March 11, 2019 at 19:27Electronic document management system "Vizier"
This article should have been written exactly 10 years ago. Do this it would be necessary for the sake of advertising, or more precisely, PR developed workflow "system I Vizier " which at that time wanted to do, to develop and sell. Now it’s too late, but I wanted to do this in order to put this checkmark for myself (well, I like to finish it all to the end), and besides, it might even bring someone some benefit. Next - under the cut ...
... quite commonplace ... While working at one of the large enterprises of Yaroslavl, I accompanied and “finished” the document management system, which at that time was more like an electronic archive of documents - orders, instructions, etc. It was developed on ASP, and the database was MySQL, documents were stored simply in the file system on the server.
Soon after I began to accompany this system, the enterprise management thought about acquiring a workflow system - they wanted to get electronic approval of documents. Based on the existing functionality, I quickly wrote an additional module for document vising to the existing system - and it turned out that I didn’t need to purchase any other system — the management’s wishes were temporarily satisfied, the implementation of the new feature was successful. Then there was a gradual increase in functionality in order to reduce paper workflow - more coverage for documents, fewer hard copies, fewer movements of the document itself, the addition of new modules - control over the execution of documents was the last of the improvements.
And then I changed both work and city. The system remained at the old work, but the idea came up to develop a new workflow system - on the same principles, but “faster, higher, stronger”! Moreover, I knew the subject area well, I was already involved in the development and implementation of such a system. Then I just started to master ASP.NET with might and main (first, it’s purely for self-development), the first project for review was already written and I decided to take a workflow system as the second project: there is where to take a walk and get a good look at ASP.NET WebForms technology. But the project decided to do it seriously - so that in case of successful development, it would be possible to make a product from it that could be sold.
Initially, a goal was set, the main tasks and tools were identified. The electronic document management system Vizir was supposed to satisfy the needs of any large or medium-sized enterprise in internal electronic document management according to the documents of the ARDS (orders, orders), contracts, acts, technical documentation and registration of correspondence. The main modules of the system were immediately identified - document vising, registering a physical signature, sending documents to departments, monitoring the execution of documents and an archive of documents with full-text search. I really wanted to make the system simple and convenient for users, and besides, I wanted to establish such requirements so that its cost was minimal, both for deployment and maintenance. Those. do exactlynecessary and sufficient requirements.
Since, as I already mentioned, I wanted to write on ASP.NET, it turned out client-server technology, where the server was a machine on the server version of Windows 2003 (or 2008, which appeared a bit later) and the client was any PC with any browser. MySQL was chosen as the DBMS - it was free to use, plus I already knew it quite well at that time. Here it turned out 50 to 50: yes, the DBMS is free, but the OS is very paid, and the server under Windows was more expensive than under the same Linux (including rent). But I really wanted ASP.NET, since the WebForms technology itself was interesting to me and it seemed that it would give more benefits when developing software and its further support. The spaghetti code of the then PHP (and ASP) was already quite fed up, and it was clear that its maintenance in the course of improvements required more and more resources - i.e. time, and therefore money.
I immediately threw back the support of EDS - it is not clear why it is needed for an internal corporate EDI and why it is fundamentally better than ordinary authorization using a login and password. By that time, I had already managed to work with EDS (not as a programmer, but as an escort employee) and realized that this was stupid technology for the sake of technology. All the advantage of strong encryption merges nowhere with ordinary users who leave their keys in the public domain and pincodes carefully lying in envelopes in the top drawer of the table. It is clear that EDS and asymmetric encryption are necessary for the secure exchange of documents between different enterprises and government agencies, but inside the enterprise it’s the fifth wheel that prevents you from traveling, but it costs decent money.
At first, I wanted to place the database of documents in the DBMS, however, after thinking and searching for free solutions for searching documents in the text, it was decided to stop at all with storing documents in the OS file system. Windows has a document indexing service that you can configure and use for full-text search on supported document types, including Microsoft Office documents and Adobe PDF. Of course, she specifically works with Russian word endings, but she simply could not find the best free solution at that time.
He also immediately abandoned the attempt to make the system as flexible as possible with the ability to configure additional fields for documents, some specific custom routes, etc. functions of advanced EDI systems. This is all, of course, good, but again it leads to complication and appreciation of both development and implementation, and this, as mentioned above, I would like to avoid. As a result, it was decided to introduce additional fields for special types of documents (correspondence), and routing in the system was provided on the one hand linear, but on the other hand customizable with the ability to skip certain nodes depending on the types of documents and plus a user authority system.
I wanted to make the system more convenient and beautiful than the one I was doing before, for this it was necessary to think through usability and design. It was decided to rebuild the interface in the form of a top menu from the full workflow route in the system - from placing the document in the system to moving the document to the archive, through document sighting, signature registration, distribution of the document and execution control. If necessary, tabs are added if the menu item and user privileges involve several different actions.
The design was supposed to be simple and clear due to dim colors, the use, where appropriate, of icons instead of text, grouping of fields and buttons. Since it was supposed to use any browsers, during the development it was supposed to pay enough attention to cross-browser compatibility, but without fanaticism. Those. if some design “trick” was not displayed in one of the browsers, but could be simplified for it and the functionality did not suffer, then it was simplified. If this was not possible, then such a "chip" was discarded, i.e. beauty was still inferior to providing functionality.
For about two years (2007-2009) I developed this system. It is clear that for a long time, but development in the evenings after work is, unfortunately, not the same as full-time work. But in the end, it was possible to achieve all the goals: the system worked, meeting the needs of the enterprise in electronic document management, it required only a server running Windows for its functioning, did not require the purchase of additional licenses, any PC with almost any browser could serve as a client (even with IE6) . A user guide (also built into the system), a guide for implementing the system , a guide for installing the system on a server running Windows Server 2003 were writtenand scripts for unattended installation (a script based on BAT files) and for Windows Server 2008 (and a script for unattended installation based on PowerShell). Those. in fact, it turned out a product that can and should be promoted and sold. In October 2010, this software was registered in Rosreestr under number No. 20100617259. Then, a website for sales was developed and launched - http://vizier.net.ru , a demo version was deployed so that the customer could see the system himself (all user passwords from 1 to 6).
Soon, the first sale was carried out - at YARTI OJSC in the city of Yaroslavl. The implementation went without a hitch, the customer was satisfied with the system, and users not only did not complain, but even vice versa. There was exactly one minus - apparently, everything was so good that my support for the enterprise was no longer required - my own IT department could handle all the issues. At this enterprise, the system has been precisely operated for several years, it is possible that it is still being used, I just don’t know.
And then it turned out the way it happened. I did not begin to further promote and sell the Vizier electronic document management system. Although, it would seem, here it is - everything is done, everything is there, only sell and implement. Here, of course, one could refer to personal circumstances - again, a job change, moving, family, children, etc., but the problem was rather psychological - all the goals set for ourselves were achieved, but quitting work and stable earnings, taking risks and to achieve something in that area in which there is not much experience is already another. Let others drink champagne. Perhaps it was a mistake, but maybe not. This project took a deserved place in my portfolio, as a side effect was well mastered by ASP.NET, which in turn already yielded results in the development of the following project:The Hattrick Portal is the national and youth national teams site now used by players who are national team coaches playing the best online football manager Hattrick . This is also a unique experience in developing and maintaining your own website, as well as communicating with a multinational audience around the world.
Postscript. Despite the fact that I didn’t turn out to be a successful seller of an electronic document management system, I’m still more sorry that only one company uses such an excellent system. And I decided to put in general access the distribution kit of the electronic document management system "Vizier" for free use (including for commercial purposes) The only thing that will be written in the window title instead of the name of the organization is an IMPORTANT VERSION. Go to the site http://vizier.su , read a brief description, see screenshots, try the test version, download, install and use it for your health. Perhaps for some it will turn out to be a great option, but for some it will lead to the search for a more advanced system,
Background ...
... quite commonplace ... While working at one of the large enterprises of Yaroslavl, I accompanied and “finished” the document management system, which at that time was more like an electronic archive of documents - orders, instructions, etc. It was developed on ASP, and the database was MySQL, documents were stored simply in the file system on the server.
Soon after I began to accompany this system, the enterprise management thought about acquiring a workflow system - they wanted to get electronic approval of documents. Based on the existing functionality, I quickly wrote an additional module for document vising to the existing system - and it turned out that I didn’t need to purchase any other system — the management’s wishes were temporarily satisfied, the implementation of the new feature was successful. Then there was a gradual increase in functionality in order to reduce paper workflow - more coverage for documents, fewer hard copies, fewer movements of the document itself, the addition of new modules - control over the execution of documents was the last of the improvements.
And then I changed both work and city. The system remained at the old work, but the idea came up to develop a new workflow system - on the same principles, but “faster, higher, stronger”! Moreover, I knew the subject area well, I was already involved in the development and implementation of such a system. Then I just started to master ASP.NET with might and main (first, it’s purely for self-development), the first project for review was already written and I decided to take a workflow system as the second project: there is where to take a walk and get a good look at ASP.NET WebForms technology. But the project decided to do it seriously - so that in case of successful development, it would be possible to make a product from it that could be sold.
History
Initially, a goal was set, the main tasks and tools were identified. The electronic document management system Vizir was supposed to satisfy the needs of any large or medium-sized enterprise in internal electronic document management according to the documents of the ARDS (orders, orders), contracts, acts, technical documentation and registration of correspondence. The main modules of the system were immediately identified - document vising, registering a physical signature, sending documents to departments, monitoring the execution of documents and an archive of documents with full-text search. I really wanted to make the system simple and convenient for users, and besides, I wanted to establish such requirements so that its cost was minimal, both for deployment and maintenance. Those. do exactlynecessary and sufficient requirements.
Since, as I already mentioned, I wanted to write on ASP.NET, it turned out client-server technology, where the server was a machine on the server version of Windows 2003 (or 2008, which appeared a bit later) and the client was any PC with any browser. MySQL was chosen as the DBMS - it was free to use, plus I already knew it quite well at that time. Here it turned out 50 to 50: yes, the DBMS is free, but the OS is very paid, and the server under Windows was more expensive than under the same Linux (including rent). But I really wanted ASP.NET, since the WebForms technology itself was interesting to me and it seemed that it would give more benefits when developing software and its further support. The spaghetti code of the then PHP (and ASP) was already quite fed up, and it was clear that its maintenance in the course of improvements required more and more resources - i.e. time, and therefore money.
I immediately threw back the support of EDS - it is not clear why it is needed for an internal corporate EDI and why it is fundamentally better than ordinary authorization using a login and password. By that time, I had already managed to work with EDS (not as a programmer, but as an escort employee) and realized that this was stupid technology for the sake of technology. All the advantage of strong encryption merges nowhere with ordinary users who leave their keys in the public domain and pincodes carefully lying in envelopes in the top drawer of the table. It is clear that EDS and asymmetric encryption are necessary for the secure exchange of documents between different enterprises and government agencies, but inside the enterprise it’s the fifth wheel that prevents you from traveling, but it costs decent money.
At first, I wanted to place the database of documents in the DBMS, however, after thinking and searching for free solutions for searching documents in the text, it was decided to stop at all with storing documents in the OS file system. Windows has a document indexing service that you can configure and use for full-text search on supported document types, including Microsoft Office documents and Adobe PDF. Of course, she specifically works with Russian word endings, but she simply could not find the best free solution at that time.
He also immediately abandoned the attempt to make the system as flexible as possible with the ability to configure additional fields for documents, some specific custom routes, etc. functions of advanced EDI systems. This is all, of course, good, but again it leads to complication and appreciation of both development and implementation, and this, as mentioned above, I would like to avoid. As a result, it was decided to introduce additional fields for special types of documents (correspondence), and routing in the system was provided on the one hand linear, but on the other hand customizable with the ability to skip certain nodes depending on the types of documents and plus a user authority system.
I wanted to make the system more convenient and beautiful than the one I was doing before, for this it was necessary to think through usability and design. It was decided to rebuild the interface in the form of a top menu from the full workflow route in the system - from placing the document in the system to moving the document to the archive, through document sighting, signature registration, distribution of the document and execution control. If necessary, tabs are added if the menu item and user privileges involve several different actions.
The design was supposed to be simple and clear due to dim colors, the use, where appropriate, of icons instead of text, grouping of fields and buttons. Since it was supposed to use any browsers, during the development it was supposed to pay enough attention to cross-browser compatibility, but without fanaticism. Those. if some design “trick” was not displayed in one of the browsers, but could be simplified for it and the functionality did not suffer, then it was simplified. If this was not possible, then such a "chip" was discarded, i.e. beauty was still inferior to providing functionality.
And what happened?
For about two years (2007-2009) I developed this system. It is clear that for a long time, but development in the evenings after work is, unfortunately, not the same as full-time work. But in the end, it was possible to achieve all the goals: the system worked, meeting the needs of the enterprise in electronic document management, it required only a server running Windows for its functioning, did not require the purchase of additional licenses, any PC with almost any browser could serve as a client (even with IE6) . A user guide (also built into the system), a guide for implementing the system , a guide for installing the system on a server running Windows Server 2003 were writtenand scripts for unattended installation (a script based on BAT files) and for Windows Server 2008 (and a script for unattended installation based on PowerShell). Those. in fact, it turned out a product that can and should be promoted and sold. In October 2010, this software was registered in Rosreestr under number No. 20100617259. Then, a website for sales was developed and launched - http://vizier.net.ru , a demo version was deployed so that the customer could see the system himself (all user passwords from 1 to 6).
Soon, the first sale was carried out - at YARTI OJSC in the city of Yaroslavl. The implementation went without a hitch, the customer was satisfied with the system, and users not only did not complain, but even vice versa. There was exactly one minus - apparently, everything was so good that my support for the enterprise was no longer required - my own IT department could handle all the issues. At this enterprise, the system has been precisely operated for several years, it is possible that it is still being used, I just don’t know.
That's all
And then it turned out the way it happened. I did not begin to further promote and sell the Vizier electronic document management system. Although, it would seem, here it is - everything is done, everything is there, only sell and implement. Here, of course, one could refer to personal circumstances - again, a job change, moving, family, children, etc., but the problem was rather psychological - all the goals set for ourselves were achieved, but quitting work and stable earnings, taking risks and to achieve something in that area in which there is not much experience is already another. Let others drink champagne. Perhaps it was a mistake, but maybe not. This project took a deserved place in my portfolio, as a side effect was well mastered by ASP.NET, which in turn already yielded results in the development of the following project:The Hattrick Portal is the national and youth national teams site now used by players who are national team coaches playing the best online football manager Hattrick . This is also a unique experience in developing and maintaining your own website, as well as communicating with a multinational audience around the world.
And still a little bit more
Postscript. Despite the fact that I didn’t turn out to be a successful seller of an electronic document management system, I’m still more sorry that only one company uses such an excellent system. And I decided to put in general access the distribution kit of the electronic document management system "Vizier" for free use (including for commercial purposes) The only thing that will be written in the window title instead of the name of the organization is an IMPORTANT VERSION. Go to the site http://vizier.su , read a brief description, see screenshots, try the test version, download, install and use it for your health. Perhaps for some it will turn out to be a great option, but for some it will lead to the search for a more advanced system,