Walkers Showcase Web Site
Project Background
TAG Learning approached Neoworks in September 2000 with the Walkers Showcase concept and the initial requirements for a software solution. Working closely with TAG, Sun Microsystems (who provided the server infrastructure) and EDEX (who provided the network infrastructure) Neoworks developed a detailed specification for the Walkers Showcase software engine.
The Concept
The Walkers Showcase is a web site created to showcase students' best pieces of work on the Internet. Every school in the United Kingdom and Eire has the ability through Walkers Showcase to present itself and its students' best pieces of work to parents and the public.
Simple to use
In order to keep the burden on teachers to the minimum the site was designed to be very straightforward to use. All administrative functionality is available from a central "teachers console" and step by step procedures are used for all actions.
Reliable
Reliability is a key factor in the success of the site. As many schools have low-speed Internet connections any problems with accessing or administering the site could have put off potential users.
Scalable
With over 40,000 schools registered on the system the potential storage requirements are extremely large and the public interest in the site requires that it handle a large number of requests per day.
Development Process
Firm Launch Date
In order to launch the web site in time for BETT 2001, at the beginning of January, all of the software implementation, integration and testing was completed within ten weeks.
Feasibility and Requirements
The proposed system requirements were analysed and quantified in terms of initial development resource and ongoing maintenance requirements. Through this analysis a list of requirements and a software specification was agreed by all parties as feasible within the time constraints of the project.
Prototype and Testing
A prototype system was developed, based on the specification, and deployed approximately four weeks prior to the launch date. The prototype system was then used for testing and user interface evaluation and enhancement. Feedback from the prototype testing phase was used to refine the software as well as the "look and feel" of the site.
Delivery and Deployment
Deployment of the finished system was on schedule, one week before the official launch date of the web site.
Our Solution
The solution is a large content management system developed in pure Java designed to store and index all of the uploaded work.
Simple to use
The simple user interface disguises a relatively complex system managing the content and servicing requests across a fully redundant and fault tolerant hardware installation.
Reliable
Using a pure Java software solution running on Sun Microsystems' Solaris operating system and a software design resilient to partial hardware failures ensures that there is no unscheduled down-time.
Scalable
The system is designed to scale to over a terabyte of storage and a potentially unlimited number of web servers. This places it in the same league as the largest corporate or government web sites.
Customer Feedback
Some of the comments we have received about the Walkers Showcase solution.
"From the initial scoping meetings through to final delivery (which was on time and in budget) the Neoworks team provided dedicated and thorough support to the Walkers Showcase project. The great thing about Neoworks is that they are not tied to any single technology or application - and this gave them the flexibility to find the solutions which were most appropriate for the project."
