Legal
Product Engineering
We believe in delivering working software frequently and adopted a development methodology which would now be considered agile development. Trigent provided the team and the environment for us to continue with agile development. Trigent worked with us to set up the development teams in a manner that worked best with our process.
About the Client
The client is a market leader among the legal community providing directory services to law firms, attorneys and courts for more than 125 years. Legal professionals have trusted the annual volumes of “Red Book” to provide comprehensive, reliable reference information about contact details, filing fees, court terms and motion schedule. The client has been providing the software as a Windows application, using a licensed model over three decades. Trigent’s association with this customer has lasted for over eight years and a development effort of over 10,000 person-hours. We continue to maintain and support the application through a dedicated 24X7 team.
Business Needs
The existing software was sold through license purchases and the software distributed in DVDs that needed to be installed on their customers’ PCs. There were operating system dependencies, registry entries and many outdated COM components that often negatively impacted the install process. Additionally the data that was distributed through DVDs are worth a lot of time and effort put on by their research staff who are subject matter experts and professional attorneys.
The proposed solution was to develop the application as a web based, SaaS enabled application capable of providing enhanced functionality with no installation of software, with no dependencies on hardware and software. The client wanted users to get what information they need from the legal directory at the touch of a fingertip. This is one of the many reasons that the “Red Book” has been the definitive resource for lawyers and their staffs for more than a century.
Implementing SaaS was important due to the following reasons:
- Hosting Provider & Data Location, Hosting Facility Security & Compliance
- Data Access, Security, Segregation & Encryption
- Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery
- Integration, APIs & Reports
- Support & Maintenance
In addition, the client planned to release enhancements, mobile friendly versions and apps.
Solution
The client partnered with Trigent for their development and rolling out of their new software. The highest priority was the migration of their existing customers, attracting new internet savvy legal professionals and casual internet users. The deadline of the rollout was set as one year as the “Red Book” gets updated every year in every State.
An effective onsite-offshore model was established with close coordination between the development team who were well experienced in handling the technology components and client.
Some highlights of how Trigent executed the project are presented below:
- Subject matter experts, customer service personnel, marketing personnel from the client side provided inputs on what their customers needed.
- Various virtualization methods were used to simulate firewall and CDN (Content delivery network).
- A detailed granular plan was developed to handle the migration.
- Development, QA and the onsite teams had daily meetings with client to discuss tasks, clarifications, actions and plan. This resulted in an effective collaborative environment.
- Exhaustive testing on cross-browser compatibility issues were done and problems identified and resolved.
A key technology highlight of the implementation is mentioned below:
Organizing and Searching Data
Searching paper documents when needed can be a laborious manual process, whereas the effectiveness of this application lies in its compatibility with database technology that enables searching the relevant data and directory in a blink. The software uses in-house developed algorithms that indexes the directory and enables to retrieve them with just a click of the mouse. It also helps to get the information on the factual issues, judges, and juries related to the client.
Client Benefits:
The project was completed within budget and was successfully launched on time. The client’s revenue increased threefold compared to the non-SaaS model of business, in the first two quarters of their billing cycle. With the launch of the SaaS product the client was able to cross sell other services, resulting in expanded footprint within their client base. The customer support of the licensed/installed product was gradually withdrawn over a year, reducing and finally eliminating the associated operational costs.
Technology Stack:
