Custom Web Application
The Challenge
ICAS’s existing website allowed them to receive electronic applications, but the actual evaluation of them was a manual process that relied heavily on the experience of a few long-term staff. To meet growing demand, the client needed to streamline their processes allowing them to gather and evaluate all required information from within the system.
Our Solution
ICAS hired MERAK to provide an assessment of their business operations with the objective of defining the requirements for a system that would solve multiple corporate goals:
- Reducing dependency on long-term staff for assessment processing.
- Decreasing the manual effort required to complete business processes.
- Enforcing standardization of practices.
- Creating a system capable of generating reports in multiple formats including an XML version compatible with external systems.
- Tracking assessments in progress.
- Providing document management.
As a follow up to the assessment, ICAS selected MERAK to develop a user-friendly web-based application, which we implemented in C#. We designed a document workflow that facilitated the quick identification of relevant past assessments, provided a single location to manage all documentation and generate the final assessment report. The system automatically generates reports that are made available via WebDAV to be edited directly using MS Word for individual customization. A SQL Server database retains prior assessment data, allowing precedents to be set and used to process future applications. This provides reliable, consistent results and saves time. We provided documentation for deployment and maintenance of the solution, and supported training via client employees involved in development and design.
Last Updated: June 25, 2025