The client, a federal research agency, engaged i3solutions to replace paper wall charts and Excel spreadsheets with an automated program tracking database. i3solutions built the system on Microsoft’s .NET framework with a Microsoft Access database, giving the group real-time online access to program status, advanced search, and Excel-integrated reporting. The agency realized a 240% return on investment in the first year, recovered by eliminating manual tracking effort of approximately one full-time employee.
How a Federal Research Agency Improved Program Tracking by 240% with Database Automation
Case Study
Improving Program Tracking by 240%
with Database Automation
The Customer
And Their Challenge
The client was tracking the status of all of its programs on large sheets of paper displayed on office walls and in multiple Excel spreadsheets, a system that frequently produced outdated information that was not easily distributed among group members. The client is a federal research agency responsible for developing innovative technologies and capabilities to ensure national security, and it needed a way to automate its tracking system to reduce manual effort and give the group more consistent information.
The Solution
i3solutions was contracted to refine the Program Database Management Solution for the agency. The solution created by i3solutions, developed using Microsoft’s .NET framework and a Microsoft Access database, provides the agency with real-time online access to program information and status updates. i3solutions improved the user interface design of the system and resolved compatibility issues that existed because several versions of Microsoft Office were used throughout the organization.
i3solutions also developed extensive search features that dramatically improved access to relevant information. Some search improvements include: full text searches, an advanced search that allows searching on multiple terms to refine search results, a component for importing and sorting search criteria, and a history of previous searches is maintained for future use. The new system also displays reports and charts directly in the application, giving decision makers clear insight into program information.
Technologies
Used in the Solution
The stack is deliberately compact: application logic on the Microsoft .NET framework, program data in a Microsoft Access database, and reporting integrated with Microsoft Excel. Because several versions of Microsoft Office were in use across the agency, i3solutions also resolved cross-version compatibility issues so every user works from the same system.
Measurable Benefits
and Business Impact
The agency no longer needs their paper wall charts or excel spreadsheets and realized a 240% return on investment in the first year by eliminating this combined manual effort of approximately one full time employee. Now, consistent, reliable, up-to-date program information can be accessed by anyone in the group, at any time, by using the new online application and enhanced search features. And integration with Microsoft Excel and advanced graphing and charting capabilities allows the creation of polished status reports that are easily updated and distributed among team members as needed.
Eliminated manual processes and allows realtime, online access to information
240% Return on Investment in the first year
Valuable information is now consistent, reliable and easily available
Enhanced Search improved access to relevant information
Advanced Graphing and Charting Capabilities for improved decision making
The operational change is larger than the headline number. Program status that once lived on wall charts and in disconnected spreadsheets is entered once and read by everyone, so the group works from a single current record instead of reconciling copies. Enhanced search, including full-text queries, multi-term refinement, and a saved history of previous searches, shortens the path to relevant information, and the graphing and charting capabilities turn the same data into status reports decision makers can act on. This is the pattern i3solutions applies in legacy modernization work: move tracking into one system of record, keep the outputs people rely on, and let Excel return to reporting duty instead of database duty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What technology stack did i3solutions use for the agency’s program tracking system?
The application runs on Microsoft’s .NET framework with a Microsoft Access database, integrates with Microsoft Excel for reporting, and was made compatible with the several versions of Microsoft Office in use across the agency.
How was the 240% return on investment measured?
Against the manual effort the system eliminated. Maintaining paper wall charts and multiple Excel spreadsheets consumed a combined manual effort of approximately one full-time employee; removing that work produced the 240% first-year return.
Can the system produce the reports leadership expects?
Reports and charts display directly in the application, and integration with Microsoft Excel plus advanced graphing and charting capabilities produces polished status reports that are easy to update and distribute among team members.
Who can access program information, and how current is it?
Anyone in the group, at any time. The application is online and real time, so program information stays consistent, reliable, and up to date instead of aging on paper.
The agency’s tracking problem was not exotic: program status lived in artifacts that had to be maintained by hand, so information aged faster than it could be shared. The fix was equally unexotic: one online database, entered once, read by everyone, with search and reporting built in. If your programs are tracked the same way, a scoping conversation will tell you what an automated tracking system would take in your environment, which parts of your current process are worth keeping, and comparable engagements to cite when you build the internal case. Start the conversation
Tracking something important in spreadsheets works until two people hold different versions and neither of them knows it. A short scoping call covers what your team is tracking, who needs to see it, and whether the answer is a better spreadsheet or an actual system.
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