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.
