N2 Servicesn2services.net/images/N2_Services_Inc_CustomerSuccess_Stories.pdf · Some common code-shares do exist for developers to store their interfaces (sisprod, hrsprod, etc) –

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Disclaimer: The contents of this newsletter are under Copyright © by N2 Services Inc. SCT® and Banner® are registered trademarks of SunGard Higher Education. N2 Services is an independent company and is not affiliated or partnered in any way with SunGard.

N2 SERVICES INC.

Authored by: N2 Marketing Division

www.n2services.net

N2 Services

Customer Success Stories

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NORTH EASTERN UNIVERSITY

About Northeastern University

Founded in 1898, Northeastern University is a private research university located in the heart of Boston, and a leader

in interdisciplinary research, urban engagement, and the integration of classroom learning with real-world

experience. Their signature cooperative education program, one of the largest and most innovative in the world, is

ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. They offer a comprehensive range of undergraduate

and graduate programs leading to degrees through the doctorate in six undergraduate colleges, eight graduate

schools, and two part-time divisions.

Systems Integration Challenge

The challenge of systems integration has emerged in higher and further education as institutions have become more

reliant on computer-based information systems to support both administrative functions (Human Resources, Finance,

Student Records) and functions in teaching, learning and research (Virtual Learning Environments, electronic

resource discovery tools, etc.). Over the last 10-15 years, most institutions have moved from using information

systems which were predominantly built and maintained in-house to the purchase of products from external vendors.

Anecdotal evidence has suggested that making these systems work together, or inter-operate, is an increasingly

important agenda for institutions. Demands for information systems integration like Cast Iron, Gold with Banner

come from a number of sources: the need of institutional management for coherent management information;

increasing expectations that systems can ‘seamlessly’ support ‘the student experience’; efforts to eradicate duplication

or expensive re-keying of data. The institutions across the sector have made progress but much needs to be done to

ensure that any potential benefits will be realized in practice. Moreover, benefits claimed for integration are not

always clear and unambiguous.

N2 Solution

N2 Services is currently providing Enterprise Architecture and Systems Integration services for Northeastern

University to support the Universities needs with SunGard Banner® implementation. As part of this effort, N2 is

helping NEU build a common object data model that serves as common canonical data structure for reporting and

integration efforts.

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Some of the interfaces that N2 has been working with NEU include DARS®, e-Clinical ®, CS GOLD (ID card

system), RMS (Housing Management system), Barnes and Noble bookstore interface and many others.

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UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO AT CALIFORNIA (USFCA)

About University of San Francisco

University of San Francisco is one of the country's most diverse universities in one of the world's most exciting cities.

USF is committed to becoming internationally recognized as a premier Jesuit Catholic, urban university with a global

perspective that educates leaders who will fashion a more humane and just world. The university has inherited the

rich vision of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1540. Reflecting the values of

the Spiritual Exercises, Jesuit education affirms the ultimate goodness of the world as created, loved, and redeemed

by God; it seeks to find God in all things.

As a Jesuit catholic university, USF offers a unique and personal collegiate experience:

Academic excellence based on a tradition of more than 450 years of Jesuit educational experience

A commitment to educating the whole person – mind, body, and soul

A values-based education with a strong ethical commitment stemming from our Jesuit/Catholic tradition

A commitment to service that respects and promotes the dignity of every person by educating tomorrow's

leaders

Version Control Challenge

The following observations have been made regarding the development team over the development standards,

practices and the common problems they face.

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Developers are currently involved with the following development activities

o Data Change Requests: Design of custom sql and plsql scripts to change data based on user

requests

o In-House Mods: SQL, PLSQL, Pro*C scripts written in-house to run from Banner job submission

o Banner Customizations: SunGard objects (packages, scripts, etc) modified in-house

o Custom Self-Service packages: Modified SunGard delivered packages to fit custom self-service

needs at the University

o Data Transfer Extracts: Extracts from Banner to support different external systems that need

enterprise data

Framework for In-House Job Submission scripts (sql, plsql scripts to run from banner job submission) is

standardized and templates and blue-prints well defined

Consistent application development environment is still a work in progress. Each developer uses the best

practices and standards based on his/her preference.

Even though there is some effort towards collaboration and team work, a fully functional team design for

application development and standards is missing

Change control and version control processes are currently only in planning phases

Some common code-shares do exist for developers to store their interfaces (sisprod, hrsprod, etc) – but not

all developers store their code in those folders

Banner code tree and University code-tree is well defined. Consistent blueprint is established for banner

custom objects (SQL, PLSQL, job submission scripts, etc)

Most Developers currently have DBA level access to University production environment

Most Developers have very high access to banner database servers.

N2 Solution

N2 Services has helped USFCA implement Subversion onsite and integrated the version control repository with

LDAP authentication. Currently N2 and USFCA staff are working together to implement a seamless code check-in,

check-out process for SQL,PL/SQL scripts, Oracle forms, pro*c and Cobol executables in Higher Education

environment.

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The project involved deep knowledge of SunGard Banner® architecture, Subversion best practices, technical skills

with perl and extensive shell scripting.

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NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY (NCCU)

About North Carolina Central University

North Carolina Central University is a comprehensive university offering programs at the baccalaureate,

master’s, professional and selected doctoral levels. It is the nation’s first public liberal arts institution founded for

African-Americans.Since 1910, the mission of North Carolina Central University (NCCU) has been to prepare

students academically and professionally to become leaders. NCCU is a comprehensive institution, which offers

bachelor’s degrees in more than 100 fields of study and awards graduate degrees in an estimated 40 disciplines. The

University has a state-of-the-art biotechnology research institute, which collaborates with pharmacy and biotech

companies in the much-touted Research Triangle Park area, where NCCU is found. RTP is home to the largest

pharmaceutical companies in the world – GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) and Merck.


Implementation of exoneration policy changes over the allowance of course repeats. Numerous logics around this

grade repeat process built up complicated scenarios to be handled. Establishment of effective interaction between

Banner and the existing legacy system adds up an additional spoon of sugar to the cup of challenges.

N2 Solution

N2 Services software development team has implemented web applications for students to change meal plans and

transfer credit balance from their student account to purchase books. N2 Programming staff is also working with

NCCU staff to implement a seamless interface between T2® Parking Management system and SunGard Banner®

Accounts Receivable system.

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Some of the interfaces that N2 has been working with NCCU include CS GOLD (ID card system), RMS (Housing

Management system), T2® Parking Management system.

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SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY

About St. Louis University

Saint Louis University is a Jesuit, Catholic university ranked among the top research institutions in

the nation. The University fosters the intellectual and character development of more than 12,700 students.

Founded in 1818, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi and the second oldest Jesuit university in the

United States. Through teaching, research, health care and community service, Saint Louis University has provided

one-of-a-kind education, leadership and service for 190 years.

Business Workflow Challenge

Paper documents are pervasive in all businesses, but handling, storing and generally keep track of them is not only an

onerous task for businesses, but a very expensive one on multiple levels. In addition to the obvious storage costs for

paper, are those associated with manually processing, filing, finding documents that are misplaced, and tracking paper

throughout various processes. Activities such as document copying and transport often account for more than 50% of

the total process time. Quality and efficiency suffer from human error, not adhering to processing standards, and

time delays. Many areas of the business are impacted; i.e., delays in purchase order processing affect production and

warehouse management, payment discounts not being fully exploited due to inefficiencies in the accounts payable

process impinge on the bottom line, and customer requests not being completed in a timely manner because of

complex quotation procedures have general effect on day-to-day business.

N2 Solution

N2 functional and technical consulting teams have worked closely with the Provost’s office and Registrar’s office at

St. Louis University to implement over 15 workflows using SunGard Banner® workflow system. N2 consultants

have provided best practices to implement these workflows and also have provided programming and functional

consulting services.

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Some of the workflows that N2 has designed for St. Louis University include Grade Change workflow, New Faculty

workflow, New Employee workflow, Advisor notification workflow.

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UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA

About University of North Carol ina

The University of North Carolina is a public, multi-campus university dedicated to the service of North Carolina and

its people. It encompasses the 16 diverse constituent institutions and other educational, research, and public service

organizations. Each shares in the overall mission of the University. That mission is to discover, create, transmit, and

apply knowledge to address the needs of individuals and society. This mission is accomplished through instruction,

which communicates the knowledge and values and imparts the skills necessary for individuals to lead responsible,

productive, and personally satisfying lives; through research, scholarship, and creative activities, which advance

knowledge and enhance the educational process; and through public service, which contributes to the solution of

societal problems and enriches the quality of life in the State. In the fulfillment of this mission, the University shall

seek an efficient use of available resources to ensure the highest quality in its service to the citizens of the State.


Business managers want information systems that make their lives simpler. They demand new systems that do more

"intelligent work" and handle a far greater variety of information. These new systems should also be easy to use.

Unfortunately, "easy to use" does not mean "easy to develop and integrate." What it does mean, quite often, is a

major systems integration (SI) challenge for information technology groups.

Major systems integration risks and costs lie hidden behind end-user desktop screens. Typically, the IT solutions

envisaged by end-users incorporate multi-vendor systems, multiple standards, and a wide variety of technologies.

And, if that isn’t enough, they also affect the handling of large volumes of mission-critical information about

customers, transactions, financial accounts and core business operations. Clearly, solutions are growing in

complexity. At the same time, users are demanding fast delivery of robust, reliable systems - on time and within

budget

System integration uses not only new components developed specifically for the current requirements but also a large

number of existing components designed under different assumptions and using different real time, fault tolerance

and security protocols. They also have a different degree of reliability. From a system engineering perspective, the

key challenges include:

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Unexpected interactions resulting from syntactically compatible but semantically inconsistent QoS protocols

used by different components; from implicit and outdated assumptions about the environment embedded in

the old components; and from incompatible real time, fault tolerance, and security protocols.

System instabilities when faults and failures in one component cascade along complex and unexpected

interdependency relations, leading to system wide failures.

Inadequate system integration infrastructure due to the lack of integrated and reusable domain specific

reference architectures, tools, and design patterns with known real time, robustness, and security properties

N2 Solution

N2 Services worked with Winston Salem State University, NC A&T State University, NC Central University and

UNC Greensboro to train the school staff with concepts of Service Oriented Architecture and built prototypes using

iWay Service Manager and JBOSS ESB to demonstrate the advantages of SOA.

As part of this project N2 helped the participant schools with building pilot interfaces for Blackboard, Parking

System, Housing System, Placement Score uploads and other contracted pilots.

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