Overview

Office automation from the historical typing pool to the advanced systems we see deployed in many organisations today has been the substance of my working life. Throughout, I have been struck by the chasm between the low cost of entry (a couple of computers with Word and Excel in the Cloud) and the eye watering costs of excellence characterised by highly flexible and performant centralised databases integrated with sophisticated workflow systems.

Many organisations start by designing some Word templates to capture relevant data which they then plug manually into a few Excel spreadsheets to perform the analysis of the day. Through natural organic growth the simplicity of that approach mutates into a labyrinth of disparate procedures with unreliable data and heavy manual transcription taking on a life of its own. At this point, some of these organisations can afford to invest in the necessary resources to get to the next level by changing both their technology infrastructure and all their associated processes and procedures. For others (typically smaller organisations and charities) the combination of new infrastructure cost and the level of organisational change required to realise this type of migration is too high and get stuck!

MigrateOnLine is a framework designed to address this problem. It is a C# VSTO written library that supports the integration of Word and Excel Document level customisations to create an automated workflow-based data capture and analysis resource for the organisation to use as their next step. By continuing to use Word and Excel (albeit in a more sophisticated way) it leverages the existing infrastructure and reduces the level of organisational disruption involved whilst still delivering clean data, flexible analysis and the benefits of automated workflow management. Once completed the organisation is better positioned to take further steps towards the more advanced systems seen in the best performing modern organisations as and when they are ready.

Engagement model

Discovery

We meet to review existing processes and procedures, inputs and outputs. We discuss the approach used in MigrateOnLine and you decide whether this will benefit your organisation.

Engagement without financial commitment

You assign a representative with the knowledge, skills and authority to represent your organisation and work with MathsTutor UK Software to introduce MigrateOnLine.

Prototype

MathsTutor UK Software develops a prototype as a basis for discussion of the target design.

Customise and configure

MathsTutor UK Software uses its MigrateOnLine framework to deliver a working test system.

Trial and Acceptance

You trial and verify whether the system suits your organisation.

Contract

If you wish to proceed at this point then we agree and finalise a contract and fees for implementation and on-going support.

Installation

MathsTutor UK Software installs and supports the production system.