Case Studies

Infostrat - Case Studies
Infostrat - Microsoft Government Contracts Management System (CMS)
Infostrat - Electronic Permits Management (e-Permits)
Infostrat - Marine Corps Recruiting Information Support System
Infostrat - Marine Corps Recruiting Command Automated Enlistment Package
Infostrat - Graduate Management Admission Council
Infostrat - Defense Commissary Agency Enterprise Architecture
Infostrat - Institute of Museum and Library Services Grants Management System
Infostrat - Office of Personnel Management (OPM) EmployeeExpress.gov
Infostrat - Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Microsoft CRM 3.0 Deployment
Infostrat - CHS BizTalk Server 2006 Data Integration
Infostrat - Dangerous Goods Shipment

Marine Corps Recruiting Information Support System (MCRISS)

Infostrat developed the Marine Corps Recruiting Information Support System (MCRISS) using Microsoft’s development platform, which provides scalability, flexibility, and extensibility. Infostrat began this project in January 2000 and won a five year contract for continued work on the MCRISS system in August 2002 with SAIC.

BACKGROUND

The Marine Corps Recruiting Command (MCRC) wanted to automate their recruiting system. Data captured for new applicants must be available to recruiters around the country as applicants progress through the recruiting process. Recruiters must schedule, track and report: physical exams, mental aptitude exams, disqualifications, discharges, swearing in and shipping to boot camp - each of which may take place in different locations.

PROBLEM
MCRC is considered the most stressful non-combat assignment in the Marine Corps. The command needed to implement a web-based system to replace their twenty year-old mainframe system to keep pace with the urgent demands of systematic recruiting. The mainframe system had become prohibitively expensive to maintain; it did not adequately support recruiting operations and compounded these problems by its inability to enforce critical business rules and data integrity which often resulted in inconsistent or bad data.

SOLUTION
Infostrat built the system using the Microsoft platform on a production-ready, scalable architecture and made dramatic performance improvements throughout the system. Infostrat met the system goals by leveraging industry-leading web technologies in developing a web-based recruiting application.

Working with SAIC, Infostrat has continued to lead efforts to develop new functionality for the MCRISS system to support all phases of the Marine Corps systematic recruiting process. Some of the major enhancements include:

  • Upgrade NT Server 4.0 to Windows 2000 Server.
  • Upgrade SQL Server 7.0 to SQL Server 2000
  • Upgrade Windows 2000 Server to Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Implement Network Load Balancing
  • Implement SQL Server clustering
  • Migrate to a SAN based environment to improve disaster recovery capabilities and COOP (Continuity Of Operations)
  • Introduce .NET into MCRISS development.

_____________________

 

 

Business Profile
Marine Corps Recruiting Information Support System (MCRISS)

Solution at a glance
Created a web-based application for Marine Corps clients to manage the recruiting process for new applicants.

Technologies involved
  • Microsoft Windows 2000
  • SQL Server 2000
  • .NET Framework
  • Visual Studio .NET
  • C/C++, ATL
  • ASP
  • COM/COM+
  • Visual Basic

Infostrat has continued to perform maintenance builds and resolve technical issues associated with maintaining a production ready web-based application. These efforts produced a dramatic turnaround which helped restore the reputation of the MCRISS system and validate the significant effort expended by the MCRISS team.

Infostrat led the efforts to develop the MCRISS Officer and NROTC applications. These efforts resulted in what may be the fastest and most successful deployment of a production system in Marine Corps history. The typical time from deploying a new system to shutting off the previous system is approximately two years. The MCRISS Officer system was able to achieve this milestone in less than four months.

Infostrat was able to achieve these results through relentless efforts to define requirements, develop high quality software and rigorously test the system combined with excellent communication between team members and MCRC.

FURTHER IMPLEMENTATION
Infostrat will continue to enhance the functionality of the MCRISS system and will continue to develop the system such that it can be readily expanded to support future enhancements and additional functionality.

The system architecture will facilitate communication with legacy systems and support On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP). This solution is based on industry-leading technology with an open architecture design which allows Infostrat to integrate robust systems within any computing environment and maintain high performance without sacrificing future enhancements and scalability.

CERTIFICATES OF COMMENDATION
As a result of their efforts on this project, two key members of the InfoStrat team received certificates of commendation from the MCRC commanding general - an honor rarely awarded to civilians.

_________________________________

These case studies are provided to illustrate the capabilities of Infostrat in delivering solutions on the Microsoft platform. They do not represent an endorsement of Infostrat or Microsoft Corporation by the customer.