A consumer packaged goods (CPG) Client initiated a project to totally re-build its enterprise employee portal to enhance productivity, strengthen internal communication, and promote self-service. The client put a high value on the ability to improve retention and employee morale through the portal and placed a high priority on the usability of the site. A firm that specialized in user experience was retained to conduct user interviews, gather requirements and provide a high-level design from the users’ perspective. This user-interface design was very challenging to implement, in that the designers did not take into consideration the capabilities of the portal software being used, nor did they even consider the capabilities of a standard browser.
CapTech led the creation of the architecture used to deliver the re-designed portal as well as the technical design to implement it. CapTech created an architecture and migration strategy for the enterprise portal that implemented the challenging user-interface design while balancing robustness, performance, and maintainability. The architecture provided the basis for strong integration among new and existing products and technologies that were not specifically designed to work together.
Key requirements included single-sign-on with other applications, global search capabilities across more than the enterprise portal, integration with a new directory service, and seamless integration with an existing content-management system. A services-oriented architecture (SOA) was outlined that provided the basis for integration, tools, products, technologies, techniques, patterns, procedures, development guidelines, governance, and review procedures.
The resulting deliverable was a full architecture document that became the basis for all design and proof-of-concept work for the project, as well as the basis for a general architecture for all future portal-related projects in the enterprise. Directly growing-out of the architecture were several frameworks that provided consistency and productivity during development.