Testimonial: Bio-medical research institute - grant management and ordering system
As a Scientific Infrastructure Manager at the Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research (www.wmi.usyd.edu.au), I handle many logistical tasks. Several years ago I started using File Maker Pro to help with ordering consumables and equipment for a large cancer research department. The database was simple and worked well for me. Over time I linked it to a supplier database and extended it to let staff members login and place orders directly without my involvement.
Another large department of the Institute developed a MS Access database to manage purchases. We decided to combine our systems and to extend the resulting system to cover the entire Institute. When we analysed business requirements for a large purchasing and grant management system, we realised that neither of our current databases was capable of supporting them. We needed a multi-user system with multi-layer flexible security access, for example, we had to hide an account number when showing an existing order if the person was not authorised to use that particular account. We wanted for a user with common access privileges to be able to edit their own data and orders but to have a view- only access to some of other users information while no access to selected other fields. We also required a system capable of generating and sending customised messages like emailing an order form to a supplier or sending a notification to a manager if a staff contract expires, etc. Importantly, we did not want to get consultants to develop a system for us for two main reasons: we wanted to retain a full ownership of the system and to be able to adjust it if and when is needed; secondly, we did not have tens of thousands of dollars to spend on our dream system.
We talked to our IT department and they suggested to use a MySQL database but to obtain a development interface to automate the database setup. At the time they were planning to install a MySQL database on a Linux server and to provide a network and administration support.
At that time there were several products on the market which were able to deliver functionality we needed. The only problem was that we would have to hire computer programmers to do the job for us which was unacceptable for the two reasons described above. The only package which satisfied all of our criteria was AwareIM.
It took us some time to learn the AwareIM concept and its rule language. The AwareIM development team provided us with a good and reliable support; most of our problems emailed to them were answered on the same or the next day. At the end we were able to configure the database to the way we wanted and to create all the necessary forms, reports, processes and notifications. Purchasing, grant management and personnel parts of our database are now fully functional and we are currently rolling them out. Meantime we are devising plans to add asset management functionality.
In summary, we were able to use AwareIM to deliver solutions to satisfy all of our requirements and I am confident that there are many other people and organisations out there who will find it useful for their applications.
Dr. Greg Kaplan
Scientific Infrastructure Manager
Westmead Millennium Institute
greg_kaplan@wmi.usyd.edu.au