© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University Kuali Project Development Methodology, Architecture, and...

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Kuali Project Development Methodology, Architecture, and

Standards

James Thomas, Kuali Project Manager

Brian McGough, Kuali Lead Architect

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Session Agenda

• Kuali Project Overview (brief)

• Kuali Development Methodology

• Kuali Architecture

• Standard Development Tools and Frameworks

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Kuali Project Overview

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Overview

Project Timeline• Technical work began in November

2004• “Official” kickoff in January 2005• Mellon grant received March 2005• Phase I release planned for March 31st,

2006 – General Ledger, Chart of Accounts, Financial Transaction Documents

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Overview

Development Organization• 8 Development teams composed of

– Development Manager– Lead Developer/Developers– Business Analyst– Testing Coordinator

• Infrastructure Staff– Lead Architect– Configuration Manager– Developer DBA– QA Manager

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Overview

Development Teams• Phase I

– Nervous System– General Ledger– Chart of Accounts– Financial Transaction Documents

• Phase II– Purchasing/Accounts Payable– Kuali Research Administration (KRA)

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Overview

Future Development Teams (Phase II)

Labor Distribution

Capital Asset Management

Contracts and Grants

Accounts Receivable

Budgeting

Endowment

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Kuali Development Methodology

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Methodology

Development Methodology for delivering working software

• Flexible (b/c the only certainty is change)• Efficient• Results-Oriented• People-Centered• Feedback Driven• Sustainable

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Methodology

Strategy• Plan for shorter development cycles• Embrace change• Developers and functional experts work

together continuously• Open communication• Quality software builds trust and faith• Keep it simple/avoid over-engineering

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Methodology

The “Nervous System”• A framework composed of common

components across e-Docs• Allows for rapid creation of e-Doc “skeleton”

so majority of time can be spent on business rules

• Ensures consistency across Kuali development teams

• Helps to enforce usability and accessibility recommendations across modules

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Methodology

Some “Nervous System” Components• Lookup Framework• Inquiry Mechanism• Maintenance Framework• Accounting Line Structure• GL Pending Entry Structure• Authentication Component• Authorization Component• Workflow Component• Document Notes and AttachmentsC• Customization Components• Validation Framework• Kuali Tag Library

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Kuali Project Architecture

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Architecture

Key Objectives• Design highly functional and flexible software

• Technology choices based on industry standard, open source, and “proven” solutions

• Deliver applications via loosely-coupled components and services with clearly defined APIs

• Leverage core “IT assets”

• Emphasize code re-use/reduce redundancy

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Architecture

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Architecture

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)

• Services are loosely coupled.

• Services have well-defined interfaces and

are reusable.

• Focus on business processes

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Architecture

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Architecture

Benefits of SOA

• Improved ROI – some reusable components will outlive applications

• Easier to maintain code base

• Code Mobility

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Kuali Standard Development Tools and Frameworks

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Tools/Frameworks

Standards• Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE)• XML/XSLT

Tools/Frameworks• Struts/JSTL• Spring• Object Relational Bridge (OJB)• jUnit and jMeter• Log4J

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Platforms

• Web Server: Linux, Apache

• Application Server: Linux, Tomcat 5

• DBMS: Oracle *

*avoiding triggers, stored procedures, proprietary data types, etc. in order to achieve database independence

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Key Kuali InfrastructurePortal & Workflow

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Enterprise Portal

Kuali services will be designed to be delivered via a standard enterprise portal framework

Access to “Action List” service for managing electronic transactions (eDocs) via enterprise workflow

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Power of Workflow

A general-purpose infrastructure for conducting mediated transactions with electronic documents (eDocs)

Quick, easy, and accurate routing

Automate University business rules

Complete Audit Trail

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OneStart Workflow

EXAMPLE:

OneStart Workflow is currently routing over 1,800 eDocs/day and 55,000/mo

Human Resources eDocs previously requiring 1 to 2 weeks to process have been approved in < 1 hour

38 different types of eDocs from 3 diff apps

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Conclusions

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Conclusions

Kuali Partners are committed to:

Community Source Software

Service Oriented Architecture

Iterative and Flexible Methodology

Open Standards

Enterprise Application Integration

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Questions?

Technical Q&A SessionWednesday, 10/12 at 8:00AM

James ThomasProject Manager

jthomas@indiana.edu

Brian McGoughLead Architect

bmcgough@indiana.edu