Clearlystartup: Consultancy and Development
link: Clearlybusiness
link: Clearlystart-up
As well as building and maintaining the Clearlybusiness systems, LShift have now built the first version of the Clearlystartup CD-ROM.
The Brief
Clearlybusiness wanted to deliver to their users a rich media application containing documents, videos, presentations, checklists and calculators - all the tools and advice needed by someone setting up a new business. The objective was to create an easy-to-use application that allowed the user to find the information they need on any given aspect of forming and running a new business. At the start of the project it had yet to be determined exactly what content and what data types would have to be supported, as this was to be decided in the course of user consultation and testing.
The Solution
We opted for Macromedia Director as the best tool with which to build the solution, as it supports a wide range of media types and integrates easily with the operating system and, via COM, other installed applications. This allowed us to manage a wide range of data modules and data types (MPEG, MS Word, Adobe Acrobat, SVG and others) as well as fully integrating with MS Word in order to give the user a separate business planning tool application which creates a business plan as a Word document based on user input captured by the main application.
Crucially, our solution allowed Clearlybusiness to define content modules externally using XML. This meant that, given the short deadlines, Clearlybusiness staff were able to continue to add new content and redefi ne existing content right through the project lifecycle without impacting the development of the core application. The modular design of the application allowed us to take a RAD (Rapid Application Development) approach which meant the final product could be improved and expanded upon right up to the launch date.
The Result
The first release of the Clearlystartup CD-ROM was launched successfully in April 2003. We are now planning an expanded version which will allow the application to be dynamically updated from online sources, allowing Clearlybusiness to feed new content to users in response to changing market conditions, new legislation and the like.
Technologies Used
COM, MPEG, Macromedia Director, SVG, VBScript, XML