Electronic document management system "Vizir"
This article should have been written exactly 10 years ago. It would be necessary to do this for the sake of advertising, or more precisely, PR of the Vizier document system developed by me, which at that time I wanted to do, develop and sell. Now it is too late, but I wanted to do this in order to put this tick for myself (well, I like to finish everything up to the end), and besides, perhaps it will even bring some kind of benefit to someone. Next - under the cut ...
... quite banal ... While working at one of the large enterprises of Yaroslavl, I accompanied and “dopiliv” document management system, which at that time was rather an electronic archive of documents - orders, orders, etc. It was developed on ASP, and the database was MySQL, the documents were simply stored in the file system on the server.
Shortly after I began to accompany this system, the management of the company thought about acquiring a document management system - they wanted to receive an electronic agreement of documents. Based on the existing functionality, I quickly wrote an additional module for sighting documents to the existing system - and it turned out that acquiring some other system is not required - the wishes of the management were temporarily satisfied, the implementation of the new feature was successful. Then there was a gradual increase in functionality in order to reduce paper workflow - more coverage of documents, fewer hard copies, less movement of the document itself, adding new modules - control of document execution was the last refinement.
And then I changed my job and the city. The system remained at the old job, but the idea to develop a new document management system appeared - on the same principles, but “faster, higher, stronger”! Moreover, I knew the subject area well, I was already engaged in the development and implementation of such a system. Then I just began to master ASP.NET (at first purely for self-development), the first project was already written for review, and I decided to take a workflow system with the second project: there is a place to take a walk and get acquainted with the ASP.NET WebForms technology. But the project decided to do it seriously - so that in case of successful development it would be possible to make a product out of it that can be sold.
')
Initially the goal was set, the main tasks and tools were defined. The Vizir electronic document management system was supposed to satisfy the needs of any large or medium-sized enterprise in the internal electronic document management of OSA documents (orders, orders), contracts, acts, technical documentation and correspondence registration. The main modules of the system were immediately identified - document sighting, registration of physical signatures, distribution of documents to departments, control over the execution of documents, and archive of documents with full-text search. I really wanted to make the system simple and user-friendly, and even with all this I wanted to establish such requirements so that its cost was minimal, both for deployment and maintenance. Those. to do exactly what one always wants and all - maximize the attitude of the benefits to the costs, while complying with all necessary and sufficient requirements.
Since, as I have already mentioned, I wanted to write on ASP.NET, it turned out client-server technology, where the server was a machine on the server version of Windows 2003 (or 2008, which appeared a little later) and the client — any PC with any browser. MySQL was chosen as the DBMS - it was free to use, plus I already knew it well at that time. Here it turned out 50 to 50: yes, the DBMS is free, but the OS is very much even paid, and the Windows server was more expensive than under the same Linux (including for rent). But I just wanted ASP.NET, because the WebForms technology itself was interesting to me and it seemed that it would provide more benefits in software development and its further support. The spaghetti code of the then PHP (and ASP) was already quite fed up, and it was clear that maintaining it in working order with modifications required more and more resources - i.e. time, and therefore money.
I immediately threw back the support of the EDS - it is not clear why it is needed for the intra-corporate EDI and how it is fundamentally better than the usual authorization using a login and password. By that time, I had already managed to work with EDS (not as a programmer, but as an escort employee) and realized that this was a stupid technology for the sake of technology. All the advantage of strong encryption is merged into nowhere by ordinary users who leave the keys in the public domain and pin-codes that lie carefully in envelopes in the top drawer of the table. It is clear that EDS and asymmetric encryption are necessary for secure exchange of documents between different enterprises and government agencies, but inside the enterprise it is the fifth wheel that prevents people from traveling, but costs decent money.
At first, I wanted to place the database of documents in a DBMS, however, after thinking and searching for free search solutions in the text of documents, it was decided to stop the storage of documents in the OS file system. Windows has a document indexing service, which you can customize and use for full-text search for supported document types, including office documents Microsoft Office and Adobe PDF. She, of course, specifically works with Russian word endings, but she simply could not find the best free solution at that time.
I also immediately refused to try to make the system as flexible as possible, with the possibility of setting additional fields for documents, some specifically tuned routes, etc. functions of advanced EDM systems. All this, of course, is good, but again it leads to complication and increase in the cost of both development and implementation, and this, as mentioned earlier, I would like to avoid. As a result, it was decided to enter additional fields for special types of documents (correspondence), and routing in the system was provided on the one hand linear, but on the other - customizable with the possibility of skipping certain nodes depending on the types of documents and plus to this system of user authority.
I wanted to make the system more comfortable and beautiful than the one I used to do before, for this we had to think over usability and design. It was decided to rebuild the interface in the form of the top menu from the full route of the document flow in the system - from placing the document into the system before moving the document to the archive, through the sight of the document, registration of the signature, distribution of the document and execution control. Tabs are added if necessary if the menu item and user credentials imply several different actions.
The design was supposed to be simple and visual due to dim colors, using, where appropriate, icons instead of text, grouping fields and buttons. Since it was supposed to use any browsers, during the development it was supposed to pay enough attention to cross-browser compatibility, but without fanaticism. Those. if some designer "trick" was not displayed in one of the browsers, but could be simplified for it and the functionality did not suffer, then it was simplified. If this was not possible, then such a “trick” was discarded, i.e. beauty is still inferior to providing functionality.
About two years (2007-2009) I developed this system. It is clear that for a long time, but working out in the evenings after work is, unfortunately, not the same thing as working on a full day. But in the end, they managed to achieve all of their goals: the system worked, ensuring the needs of the enterprise for electronic document management, required for its operation only a server running Windows, did not require the purchase of additional licenses, any PC with almost any browser could serve as a client (even with IE6) . A user manual (also embedded in the system), a system implementation guide, a system installation guide for a server running Windows Server 2003, and automatic installation scripts (a script based on BAT files) and for Windows Server 2008 (and an automatic installation script) were written. based on powershell). Those. in fact, it turned out a product that can and should be promoted and sold. In October 2010, this software was registered in Rosreestra under the number â„–2010617259. Then a business card site for sales was developed and launched at http://vizier.net.ru , a demo version was launched so that the customer could see the system himself.
Soon the first sale was made - at JSC YRTI in the city of Yaroslavl. Implementation took place without a hitch, the customer was satisfied with the system, and users not only did not complain, but even vice versa. There was exactly one minus - apparently, everything was so good that my support for the enterprise was no longer needed - my own IT department could handle all the issues. At this enterprise, the system has been accurately operated for several years, perhaps it is being used now, I just do not know anymore.
And then it turned out as it happened. I did not engage in further promotion and sale of the Vizir electronic document management system. Although, it would seem, here it is - everything is done, everything is there, just sell and implement. Here, of course, one could refer to personal circumstances - again, job changes, relocation, family, children, etc., but the problem was rather psychological - all the goals set for oneself were achieved, but to give up work and stable earnings, to risk and achieve something in the area in which there is not much experience - this is another. Champagne let others drink. Perhaps it was a mistake, but maybe not. This project took a deserved place in my portfolio, as a side effect was well mastered by ASP.NET, which already in turn yielded a result when developing the following project: Hattrick Portal - a site on national and youth national teams that are now used by players - coaches of all teams countries playing the best online football manager Hattrick . This is also a unique experience in developing and maintaining your own website, as well as communicating with a multinational audience around the world.
Scriptum. Despite the fact that I did not get a successful seller of the electronic document management system, I still feel sorry for the fact that only one company uses such an excellent system. And I decided to publish the Vizier electronic document management distribution for free use (including for commercial purposes). The only thing that will be written in the title bar of the window instead of the name of the organization is FAST VERSION. Visit the site http://vizier.net.ru , read the short description, see screenshots, try the test version, download, install and exploit for health. Perhaps for some it will be an excellent option, but for some it will push to search for a more advanced system.
Background ...
... quite banal ... While working at one of the large enterprises of Yaroslavl, I accompanied and “dopiliv” document management system, which at that time was rather an electronic archive of documents - orders, orders, etc. It was developed on ASP, and the database was MySQL, the documents were simply stored in the file system on the server.
Shortly after I began to accompany this system, the management of the company thought about acquiring a document management system - they wanted to receive an electronic agreement of documents. Based on the existing functionality, I quickly wrote an additional module for sighting documents to the existing system - and it turned out that acquiring some other system is not required - the wishes of the management were temporarily satisfied, the implementation of the new feature was successful. Then there was a gradual increase in functionality in order to reduce paper workflow - more coverage of documents, fewer hard copies, less movement of the document itself, adding new modules - control of document execution was the last refinement.
And then I changed my job and the city. The system remained at the old job, but the idea to develop a new document management system appeared - on the same principles, but “faster, higher, stronger”! Moreover, I knew the subject area well, I was already engaged in the development and implementation of such a system. Then I just began to master ASP.NET (at first purely for self-development), the first project was already written for review, and I decided to take a workflow system with the second project: there is a place to take a walk and get acquainted with the ASP.NET WebForms technology. But the project decided to do it seriously - so that in case of successful development it would be possible to make a product out of it that can be sold.
')
Story
Initially the goal was set, the main tasks and tools were defined. The Vizir electronic document management system was supposed to satisfy the needs of any large or medium-sized enterprise in the internal electronic document management of OSA documents (orders, orders), contracts, acts, technical documentation and correspondence registration. The main modules of the system were immediately identified - document sighting, registration of physical signatures, distribution of documents to departments, control over the execution of documents, and archive of documents with full-text search. I really wanted to make the system simple and user-friendly, and even with all this I wanted to establish such requirements so that its cost was minimal, both for deployment and maintenance. Those. to do exactly what one always wants and all - maximize the attitude of the benefits to the costs, while complying with all necessary and sufficient requirements.
Since, as I have already mentioned, I wanted to write on ASP.NET, it turned out client-server technology, where the server was a machine on the server version of Windows 2003 (or 2008, which appeared a little later) and the client — any PC with any browser. MySQL was chosen as the DBMS - it was free to use, plus I already knew it well at that time. Here it turned out 50 to 50: yes, the DBMS is free, but the OS is very much even paid, and the Windows server was more expensive than under the same Linux (including for rent). But I just wanted ASP.NET, because the WebForms technology itself was interesting to me and it seemed that it would provide more benefits in software development and its further support. The spaghetti code of the then PHP (and ASP) was already quite fed up, and it was clear that maintaining it in working order with modifications required more and more resources - i.e. time, and therefore money.
I immediately threw back the support of the EDS - it is not clear why it is needed for the intra-corporate EDI and how it is fundamentally better than the usual authorization using a login and password. By that time, I had already managed to work with EDS (not as a programmer, but as an escort employee) and realized that this was a stupid technology for the sake of technology. All the advantage of strong encryption is merged into nowhere by ordinary users who leave the keys in the public domain and pin-codes that lie carefully in envelopes in the top drawer of the table. It is clear that EDS and asymmetric encryption are necessary for secure exchange of documents between different enterprises and government agencies, but inside the enterprise it is the fifth wheel that prevents people from traveling, but costs decent money.
At first, I wanted to place the database of documents in a DBMS, however, after thinking and searching for free search solutions in the text of documents, it was decided to stop the storage of documents in the OS file system. Windows has a document indexing service, which you can customize and use for full-text search for supported document types, including office documents Microsoft Office and Adobe PDF. She, of course, specifically works with Russian word endings, but she simply could not find the best free solution at that time.
I also immediately refused to try to make the system as flexible as possible, with the possibility of setting additional fields for documents, some specifically tuned routes, etc. functions of advanced EDM systems. All this, of course, is good, but again it leads to complication and increase in the cost of both development and implementation, and this, as mentioned earlier, I would like to avoid. As a result, it was decided to enter additional fields for special types of documents (correspondence), and routing in the system was provided on the one hand linear, but on the other - customizable with the possibility of skipping certain nodes depending on the types of documents and plus to this system of user authority.
I wanted to make the system more comfortable and beautiful than the one I used to do before, for this we had to think over usability and design. It was decided to rebuild the interface in the form of the top menu from the full route of the document flow in the system - from placing the document into the system before moving the document to the archive, through the sight of the document, registration of the signature, distribution of the document and execution control. Tabs are added if necessary if the menu item and user credentials imply several different actions.
The design was supposed to be simple and visual due to dim colors, using, where appropriate, icons instead of text, grouping fields and buttons. Since it was supposed to use any browsers, during the development it was supposed to pay enough attention to cross-browser compatibility, but without fanaticism. Those. if some designer "trick" was not displayed in one of the browsers, but could be simplified for it and the functionality did not suffer, then it was simplified. If this was not possible, then such a “trick” was discarded, i.e. beauty is still inferior to providing functionality.
And what happened?
About two years (2007-2009) I developed this system. It is clear that for a long time, but working out in the evenings after work is, unfortunately, not the same thing as working on a full day. But in the end, they managed to achieve all of their goals: the system worked, ensuring the needs of the enterprise for electronic document management, required for its operation only a server running Windows, did not require the purchase of additional licenses, any PC with almost any browser could serve as a client (even with IE6) . A user manual (also embedded in the system), a system implementation guide, a system installation guide for a server running Windows Server 2003, and automatic installation scripts (a script based on BAT files) and for Windows Server 2008 (and an automatic installation script) were written. based on powershell). Those. in fact, it turned out a product that can and should be promoted and sold. In October 2010, this software was registered in Rosreestra under the number â„–2010617259. Then a business card site for sales was developed and launched at http://vizier.net.ru , a demo version was launched so that the customer could see the system himself.
Soon the first sale was made - at JSC YRTI in the city of Yaroslavl. Implementation took place without a hitch, the customer was satisfied with the system, and users not only did not complain, but even vice versa. There was exactly one minus - apparently, everything was so good that my support for the enterprise was no longer needed - my own IT department could handle all the issues. At this enterprise, the system has been accurately operated for several years, perhaps it is being used now, I just do not know anymore.
That's all
And then it turned out as it happened. I did not engage in further promotion and sale of the Vizir electronic document management system. Although, it would seem, here it is - everything is done, everything is there, just sell and implement. Here, of course, one could refer to personal circumstances - again, job changes, relocation, family, children, etc., but the problem was rather psychological - all the goals set for oneself were achieved, but to give up work and stable earnings, to risk and achieve something in the area in which there is not much experience - this is another. Champagne let others drink. Perhaps it was a mistake, but maybe not. This project took a deserved place in my portfolio, as a side effect was well mastered by ASP.NET, which already in turn yielded a result when developing the following project: Hattrick Portal - a site on national and youth national teams that are now used by players - coaches of all teams countries playing the best online football manager Hattrick . This is also a unique experience in developing and maintaining your own website, as well as communicating with a multinational audience around the world.
And yet still a little bit
Scriptum. Despite the fact that I did not get a successful seller of the electronic document management system, I still feel sorry for the fact that only one company uses such an excellent system. And I decided to publish the Vizier electronic document management distribution for free use (including for commercial purposes). The only thing that will be written in the title bar of the window instead of the name of the organization is FAST VERSION. Visit the site http://vizier.net.ru , read the short description, see screenshots, try the test version, download, install and exploit for health. Perhaps for some it will be an excellent option, but for some it will push to search for a more advanced system.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/443320/
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