Business Community Collaboration Portal

Business Community Collaboration Portal

Project Description

The overall purpose of this project was to extend the features of existing business community web application meant for New Platform of projects for Team Formation and Expertise Management in context of Intra and Extra Organizational collaboration. This platform provides the environment for intra and extra organizational collaboration through the provision of Personal / Team workspace, Document Management, Q & A, Integration of synchronous communication using conferencing applications, Email client with IMAP and POP3 links, Instant messaging (chat room), Calendar, and Event-based alerting.

This application was made capable to give a consistent view across islands of disparate information. By this application administrator can track interrelated projects accurately across multiple teams and locations. Main focused in this project to make a flexible with resource oriented application.

Capability Analysis:

This platform provides the environment for intra and extra organizational collaboration through the provision of Personal / Team workspace, Document Management, Q & As, Integration of synchronous communication using conferencing applications, Email client with IMAP and POP3 links, Instant messaging (chat room), Calendar, and Event-based alerting.

There were 8 types of users for this system: General Visitors, Basic Member, Full Member, Chapter Leader, VIP Club Member, Sponsor, Project/Idea Owner, and Administrator.

1. General Visitors can read information, view / buy in shop, read magazine, view agenda, read testimonials, read/post in generic ABC forum, read blogs.
2. Basic Members can do profile posting, there would be customized greeting with Log In, View project list, Read Project Titles and Status, View Member Profiles, Read Messages, send messages, invite members to platform, add to my favourites, send teasers, can submit unlimited no of press releases to ABC club, and can post articles in blogs.
3. Full members can have full access to Product / Business Development Club / Marketing Club, can post profile with characteristics, can start a project, write Blogs, Search Ideas, Attend Events, Send messages, schedule events, post external events, buy tickets for events, view profile hits, start threads in general forum, apply to join the team, view application received for their own projects, send invitation for the event, add contact to network, post idea, rate initial ideas, rate collaborative ideas, activate other members profiles, rate performance of team members, unlimited job posting, Job search, can Join Investor's club, Create clubs, can join advisory board for certain projects, can express interest in investment/lending.
4. Chapter Leader can join investor club, post monthly ABC chapter events, Invite people to chapters, create clubs, able to purchase tickets to VIP club events, Collect $500 from each annual VIP member.
5. VIP member can raise Funds for purchasing tickets to fundraising events, can make multiple submission of BP to Investors and capital brokers, send multiple events invitations for other VIP club members. Sponsor had their own community section, can post brainstorming on ad campaigns in Marketing club, have customized URL with their own visual content and forum.
6. Project/ Idea owner can start threads in project forum, approve or disapprove team members, fire team members, invite team members, provide project details or progress, upload documents related to projects, approve access to documents, remove/edit threads, edit thread names, search project members, raise funds for the idea, move a thread to archive, post idea update, Select the status of discussion, close this discussion, automatic transfer the thread number to private room, invite team members for new project, add products to shop.
7. Administrator can start threads everywhere, start threads on usability improvements in about section, Post Comments / Blogs everywhere, Edit/Delete Blogs, Edit/delete postings in forum, and Remove people in system.

Technology Architecture

This web application was developed at Windows Platform 2003 with IIS, MS SQL Server 2000, ASP.NET (C#.Net). This web application was compatible with IE 6.0. .Net Framework 1.1 was needed to run this application.

This application gives a consistent view across islands of disparate information. By this application administrator can track interrelated projects accurately across multiple teams and locations. This was a flexible with resource oriented application.

The use of document management, event-based notification, and discussion boards has especially improved the effectiveness of this application and project management: team members was now access an integrated working environment to manage and coordinate projects; employees operate in a flexible environment that encourages interest groups and improves collaboration; and IdeaMama has increased customer/partner participation by integrating them into the processes of organization.

Tangible Benefits:

This web application was oriented towards, and catered to, the needs of the all types of members and Users with following features:

1. This Application has ability to track an Assign tasks and responsibilities to individuals and generate report back their accomplishments, issues and remaining effort on these tasks and also see the effect of using one person for a task versus another, by scheduling against their availability and skills.
2. This Application has Managed, report and schedule projects and programs across multiple teams, time zones, resource pools and functional units.
3. It has offered more accurate and timely: reporting of work done, estimating of time to complete, submission and approval of timesheets and updating of plans.
4. Easily and automatically track and monitor problems, issues, risks and respond to events as required.