, the client firm followed up on the project by contracting with B–Three for 13 additional internal reports to be run against their data warehouse.

A firm providing professional healthcare services to a large number of community hospitals asked B–Three to propose a solution for efficiently generating its internal reports.

Pre–Proposal Analysis
The client firm receives a substantial volume of medical data each day.  Initially received in XML format, the information is translated into fields and records and stored in a transactional database.

During the pre–proposal analysis, B–Three determined that a data warehouse, structured to optimize generation of reports, would be the key component of the solution.  B–Three would also develop six internal reports to the client firm’s specifications.

Data Security — HIPAA Compliance
Having completed other projects for clients in the healthcare field, B–Three is familiar with the strict requirements for privacy and data security mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

On this project, to ensure compliance with HIPAA, B–Three imposed a number of restrictions upon its software development procedures, including the following:

Software Design and Development
When the project got underway, B–Three designed and built the data warehouse — using SQL Server and SQL Reporting Services Server (SRSS) — and installed it in a testing environment.  B–Three then began to develop Extract/Transform/Load (ETL) routines to populate the data warehouse with records from the transactional database.

While the work on the ETL routines was going on, B–Three began to develop the six internal reports specified by the client firm.

On each new report, B–Three worked with client personnel to test the report and confirm that it met the firm’s specifications.  As this process went on, B’Three also prepared the documentation describing how to add, edit, and administer the reports.

When it came time to put the data warehouse into production, B–Three modified the firm’s daily processing routines, so that the data warehouse would be automatically updated from the new records that are added to the transactional database.

With the roll–out of the data warehouse and the six new reports, B–Three wrapped up a project that provided an efficient and cost–effective internal reporting system for the client firm.

Soon afterwards, the client firm followed up on the project by contracting with B–Three for 13 additional internal reports to be run against their data warehouse.

A major university conducting important studies on diabetes engaged B–Three Solutions to meet its data management requirements.  B–Three designed and constructed a data mart and created the processes to populate it with Electronic Medical Record (EMR) data.

Diabetes — A Major Healthcare Problem
Diabetes is a major burden on the healthcare system, diminishing the quality of patients’ lives and contributing significantly to rising healthcare costs.  Its impact is particularly severe in Southwestern Pennsylvania.  Any improvements that can be made in care of diabetic patients will have a positive impact on the patients and will slow the rise in diabetes–related healthcare costs.

A division of the university has been working with a consortium of Pittsburgh–area physicians to investigate and document the variances in diabetes care and outcomes.  The objective is to identify the most effective trends in treatment, and provide that information to all the physicians.

Before contacting B–Three, the university and the physician consortium had invested considerable time and effort in preparing the data set to be used in the studies.  They were loading the data into a SQL Server database, and then executing various scripts to transform the data into a format that could be analyzed in a statistical package like SAS or SPSS.  This time–consuming data preparation process was defeating the objective of rapid turn–around time for the studies.

Recommending a Data Mart
The university asked B–Three Solutions to analyze the requirements for the studies and suggest a data management solution.  B–Three recommended a data mart.

In contrast to a data warehouse, which is a centralized data aggregation available for multiple purposes, the structure of a data mart is driven by one specific purpose.  In this case, the purpose was to enable efficient loading of input data, followed by analysis through a standard statistical package.

The EMR input data is extracted from Centricity Physician Office, an application from GE Healthcare.  The statistical package is SPSS 16.0.

Implementing the Solution
After designing and constructing the data mart, B–Three created the Extract/Translate/Load (ETL) routines for the university to use each time the physician consortium provides a new set of data.  The data mart is structured for compatibility with the SPSS statistical package.

In addition to automating the data–loading process, the ETL routines execute various aggregation tasks (such as medication counts) and insert the totals into appropriate fields in the data mart.  By anticipating the need for these aggregated data items during statistical analysis, the B–Three solution enhances the efficiency of the analytical process.

Working smoothly with university personnel, B–Three completed the EMR data mart within the timeframe and budget of the project.

Background:  Client Facing Deadline
A local software firm faced an approaching public release date for a major upgrade of their chief software product, a voice–powered inventory system that enables its users to make inventory decisions and enter inventory data by means of voice commands.

Three Key Components
With in–house resources and time at a premium, the firm decided to outsource three key components of the product to B–Three Solutions.  B–Three personnel rapidly mastered the complex architecture of the software product and went to work on the reporting module, the printing module, and the customization tool.

Customization Tool:  Proof of Concept
Work on the customization tool was handled in three phases.  At the beginning of Phase I, the client identified specific customizations for B–Three to carry out on the software product.  Working in Java 5.0, B–Three completed the manual customization of the product, and established the validity of the modifications through extensive testing.

Automated Customization Tool
B–Three then collaborated with the client to produce the design document for an automated customization tool that would enable a licensed user of the software product to carry out the same modifications.

The design document served as the blueprint for B–Three’s work in Phase II of the project.  We developed and tested an import customization tool that would run as an Eclipse plug–in, installed into the user’s development environment.  By means of a wizard interface, the user could add new fields to the imported model objects in the software product.

As part of Phase II, B–Three produced documentation appropriate for distribution to users of the customization tool, providing a high–level description of its functionality and details of the user interface and the available options.  We also produced technical documentation for the client, describing the code architecture.

Expanded Customization Wizard
In Phase III, B–Three expanded the functionality of the customization tool.  This gave the user the capability, through a wizard interface, of adding new fields to the software product’s export files.  An additional wizard interface enabled the user to create a new model object in the product’s code base.

After developing and testing the expanded customization tool, B–Three modified the user documentation and the technical documentation to cover the additional functionality.

Meeting the Deadline
The components were completed and integrated into the software product in time for the product to be released on schedule.

B–Three Solutions has managed a number of projects for a large firm that is under contract with the Federal Government to perform background investigations and other security services.  Because they engage in federal contracts larger than $2500, the client firm is mandated to follow specific pay practices.  Our developers have created systems that monitor the client’s pay practices and report SCA (Service Contract Act) compliance.

SCA Compliance
B–Three implemented software that integrates with an ERP system and the ADP payroll system to validate compliance.  The project involved four departments:  Payroll, Human Resources, Finance, and Business Contracts.  Completion of the project produced an immediate and measurable benefit to the client — approximately $1.5 million per quarter — and eliminated months of manual processing.

The SCA compliance system has now been extended, with a payroll application that determines the prevailing wage for the employee’s job category and county of residence.  The application produces a pay stub that demonstrates SCA compliance by comparing the appropriate prevailing wage to the employee’s actual rate of pay.

Sarbanes–Oxley Compliance
To ensure the firm’s compliance with the Sarbanes–Oxley legislation, we also automated all the procedures required to calculate Sarbanes–Oxley data.  This processing is now fully documented and auditable by regulators.  The database was documented in a similar manner.

Financial Web Portal
In addition to compliance-related projects, B–Three developed a financial web portal built on an Oracle database, enabling the firm’s executives to view a daily cash reporting system.  B–Three integrated with multiple banking systems to automate the reporting system, eliminating manual tasks that had taken up to eight hours per day to complete.

A Pittsburgh–based company developed, and now markets, a software product that optimizes the inventory planning process.  The product’s user interface is managed through web pages and custom AJAX controls.  The application is written in Java Enterprise code, with an Oracle back end and a Model View Controller (MVC) architecture.

The company engaged B–Three Solutions to design and implement a number of significant additions to the package.  These enhancements would be developed as new modules to expand the product’s functionality, and then rolled out in a series of new versions of the product.

For each new module, B–Three performed the same sequence of tasks.  Beginning with the requirements defined by the client company, B–Three designed and documented the module, and the process to integrate it into the software product.  Following the design review with the client, B–Three programmed the module in Java.  The module was submitted to a rigorous code review, and then tested individually and as part of an integrated product, against criteria defined by the client.

While B–Three’s work was moving forward on each new module planned for the next version of the package, the client’s in–house staff was identifying any bugs in the existing product that should be fixed for the new version.  B–Three assisted with the design, programming, and implementation of these fixes.

A company with 30 years of experience in the field of Quality Assurance developed the concept for a commercial software product to be sold to automobile dealerships and auto service businesses.

The software product will enable the auto service client location to offer a free inspection to each customer, record the inspection results efficiently, and present safety and maintenance service recommendations effectively to the customer.  The web–based product will also facilitate follow–up communications with customers, leading to repeat business for the auto service client location.

The originating company asked B–Three Solutions to turn its vision into a viable product.  B–Three worked closely with them to produce a comprehensive Requirements Specification for the software product.  The document included a detailed functional description and an analysis of the appropriate system architecture and hardware/software requirements.

The project continued through design, development, and testing.  The foundation of the package is a SQL Server database.  Hibernate was utilized for the persistence framework, and Struts for the web application framework.  The package includes 40 JSP pages and 10 internal reports.

Following successful beta testing of the package at several local auto dealerships, the originating company has begun marketing the package to dealerships throughout Pennsylvania.

Background
The responsibility of the City of Pittsburgh’s Office of Municipal Investigations (OMI) is to follow up on allegations of misconduct by City employees.  Most, but not all, of the citizen complaints investigated by OMI involve the actions of police officers.

By City policy, each complaint that comes into OMI will be logged, investigated, and acted upon within 120 days.  OMI’s report on the complaint is then conveyed to the City department where the employee works (example:  the Police Bureau in the case of allegations against a police officer).

The Police Bureau or other department must take action on the OMI report within 120 days.  OMI receives a report about the action taken, and files that information with its report on the case.  If OMI finds that the allegations of misconduct are credible, and that the misconduct may have included criminal actions, OMI’s report is also conveyed to the Allegheny County District Attorney for a possible criminal investigation.

Developing a New System
In 2008, OMI determined that it had a need for a new Case Management System, and contracted with B–Three Solutions to handle the project under a fixed–fee contract.

Beginning with system requirements assembled by OMI, B–Three created a design specification and an implementation plan.  After approval by OMI, the application was developed (in .NET, with an Oracle database), tested, and installed.  Before the case management system was put into production, the user manual was distributed and “train–the–trainer” instruction was completed.

The system manages OMI’s case load, processing each case from the initial complaint, through all the necessary investigative actions, to the approval of the case report and the eventual closing and archiving of the case.

System Capabilities
Important capabilities of the system include:

Smooth Transition
For OMI personnel, the transition to the new case management system went smoothly, primarily because the basic steps in handling a case did not change.  The new system streamlines data entry and strengthens OMI’s ability to track and manage each case.