Case study

The Challenge

TischlerService GmbH (ltd.) is a subsidiary of the Austrian National Board of carpenters and wood-processing industries. The company focuses on development and integration of industry solutions regarding CE-designation and technical assistance systems in the window and door building, installation and maintenance industries.

“F&T Modul” is an information application for CE- designation related documentation, currently in use in 10 European countries. The information feed is managed by human resources spread over 4 countries. The PPP project is organized under a common license structure. The project utilizes 7 in-system languages with both frontend and backend being available in those languages. A stream of information is continuously keeping the system in form of dynamically and role-based packed PDF documentation, also being available in 7 languages.

This framework meant replacing a customized online database, structurally outdated by changes in the legal and business framework, with a platform-derived toolset accommodating future changes through high system flexibility while maintaining strict control over the information flow leaving the system. Previously a .NET application, using an SQL database, the need for a radical technological change was clear. Not only was the project to be realized through custom module extensions, the possibility of 3rd party content docking and built-in procedures for system extension without technical assistance had to be maintained and/or created as well.

• as human resources were limited and the information highly complex, content generation had to be performed by highly-paid employees, thus generating the need for partly automated and system supported processes
• since users of the system were spread over various countries, a multi-role, multilingual backend was also needed for the custom modules
• future options of diverging partner versions, alternate skinning and other deviations had to be incorporated at foundation level
• flexibility for future structural changes in processes and information flow was to be achieved by non-technical personnel through standardized backend functions
• dynamic content packaging, packed, sealed and watermarked documents, auto-archived versions as well as one-time digital markers and security functions had to be built bulletproof and load- resistant 
• drag and drop features to speed up internal work processes had to be maximized wherever possible

The Solution

e-n-formation solutions is an Austrian IT-Consulting and solution provider company belonging to Eric G. Trattner. The company’s core team relies not only on its 18 years of IT and consulting experience, but also on almost 15 years of experience in institutional, semi-institutional, PPP and pre-competitive information projects conducted in lead roles. A project team of 4 heads was assigned to the project - 1 project manager, 1 system technician, 1 developer and 1 content manager.

Having resolved complex project scenarios with Sitefinity before, choosing this CMS as the project’s platform was an obvious decision, as the new project was going to be a tough one. Although Sitefinity 4 was then not yet officially released, the new version was selected for the project in an early-adopter scenario. The beta build of Sitefinity 4 had many areas that were yet “in process of implementation”, but that would not pose a problem, as our project was focused on a customized documentation system for registered users, and not so much on a publicly available website, thus rendering classic CMS functions relatively low on the priority list.

The feature to dock 3rd party content as a custom module was in fact tested by one special tool developed as part of the project.

A dynamic calculation tool with full GUI usage was built on Sitefinity 4 base, with parts of the custom module ported over and extended from a Sitefinity 3.71 project. The module had to incorporate support for multiple languages and implemented a dynamic mathematical model of the physics of the transition of sound and noise through doors and windows.

The module is scheduled to be extended into the topic of dynamic heat transition calculation. All calculation results can be downloaded by users in a dynamically generated PDF document, also featuring role-based marker and security functions as the other PDF documents in the system.

With regard to design, the widgets and interfaces to the information system modules of the project were easily built using standardized elements provided by Sitefinity and integrated into an existing web design. The latter was evolved and updated to current design and technical standards and - as the rest of the system - thoroughly tested towards IE 9 (then beta) compatibility.

The Results

Overall, TischlerService GmbH (ltd.) is very pleased with the project’s results. The project was submitted as a contender for the Austrian information award “Constantinus”, but results are yet to be announced.

Although the project is an information system and not a website, some basic web usage data might hint the success of the implementation.

The transition from the old system to the new platform was very smooth as Sitefinity provided us with a modern approach to usability and ease-of-use for our customer. Now it is possible to switch instantly between languages, provide different document labels and allow the download of documents and constructions in various languages via dropdown menus. Improvement of the backend area allowed for single-slot solutions in the construction part with multiple languages and roles – end users get different document compounds and water signs out of the same backend construction slot.