Isabel

Challenge

To provide a more structured, workflow-based approach to software development, with greater integration between varied development environments and with web content.

Solution

Implementing enterprise content management solutions across the company’s front and back-end systems based on Serena Dimensions and Serena Collage

Result

• Introduces greater discipline and visibility into the complex software development process
• Automates testing and highlights many potential problems earlier in the development cycle
• Improves integration between key applications and dynamic web sites
• Provides greater automation of the web publishing process
• Isabel delivers e-business solutions for a web-enabled world
  Belgian software publisher Isabel has been developing innovative e-business solutions for almost a decade: providing secure data exchange between banks, businesses, and government. The company was founded in 1994 to provide secure electronic services via an integrated multi-bank platform. Dozens of Belgian and foreign banks pooled their proprietary electronic banking applications into Isabel’s single multi-bank transaction-based solution. Isabel also provides exclusive access to the financial modules offered by the various banks.

Isabel’s security systems are recognized beyond their borders. Isabel solutions are used in more than 40 countries.

More recently, the company has expanded its portfolio, with a range of dedicated e-business solutions. In 2001, the Isabel Business Suite 5.0 was launched, enabling businesses to bank electronically, exchange invoices and “sign” transactions digitally over the Internet. This means closer and more personalized customer-supplier relationships can develop, backed up by the security and peace of mind that comes from guaranteed user authentication.

Isabel also develops customized hardware and software solutions for major accounts, and is developing a range of solutions for the growing world of e-government — on-line staff recruitment declarations, electronic VAT, and secure communication with public administrators.

Software quality is a priority

Given the security and privacy issues surrounding its solutions, Isabel’s software inevitably has to meet the most stringent quality standards. That involves a great deal of careful development work and rigorous administration of the various versions of software throughout the development process.

The company’s development department is currently evolving towards developing more web-based applications. To help steer everything in the right direction, in 2002 Isabel asked Serena to supply its Dimensions software configuration management solution, to manage the increasingly complex workflows involved in the application development process.

Managing complexity in the development process

To meet the evolving needs of its customers, the application development teams at Isabel are constantly working on updating and enhancing their software solutions. But developing these kinds of highly secure applications is an extremely complex business. Isabel found that there was a growing need for active co-operation between its developers, to manage and synchronize the different versions of software, and ensure that everyone adopted each other’s modifications.

“Five years ago the first Isabel Business Suite was written entirely in Delphi”, recalls Rik Kochuyt, Testing and Integration Manager at Isabel. "At that time we implemented an initial solution for version management, with the Serena® PVCS® Professional™ Suite. This also enabled us to oversee issue management and follow up any development problems.” Isabel still does some of its application development in Delphi, but is now working across a much wider range of environments, with client and server-side developments as well as web applications.

Serena solutions support Isabel’s move to web development

In 2002, Isabel decided to make a strategic upgrade to Dimensions change management platform: which brings added workflow capabilities to the functionality provided by Serena Professional, in one integrated solution. With Dimensions, software development teams can structure and automate their workflow during the development process.

Mindful of how important it is to define the workflow in such a complex environment, the Isabel team decided to implement Dimensions as part of a four-year project plan. Migration began with the client-side development team, where the developers were already experienced in version management and workflow. This meant that they could quickly see the advantages of this important move to formalize and support their way of working.

All the client-side developers at Isabel — apart from one who is responsible for maintenance — have since also become web developers. The server-side team is still developing software using C and C++, while they prepare for the changeover.

Integrating web content management with Serena Collage

At the same time as the business decided to upgrade to Dimensions, Isabel also introduced the Collage web content management solution to manage five web sites, in different languages, all with their own look and feel. Using Collage, the company has developed templates that ensure permanent synchronization of common information at all times.

And thanks to the link with Dimensions, the company can roll out their web sites automatically — ensuring their back office applications are always synchronized with their web content. “We are using Collage as a content management system both for our static and dynamic web sites,” explains Kochuyt. “The major difference is that for our dynamic sites, the integration between Collage and Dimensions is vitally important. Dynamic sites often work with integrated applications and they can now be developed alongside the web environment, using Dimensions.” So, looking to the future, new Isabel web services could be developed for integration in specific dynamic sites.

A more streamlined approach to web publishing

“An added advantage is that, as the existing web site content is imported into Collage, the webmaster is less involved in day-to-day updates and can therefore concentrate on more technical matters, while non IT-staff are more actively involved in the content process,” adds Kochuyt. “It also makes it considerably easier for our content contributors to enhance our web sites with improved content, in a timely way.”

Automated testing saves time and highlights problems early

Isabel’s development teams are now carrying out a completely automated test of all newly developed software modules every night, concentrating particularly on the performance and functionality of these new versions. The results are automatically reported via an XML file, so that in the morning the developers and project managers have a clear picture of the status of the development.

This obviously brings with it significant time savings, but Kochuyt is also particularly keen to stress the proactive nature of the tests: “You already have module tests, so you don’t have to wait for integration tests before you identify whether there are any problems. That means you don't have to go too deeply into integration tests to find the root cause of problems. It’s a completely different way of thinking. We used to come up against problems at the end of the development process, now we can solve many issues at an earlier stage.”

What’s more, if the tests throw up a problem that involves a web site, approved changes can be channeled to Collage, which sends the new or modified sites on to system administration for publishing.