Employee Data System: A Case Study in Custom Oil and Gas Services Software

Successful businesses rarely start out with the financial and intellectual capital required to develop a strong technological infrastructure capable of automating the work required. As a company grows, employees develop unique business processes and ways of storing critical company information. The result of this is that by the time a company is ready to invest, significant software customization is required.

The Problem

This client provides skilled laborers from overseas and manages the complex legal and financial paperwork involved in hiring international workers. These workers are subcontracted to large oil and gas companies who require skilled labor on short notice and do not want to take on the burden of an employer. The result is a massively complex logistical task for managers who must arrange housing, transportation, and jobs for their employees. Prior to the Employee Data System, a single manager tracked important information about 700+ employees on Excel spreadsheets and in her head.

The Custom Software Solution

Entrance Software met with this client to create a detailed scope document which outlined the major functionality and development methodology to be used in developing The Employee Data System. Key requirements of this project were:

• Store critical employee details to replace an existing Excel spreadsheet
• Maintain a history of employment for each employee
• Track the current status and assignment for each employee
• Record vacations, visa and passport status, and other details to ensure proper management of employee legal status
• Help company managers verify training and eligibility for each employee based on job-specific requirements

Based on the scope document, Entrance Software worked to build software based on the company's requirements. Once development was complete, Entrance collaborated with our client to make changes and additions that could not be foreseen during the scope-development process.

Development

In order to keep costs down, the client requested that Entrance Software use the built-in security model provided by ASP.Net and Windows 2003. All database access is via SQL Server stored procedures secured via Active Directory integration. Access to the user interface is secured using ASP.Net site maps and automatic page-trimming based on Active Directory group membership.