The Ferguson Solutions Group delivers expert capability
for clients looking to outsource turnkey, fixed-cost IT projects. Whether the
anticipated outcome is improved productivity, better data collection and management,
more efficient recordkeeping or combinations of benefits, each project starts with a
detailed project plan that includes appropriate milestones and deadlines to deliver the
IT results that the client envisions – on time, on budget.
We apply our proven experience to provide IT solutions to meet the business needs of our
clients. We believe that our experience with a long-term client base across diverse
industries enables us to incorporate the best from each completed project into every
future project we undertake. Work completed by the Solutions Group is uniquely different
than typical staff augmentation work at a client site. For each project, FCI will guarantee
total satisfaction to our client, operating toward an end product with certainty – versus
services/staff augmentation. Our goal is to provide a smooth ride for the client on the
construction and delivery of the total solution.
The solutions that we provide range from analysis efforts – fit/gap, AS IS/TO BE,
business/requirements elicitation – and technical assessments to the design, development,
testing, implementation and support of new and existing systems. All projects are managed
based on completion of agreed upon deliverables to ensure that budgets and timelines are
met and that our client’s expectations are fulfilled. Projects are completed by a select
team of seasoned Ferguson employees whom we have chosen because they are overachievers and
have a track record of exceptional performance for and with our customer base. Our team has
the expertise to work with the technology that offers our customers the very best technical
solutions in the most efficient manner possible – which allows our clients to keep budget and
scope under control.
Client: Mental-Health-Services State Agency
Challenge: Integrate a new Learning Management System in to the agency environmentmore +Ferguson’s process: Work with the agency to identify integration points. Design and present detailed technical design describing the integration approach. Develop and test PHP Moodle plug-ins to handle custom authentication workflows and import processes.
Technologies used include: Moodle, PHP, MySQL, Active Directory, SqlServer
less -Client: Information Technology Services Company
Challenge: Update company web site to refresh the site look and feel, leverage newer technology, and simplify maintenance and supportmore +Ferguson’s process: Partner with a design agency to develop the look and feel for the refreshed site. Develop the new web site on the Node.js platform using JavaScript. Develop RESTful services used to accept and expose job postings. Integrate with PostgreSQL for data management. Generate clean and semantic HTML5 using Jade templates. The application was configured and deployed to Heroku, a cloud platform service provider.
Technologies used include: Node.js, JavaScript, Express.js, Jade, Stylus, PostgreSQL, Git, GitHub, Heroku
less -Client: Jobs-Oriented State Agency
Challenge: Design, develop, and test a new web site that provides integrated management and search for jobs, roles, and training programsmore +Ferguson’s process: Build on the information gathered during the analysis and high-level design to complete a plan to complete detailed design, design, and test of a new agency web site that provides integrated management and search for jobs, roles, and training programs. To make the best use of client time and resources, Ferguson Consulting built client interaction into the project schedule, developed the software off-site, then delivered and tested the solution at the client location. The program’s integration with various agency capabilities added functionality and improved service for the public and training providers interacting with the agency.
Technologies used include: Microsoft .NET, Telerik, jQuery, Oracle Database, SQL Server
less -Client: Jobs-Oriented State Agency
Challenge: Complete AS-IS analysis and TO-BE high-level design for a new agency web site that refreshes technology and provides integrated management and search for jobs, roles, and training programsmore +Ferguson’s process: Complete an AS-IS analysis of current agency job seeker systems that provide management and search for jobs, roles, and training programs. Complete a TO-BE design of a single integrated web site that extends the new agency jobs portal, leveraging the technology used to develop the portal, and supporting functionality previously available in several different systems. Document the analysis and design and deliver a summary presentation to agency management.
Technologies used include: Oracle Web Forms, Oracle Database, Microsoft .NET, SQL Server
less -Client: Information Technology Services Company
Challenge: Automate the manual process of posting jobs to reduce effort, increase accuracy, and improve the timeliness of updatesmore +Ferguson’s process: Quickly gather basic requirements for the posting process and develop a prototype of an automated tool to enter job information. Pilot the tool while interfaces were developed to the company internal web site and external posting web site. Convert historical data and provide support during the pilot. Update an interface to support posting to the new company web site.
Technologies used include: Microsoft Access, HTML, XML, SMTP email, MySQL, Node.js, HTTP, JSON
less -Client: Cleaning-Recycling Services Company
Challenge: Assess the use of shop-floor technology and execute a resulting project to design and develop a critical inventory management systemmore +Ferguson’s process: Interview managers and operators who use shop-floor technology, review and evaluate current shop-floor technology, develop requirements for shop-floor technology, identify requirement fits and gaps, develop and document projects to close gaps, and deliver an assessment presentation to company management. As a result of the assessment, proceed with a critical project to quickly design, develop, pilot, and deploy an inventory management system to manage serialized inventory processed by the company for one of their largest clients.
Technologies used include: Microsoft Excel, Hanco TRAFFIC, Maxwell American Contractor, SAP Business One, Microsoft Access
less -Client: Field-Services-Oriented State Agency
Challenge: Design, develop, and deploy a new mobile solution used by agency personnel to gather data during on-site inspectionsmore +Ferguson’s process: Build on the information gathered during the solution assessment through requirements gathering with agency subject matter experts to design a new application used to gather data during on-site inspections by agency personnel. Identify technology that is current, supported by the agency, and integrates with agency direction. Develop the new application in phases with accelerated delivery of initial functionality for early pilot testing by the agency. Support continuous review and knowledge transfer with agency technical personal to ease the support transition.
Technologies used include: Windows Tablets, Microsoft .NET, WPF, Lucene search, WCF web services, MSTest, Crystal Reports, SQL Server
less -Client: Field-Services-Oriented State Agency
Challenge: Assess the technology and functionality provided by a mobile solution used by agency personnel to gather data during on-site inspectionsmore +Ferguson’s process: Review the mobile technology platform and integration with other technology used to gather data during on-site inspections by agency personnel, transfer the data to a central store, and present the data to public users through a web portal. Meet with agency subject matter experts to review issues. Document findings and deliver a presentation to agency management with recommendations on technical and functional direction.
Technologies used include: Windows Tablets, MobileFrame, Oracle, SQL Server, Microsoft .NET
less -Client: International Beverage Company
Challenge: Develop, maintain, and enhance engineering systems across a plant network that relies on a diverse technical platform and routinely uses more than 40 applicationsmore +Ferguson’s process: Our reputation for on-time and on-budget implementation under demanding circumstances was a significant factor in winning this multi-year assignment. Ferguson Consulting was responsible not only for application development and design but also overall project implementation, with deliverables that included building and enhancing interactive websites and tracking systems, converting applications from VB6 to .NET, providing architecture design, reviewing developers’ code for compliance with standards, and helping plant workers understand how to use the new automated tools
Technologies used include: C#, VB.NET, Microsoft Composite UI Application Block, .Net ClickOnce Deployment, Visual Basic, Visual Studio, VB Script, Java Script, Active Server Pages (ASP), ASP.NET, AJAX, HTML, DHTML, Web Services, COM/DCOM, IIS, MTS, C, Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase, Access, SQL, PL/SQL, Stored Procedures, ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), Data Access Objects (DAO), Object Oriented Design, MTS, Crystal Reports 8.5,Visual SourceSafe, Videosoft ActiveX controls, MS Office, Windows XP, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000/98/95, Windows CE, Palm OS, Object Oriented Analysis and Design.
less -Client: International Beverage Company
Challenge: Enhance multiple systems to support and coordinate plant-level innovation effortsmore +Ferguson’s process: Provide detailed project requirements assessment, including Fit/Gap analysis and project plans. The client’s business configuration requires that a separate plan be completed for each plant involved in the innovation initiative.
Technologies used include: Mandated use of .NET technology and SAP.
less -Client: National Telecommunications Company
Challenge: Redesign, relaunch, enhance, and maintain a website designed for a targeted customer group.more +Ferguson’s process: Work with the client to enable the website to support weekly marketing promotions to keep it fresh and expand the customer pipeline. Projects include a variety of electronic documents to accommodate customer-oriented quotes, contracts, and service orders and improve sales staff efficiency and productivity. The on-site team includes web developers, web service developers, business analysts and project managers
Technologies used include: Visual Studio.NET 2010, ASP.NET 3.5, VB.NET, C# 3.0, .NET 3.5, LINQ, JavaScript, CSS, ADO.NET, NUnit, Web Services, XPath, XQuery, JQuery, JQuery Plugins, AJAX, XML, XSD, SQL Server 2010, T-SQL, Windows XP, Visual SourceSafe, Silverlight.
less -Client: National Telecommunications Company
Challenge: Update and enhance system used to track programming-related expensesmore +Ferguson’s process: Resolve migration issues by vigorously testing and tweaking an off-the-shelf conversion product used to migrate existing information to the new system. The project’s second phase delivers additional enhancements to the system now in place.
Technologies used include: Visual Studio 2010, .NET Framework 3.5, ComponentOne controls, VB.NET, VB6, Code Architects VB Migration Partner, Microsoft VBScript scripting and control, SQL Server 2005, SQL Server Reporting Services, InstallShield, Visual SourceSafe.
less -Client: On-line Travel Services Company
Challenge: Support was overwhelmed by calls from customers. The solution was to enhance the on-line self-service tools to enable customers to do more for themselvesmore +Ferguson’s process: To develop this high-profile, public-facing website, Ferguson Consulting used Scrum methodology to prioritize work in 2-3 week Sprints that included design, development and testing activities. The customer was able to work with the delivered software by way of a continuous integration process.
Technologies used include: This Java application was implemented using Spring MVC, JSON RESTFul web services, and FreeMarker template engine with support for configurable look and feel and capable of being rendered in over 30 languages.
less -Client: Agency Focused on Energy Assistance for Low-Income Individuals
Challenge: Connect utility providers and users who qualify for energy assistance payments and carry out supporting activities such as applications and payment trackingmore +Ferguson’s process: Work with utility vendors to develop XML messages that handle business transactions and design and develop automated processes to determine benefits, handle customer applications, and support ongoing communications among the administering agencies and utilities. Ferguson designed, developed, and implemented public-facing .NET Web applications and back-end support processes and interfaces.
Technologies used include: Microsoft Visual Studio 2010, Visual Basic .NET; Microsoft MVC; Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, SQL Server Reporting Services; Microsoft BizTalk 2010; Telerik UI Controls; Microsoft Team Foundation Server; Microsoft Unity Application Block.
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