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Modified
and
Enhanced
Mainframe
International
Accounts
Receivable
Application
To Align With
Best Practices
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 Case Studies

Leading Overnight Shipping Company - Best Practices

Client

This client is a premier provider of shipping and information services worldwide.

Challenge

The Client elected to modify and enhance existing 3270 screens, functional processing, and reporting characteristics of a very mature mainframe International Accounts Receivable application to align it with prescribed Best Practices. Targeted functional components of the International Accounts Receivable system included Collections, Disputes, Glossary, Invoice Adjustments/Cash Applications, and Security. Additionally, the client decided to enhance the presentation of the system to international business users by installing a GUI interface layer over the existing 3270 screens to accommodate Windows-oriented non-browser-based graphical access and functionality to the application system. All project work was to be performed per the client System Development Life Cycle Methodology with the applicable project administration repositories, including change management, appropriately updated and administered.

Solution

NCS conducted business user interviewing and requirements definition based on prioritization of business user modification and enhancement requests. A categorization and prioritization of all user requests was identified and agreed to by business users, business/systems analysts, application development staff and management. Management approved the cited activities and established budget allocations for the approved activities. Through an extensive series of international business user conference calls and in-person meetings, each set of applicable tasks for the approved activities were agreed upon and formal business requirements and functional specifications were generated. These included:
  • Detailed mockups and specification for the redesign of existing 3270 screens and new 3270 screens
  • Detailed layouts and specification for GUI panels (using existing 3270 screen definitions as bases)
  • Detailed mockups and specification for the redesign of existing reports and new reports
All project work was performed within the prescribed client software development life cycle methodology and formally defined to applicable project management, including change management, repositories.

Results

All needs/expectations cited by the client were met, and in certain areas, exceeded, as follows:
  • Modified, enhanced, and/or designed new 3270 screens, with accompanying adjustments to program functions, for use by the international user community within the existing Collections, Disputes, Glossary, Invoice Adjustments/Cash Applications, and Security areas of the International Accounts Receivable System environment.
  • Windows-oriented, non-browser-based GUI panels, corresponding to existing or combination of existing 3270 screens, serving to provide alternative user interaction with the International Accounts Receivable System areas cited above.
  • Windows-oriented, non-browser-based GUI design methodology, including design standards, for the conceptualization of GUI panels and associated processing; included formalized standards and design guidelines documentation, an on-line Windows Help System (authored in RoboHelp) to interactively present the methodology and standards and guidelines, and a stand-alone and client/server architected prototype application (written in MS Access) to facilitate the generation of enhanced, modified and new GUI panels for future adjustments to the International Accounts Receivable System.
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