JOHN COSMAS
Program Manager
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This is the very first solution developed for ScubaVentures, and has remained the core application for communicating with users the various activities, trips, products and services made available to the general public. Currently in its 10th year of service, many of the existing features will be replaced during the roll-out of the ScubaShop for Windows release. This flagship application has served the staff and instructors by offering a simple set of highly-functional services that allows user to reproduce past events for rapid use in planning future and current events with relative ease.
The features included into the design were:
The Events Manager allows the easy reproduction of past events such as trips, classes or business activities to be COPIED and changed to reflect current information. This feature reduces data entry keystrokes and is designed to facilitate planning in advance of a fiscal year, and reduce scheduling errors. The Course Development feature helps to navigate students through a visually functional map of certification courses that is easy to plan, and added to the student's portfolio. The entertaining aspect of the site is fulfilled by adding the Photo & Video Collection feature that supports Windows Media Player functions, allowing the user to play supported media files on their desktops without having to own or install a fully compliant player program.
The decision to replace the existing QuickBooks accounting solution with Microsoft Accounting 2007 was arrived by examining the growing needs of the business. QuickBooks, while it is somewhat functional offers limited functionality on the web, and does not accommodate controls or services which can interface with external applications such as ScubaShop. The move to MS Accounting prepares ScubaVentures' operations to navigate e-commerce, point-of-sale, remote clients, mobility applications and a SQL Server-based relational database that can be extended to meet future business demands.
The features included into the design were:
The base SQL Server was installed and configured to allow multiple users to connect and interface from various client desktops currently arranged for front-line and back-office configurations. To facilitate the migration from an established accounting system, the QuickBooks file was installed into a VIRTUAL PC instance where the accounting file was imported and then tested to ensure compatibility and integrity of the file import. The ASP.NET web service will operate directly with MS Accounting and service all of the needs previously achieved with Quickbooks.
My experience in helping to instruct in courses and certifications, with the combined experience of managing complex operations lead to my involvement in the business development of ScubaVentures. This culminates in the direct B2B interactivity with PADI and the various vendors that supplies the products for ScubaVentures. In addition to these areas of focus, my talents were also applies in other business areas designed to improve the overall performance and delivery of services to the current consumer base and the web landscape. Services that were provisioned to improve the operations of this DIVE CENTER includes:
The mechanization and electronic record keeping functions previously unavailable was created to help the center and divers to maintain a record that is both portable and functional. These records are analyzed to offers solutions that would advance the diving experiences of the diver, engage further certification opportunities and make recurring sales to replace retiring gear or scuba products. In addition to finding ways to improve day-to-day operations, emerging technology demands is constantly addressed - such as integration with MS Accounting, MS Dynamics, PADI and third-party vendor solutions.
Known by its affectionate name SVLIST, this MS Access database was first developed by a fellow business partner and was later handed over for further development and enhancements. The older implementation had limitations, but was designed exclusively to help focus the operations of the user due to their limited knowledge of computing. The improved version made the application increasingly useful by adopting the renowned OUTLOOK model to promote task-centric functionality and allow the CONTACT entities to evolve into a completely relational model. In this way, each CONTACT would have the potential to become a student, customer, primary account holder, employee and an instructor. The more dynamic model released it from its previous FLAT database model to a highly functional database capable to support a host of business and operational behaviors.
The features included into the design were:
The improved version allows relationship building between contacts, which paved the way for customer relationship management, and to extend the sales process to the related contacts model. The historical information used to track the divers' certifications allowed instructors to guide students to navigate advanced courses, and define a clear path in pursuit of recreational interests and careers in diving. Trips are linked with contacts to enable the effective logging of dives that is so critical in the maintenance of the diver's log history. Equipment purchases are also logged so that future service calls may be issued in the interest of equipment safety and to prolong the life of serviceable gear. An important feature of the improved application is the introduction of the REPLICATION service which is coupled with a REMINDER function designed to enforce integrity and concurrency of data by ensuring that the user executes a SYNCHRONIZATION action every 5 days. The most beneficial service which previously consumed time and effort is the mass e-mail generator service, which is designed to dispatch announcements, circulations, alerts and marketing materials to subscribers in the database. This only required message generation by the u ser, and the application will send out the fully-qualified HTML message to its recipients over-night. A special job-task form was designed to send the same message in blocks of 10 recipients at each cycle until the entire list is processed. A DISTRIBUTION GROUP feature is supported in the event that only a few users are the intended recipients of a message. A TEST MESSAGE feature also allows the sender to perform a test to validate the contents of the message to ensure it meets their desired intent.
To complete the website functions, artwork and photography were added to increase the appeal and its appearance. Since I am an avid diver, I was responsible for much of the photography, video and graphics featured. The featured artwork and photography includes:
Many of the flyers, circulations, postcards and e-mail notifications containing graphics were created using photography and materials compiled from previous trips. This adds realism in an effort to attract divers by offering real-world representations of the many dive experiences that ScubaVentures has offered to its patrons over the years. |
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The radical move to use web services that will ultimately serve a number of computing solutions was the basis for adopting DOT.NET technology. By creating a core application that will host critical business data, and support valuable operational services, makes this an ideal solution. The web service which contains both the data and service layers can easily coordinate the exchange of information between subsystems such as the DIVE CENTER's web site, the MS Accounting system, the Windows CE platform for personnel is also best suited for emerging technology requirements that can meet a variety of business demands.
ScubaShop for Windows is the console application that can be run from any compliant computer that is secured by SSL transport, making it highly portable from the DIVE CENTER to remote locations such as the beach house or recreational centers where instructors teach courses. This administration program is designed to manage the web site, users, contacts, divers, personnel, schedule trips, plan events, manage account security, resolve on-line purchases, provision user orders, manage equipment logs and task service jobs - amongst a slew of other highly functional activities so critical to the performance of a dive center. This innovative application includes features such as:
The CONTACT MANAGER adopts the multi-relational model which provides the user a cohesive view of a contact, and established relationships with other critical entities such as instructors, emergency contacts, spouses, billing party, friends, dive buddies, third-party instructors, accounting information, certifications, trips, course activities and any related diving activities. Related diving activities such as open water exercises is critical to the operations so that a proper log provides accountability whenever liability issues or incidents were to occur. A concise HISTORY routine is designed to keep track of literally any dive activity - which extends to courses, purchases, maintenance record, service calls, phone calls, medical information, employment record, billing changes so that the contact becomes highly functional. In this way, address changes, billing parties, equipment service jobs, service inquiries may be made available in responsive ways not previously capable through traditional technology implements.
The BUSINESS ACCOUNT MANAGER was created to support the ability for a business account to service multiple divers. This extends the traditional account model to accommodate families, groups, clubs and corporate entities. An exciting feature that both highly functional and configurable, the contact associated with a BUSINESS ACCOUNT may also choose to pay for services or purchases without impacting their parent ACCOUNT. The new and improved EVENTS MANAGER is designed to treat all activities as an event, and it carefully distinguished the CATEGORY in which is it recorded so that a class, dive trip, seasonal party or a business activity can be properly classified. This provides great flexibility in relating an activity to other data-centric entities in the application such as a contact, diver, account or instructor. Each event may also use a specific TEMPLATE which is used to customize the appearance of the activity on the web, giving it an impressive and provocative look when the user encounters the event on the web site. Course administration was designed to make the planned course repeatable, so that it would may be easily reproduced by using the COPY TO feature. These are one of the many useful characteristics of the application, whereby reducing user input and alleviates entry errors.
The JOB MANAGER feature is designed to help personnel plan and execute e-mail publications, reminders and alerts, or input any scheduled task such as backups. Another feature of this function is to help plan and provision time for equipment maintenance and service calls. This offers the center the ability to carefully plan and schedule activities so delays may be avoided equipment may be delivered in time for the diver's upcoming trip. This SCHEDULING function is intended to track the whereabouts of instructors and students so that an accurate roster may be maintained. Furthermore, outages due to weather and storms can be easily coordinated if the roster is made accessible through this console which is also extended to the web and hand-held devices. The accompanying NOTIFICATION SERVICE leverages the capability of alerting divers of critical changes in a timely fashion to reduce costs and alleviate the loss of productivity.
A value-added feature in the new application is the introduction of the SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION CONSOLE which is designed to make the application easily configurable without changing the underlying code. This console is closely tied to embedded configuration tables that changes the behavior of the supported applications ever so efficiently. For instance, a new CURRENCY can be easily introduced by adding a few records to the LOOKUPS table. The collective features of the WEB SERVICE based administration program is designed to traverse the website, accounting and hand-held systems highly operational.
This is the on-line application which consumers and public users will engage on the web. They will experience a highly responsive application which offers many solutions such as upcoming trips, features diving gear, literature on certification services, notification on dive trips and a reservation system designed exclusively for the beach-house known as LILY ROSE BY THE SEA. This application will replace the existing ASP generated application which is already quite functional, but does not support ecommerce capabilities. The features included into the design were:
While the application contains many contemporary services and functions, it has been customized for ScubaVentures due to its business capabilities which support a dive center, travel services, professional dive development offerings and its beach house facilities. The online MY GEAR function, is an added function that is not found in many contemporary systems. It allows users to log and maintain gear information so that ScubaVentures may also engage their devices for routine maintenance. In addition to this free service, the MY TRIPS page is a replacement tool designed to capture TRIP information that is crucial to any diver, who is required to maintain their logs for furthering their certifications. A value added service which has been included is the MY TASKS application which is used to help coordinate the diver activities prior to a trip. This important service ensures that the diver is well prepared - this includes core equipment, suits, health products, medical inspections and passport which are crucial to any dive excursion.
The CE edition of this application is designed to help instructors to conduct day-to-day operations by extending the underlying ASP.NET web services to the handheld platform. Features included into the design were:
The services enhance the way instructors and users keep track of critical diver information. The reminders, calendared items, trips and class information are used to coordinate the activities of divers to ensure a satisfying experience when engaging ScubaVentures.
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