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Backend Tools

Summer 1999

Note: The demo copy of these tools is another piece that was eaten by the hosting company snafu. When I can find a copy of it I will post that link again.

These tools are a set of simple, web-based applications that I wrote to assist in the administrative functions of my Lab Manager job. The technology behind it was fairly complicated at the time, although compared to the things I've had exposure to since, it seems relatively simplistic.

Skills, Technologies, Etc.

HTML, Flash, Perl-based CGI, Database (flat file)

My Role:

Lead Designer, Lead Developer

Results:

These tools are held together with some pretty sloppy Perl, but they work. This is by far the most useful thing I've ever built, as it saved me countless hours of shuffling papers and looking up things. Here are some of the highlights:

Employee Database - Helps keep track of the employees that I was managing. Interface allows adding and editing of entries, and the data output is sortable in every way imaginable. The database is also accessed by other, simpler CGI's at other points, and some of that data is used to populate pages in the consultant intranet.

Expertise Locator - Another database system, allowing consultants to keep and updated list of topics they feel comfortable answering questions about. That information is used to populate a resource for finding answers to non-standard topics about a wide variety of technical topics.

Hiring Tools - Interfaces with a frontend, application process for prospective employees. The typical hiring process involved the interviewing of upwards of 20 employees in 1-2 days at the start of every academic year. This allowed us to manage their applications, and prepare for each interview. Those who are hired have their data uploaded to the master database. Those who are not hired remain in the database to allow us to fill positions that open at odd times of the year.

Testing Application - Allows assessment of employee skills and performance. Not an ideal assessment method, but it did allow the administration of periodic tests to measure skills and knowledge. The real key to this system was the storing of answer files and the scoring system which allowed multiple judges to assign a score to the test. The old system took nearly a month for three people to get all tests scored. This system took days.