I took over the Training & Development websites for SunGard Public Sector in 2007. I was tasked with redesigning the interface and managing the training system. This legacy application is written in ASP Classic and connects to a SQL Server 2008 database. The database was updated from SQL Server 2000 when I started on the project.
I found several defects in the system that was purchased, and started redesigning core components over the next several years. This included redesigning the Class Search page so instead having three separate search pages, all of the searches were performed from the same place. This required building our own internal search engine, however we found the search results were faster with our version, than the out-of -the-box solution. Additional fields were made available to search and a weighting factor was added to provide more accurate results for the user.
Additionally, the student transcript files were updated to provide new functionality, and allow the student to move more quickly through the system. Because most users wanted to be in and out of the system as fast as possible, we optimized the process, to cut the number of pages required by about a third. This allows us to have more users on the website without needing additional server resources.
The interface was streamlined and designed to load faster by optimizing the CSS, using CSS Image Sprites, and optimizing the load order. I improved the layout interactivity and functionality using jQuery and jQuery UI.
Site management was optimized by creating custom config files so the administrators can quickly spawn custom versions of the site for different purposes. When I originally took over management, there were four sites (2 live, and 2 test). There are now at least eight live sites.
About Walter Wimberly