Client – Regional Electrical Testing Company

Problem

The client performs high-voltage electrical testing at various customer sites. They were utilizing custom legacy software to facilitate the testing process (capturing data, reporting results). The software was developed with hard-coded form templates. These templates had become outdated as new electrical equipment was utilized by their customers. 

Also, field technicians often needed to review historical test results to identify worsening issues. With little to no access to that data on-site, the technicians were left without the support data they needed to do their job. 

The client was frustrated about having to shoehorn data into incorrect fields, and their inability to update templates when equipment inevitably changed.  They ended up having to record test results on paper and employ office staff to transcribe into the legacy application. It also felt archaic and inefficient to have to email pdf reports to their customers.

These problems existed for years and were getting worse over time. Continuing to hard-code new templates to keep up with modern equipment was possible but would not be a good long-term solution as technology continued to evolve. 

While off-the-shelf template software existed for their industry, none offered the flexibility for template creation and editing, nor the accessibility that the client wanted.

Solution

The custom software developed enables technicians to record test results on customer sites in real time and then generate customer-facing test results via a customer portal.

The software enables the client to customize report templates, allowing them to keep up with changes in equipment standards and provide better insights to their customers.

The field techs were thrilled to be able to enter data in real time! Office staff were able to focus on editing and packaging data rather than transcribing.

History tracking and the client portal gave the client a leg up on their competitors.

Capabilities Demonstrated

• Web App Development
• Business Process Improvement Assessment
• Business Process Improvement
• Legacy software modernization
• Legacy software support
• Legacy software assessment
• MS Access Conversion
• Software Integration with an in-house application
• Web Portal Development
• Data accessibility
• User Interface Design
• User Training
• Mobile Interface
• Cloud migration
• Cloud-based application development

Before the software was updated

Technicians would print out paper copies of form templates for all the equipment they needed to test prior to the job. They would hand out the papers to the team who would record the results on the paper. After the job was completed, the team would have to enter the information into the legacy application, many times adding generic text explanations rather than specific data points.

At times, office staff were employed to transcribe hand-written notes to the legacy system to avoid testing delays. Reports were packaged into PDFs and delivered to the customer via email with no ability for the customer to easily access all of their reports in one place or gain any insights into worsening problems.

After the updated software was delivered

After the software was updated, technicians were able to view historical information from their portal on a tablet or laptop while on site.  They could enter information as the tests were taken, eliminating the need to transcribe later. Office staff could see the test results as they were entered, and senior engineers could review the results to identify additional testing needs.

Customers were provided a single location to review all upcoming and  historical tests, and easily see the results along with a summary of outstanding issues.

Overview

The modernized software provides:

• Ability to customize templates
• Real-time data entry on location via tablet or laptop
• Digital delivery (pdf and web view) of the report to the customer
• Historical views of equipment results and issues
• Results trending

Legacy Software Assessment

After a few years of simple legacy system support we met with the client to review how their current system was being used and its shortcomings.

We continued to meet with the various staff to get an understanding of how their system worked, what their frustrations were, and how they thought it might be improved.

We interjected questions or ideas we had about the process to get their thoughts on how valuable such changes could be.

Demo & Scope

We put together a demo application and initial scope along with a ballpark estimate of the project.

Development

Once the project was greenlit, we set to work to fine-tune the scope and began development.

We established a weekly sprint cadence and met with the client’s stakeholders weekly to review development progress and gather necessary answers along the way.

Testing

As initial development wrapped up, we performed our internal end-to-end QA (Quality Assurance) and began working with the client for a UAT (User Acceptance Testing) testing plan. 

The new application was run side-by-side with the legacy application on select client jobs and staff reported issues or possible improvements. We implemented the updates and continued to UAT.

Launch

Once the client was confident the application was performing as-needed, a full launch date was set and all operations were performed in the new application.

On-going support & maintenance

We continue to work closely with the staff to support any issues that have come up.