HREF TOOLS CORP.

WEBHUB CASE STUDY BRIEF

Overview

• Synetics Systems was commissioned by the Massachusetts Job Council to design and implement a new system for the Commonwealth's workforce development effort.
• Using WebHub and Delphi, Synetics Systems built a dynamic, database-driven web site to serve as an online career center for Massachusetts.
• Drawing from seven different databases, the system dynamically publishes data in the user-friendly interface of a web browser.
• The job search web application is designed to serve three separate populations. They include:

1. Job seekers who can use the system to find jobs in over 100 different fields covering a wide range of skill levels. The search can be distilled to retrieve information for jobs based on geographic locations, salary and education requirements.
2. Employers offering jobs can post openings through the site.
3. Providers of education and training who can use the site to place course listings and other educational programs for career development.

• The major challenge of the project was to create an infrastructure that would be solid, expandable and inexpensive to maintain. Using WebHub and Delphi, the site's chief technical architect addressed all of these issues. The system will eventually serve all of the Commonwealth's career centers and draw information from about 40 different career information databases.

Company Background

Created in 1969, Science Applications International Corporation and its subsidiaries have over 21,500 employees at more than 475 locations worldwide. SAIC is owned by its employees, who perform technical services internationally. The Synetics Systems Operation is a newly formed organization under SAIC. Synetics Systems specializes in systems integration, offering expertise in information systems planning, development, outsourcing, Internet solutions, networking & telecommunications and training.

Situation

The Massachusetts Jobs Council was faced with the challenge of providing a resource tool that would assist in decreasing the Commonwealth's unemployed population. This tool would provide streamlined information services to employers, job seekers and individuals looking for career training and other educational programs.

Synetics Systems was given the task of developing and implementing the Internet system for the Commonwealth's workforce development effort. The system, called One Stop Career Centers, would serve as a single source of information for the offices of the Commonwealth.

The primary architectural challenges of the project were three-fold. The site would have to be:

1. Able to run database-driven web applications capable of serving several populations and performing multiple information distribution tasks and database queries.
2. Easily and inexpensively maintained and updated
3. Capable of expansion to draw from 30 to 40 of the Commonwealth's existing One Stop Career Center databases.

In November 1995, Matthew Kleiderman, a chief member of the technical team for the Internet project, discovered WebHub. Already a Delphi user, Kleiderman saw in WebHub a technology that would allow him to transfer his existing expertise onto the web to build advanced web applications and connect large databases to the Internet. In February, 1996 Kleiderman had completed the first operational web site which became public in April, 1996.

Solution

Simple Database Connectivity

Using WebHub, the Synetics Systems team connected an Interbase Server 4500 database to the new web site. WebHub components automatically generate HTML grids and fields for data queries. When a job seeker looks for available jobs in a particular professional field, that information is retrieved from the database and then dynamically displayed in standard HTML graphic formats. The information is retrieved only once, so that subsequent drill-down requests of the data are simply displayed using information generated in the original request. This WebHub feature ensured speed and performance for a system that handles and displays such a broad range of data.

Highly Efficient Maintenance

One of the key features of WebHub technology is the separation of programming logic from HTML. For the One Stop Career site this has saved a great deal of time and money because it has allowed HTML specialists with minimal programming experience to make changes to the ìlook and feelî of the site without affecting the more advanced Delphi applications it runs.

The separation of HTML from Delphi has also enabled Kleiderman to focus on the more complex database and programming issues. One the developer side, changes to the application can be made by simply uploading the new information (either locally or from a remote site) and clicking a refresh button which automatically makes all the proper updates and ensures that the directories and HTML files are in order.

Speed and Performance: The Essential Requirements

The One Stop Career site is dynamic, database-driven and designed to serve a high volume of users. Speed and performance were therefore critical issues that had to be addressed for the system to operate at the level its developers had envisioned. WebHub's highly functional component-based architecture provided the solutions Kleiderman and the technical team needed:

First, WebHub has a built-in process control feature which provides an additional layer (called the ìHubî) between the surfer and the database engine. This prevents system overload and allows for multiple and simultaneous application requests. The WebHub framework makes it possible for a dynamic, database-driven site to run as many different applications or copies of the same application as needed. The One Stop Career site currently runs four copies, or ìinstances,î of the same application. The process control module queues requests and distributes users to the least busy application available so that, no matter how busy the site is, the application(s) it supports will run smoothly and efficiently.

Second, WebHub's support of multiple open queries was a performance feature with significant importance for the One Stop site. Rather than load and reload each new query as the surfer moves from page to page, the One Stop Career site application remains open for the user's entire visit, regardless of the quantity of pages that are visited. The result has been web applications that run extremely fast. With this speed, users are served more quickly and efficiently and the site is capable of supporting high traffic volumes in a short period of time.

Summary

Synetics Systems Operation has taken a fragmented model and developed a centralized Internet-enabled system for distributing job and training information. The site now draws from seven databases from various One Stop Career Centers in Massachusetts. Synetics Systems Operation plans to increase that number to include all of the Commonwealth's 30 to 40 backbone Career Center databases.

This project represents the future of government services. It has used advanced Internet development tools to provide essential public information in an easy-to-use platform. More than a financially beneficial streamlined technology, the One Stop Career site has improved the quality and efficiency of employment services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

"WebHub gave us the industrial strength solution we needed to build a broad-based site capable of drawing mountains of database information and publishing it on the web. We could not have achieved this level of functionality with any other tool."

--Matthew Kleiderman, The Synetics Systems Operation>

Technology Used