The Application Development Platform (ADP) project sought to increase the speed, consistency, security and governance by which business application needs are delivered across WVU.
The ADP project will implement and operationalize an application development platform to rapidly deploy new web and mobile applications and streamline the technology, architecture and engineering to be more efficient, agile and secure.
As a foundational project in support of the larger modernization effort, the objective is to select an ADP aiding the University in closing functional gaps identified with our eventual Finance/HCM ERP and Student Information System (SIS) implementation, as well as meeting the larger demands of the institution for specific needs not addressed by commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions available in the market.
- Todd Witter, Team Lead and Technical Program Manager for Strategic Partnerships
- Jay Allen, Assistant Director for University Relations
- Erica Craft, Director of Enterprise Applications for Information Technology Services
- Gene Hendrickson, Campus Applications Administrator for Information Technology Services
- Lee Lawson, Information Security for Information Technology Services
- Ed Leatherman, Infrastructure Architect for Information Technology Services
- Delina Less, Application Development for Information Technology Services
- Jimmy Morley, Director of Application and Web Development for Health Sciences
- David McPherson, Professional Technologist 2 for the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
- Laurie Pollock, Business Analyst for Information Technology Services
- Chetan Pradhan, Operations for Information Technology Services
- Peter Santiago, Assistant Director of Application and Web Development for Health Sciences
| Timeframe | Work to Complete | Status |
|---|---|---|
| August 2022 | Current State Assessment and Requirements | Complete |
| October 2022 | Build Governance Structure and Establish and Enable Foundational Tool(s) | Complete |
| December 2022 | POC Development and Execution | Complete |
| Q1 2023 | Training Plan, Operational Model Design and Governance Implement | Complete |
November 1, 2022 Update
The Application Development Platform design team currently is finalizing a roadmap and transitioning to the proof of concept phase of the project.
The team assessed a series of potential use cases and signature requirements for the proof of concept and ultimately selected two for evaluation purposes — one that is employee-focused and one that is student-focused.
The proof of concept seeks to build upon the team’s current knowledge and capabilities of the selected platforms and help refine the Application Development Platform governance model.
Evaluation criteria for the Application Development Platform proof of concept include:
- Delivering consistent and secure data;
- Ability to deliver mobile-friendly applications;
- Providing consistency in user experiences;
- Demonstrated ability to meet departmental-specific information (structured and unstructured);
- Ease of document artifact creation based on existing data assets within WVU’s Enterprise Applications along with information captured by the ADP product; and
- Supporting advanced workflow approvals and routings based on departmental or project-specific needs.
May 1, 2023 Update
During the roadmap and governance review, it was determined that a three-tiered classification approach should be used to account for the key differences among different types of applications. Although there are numerous ways to categorize applications, it was decided through design team discussions that an approach based largely on the type of use case the application will support will be the criteria for categorization. Working in conjunction with the WVU application development design team, the following three-category model has been defined to help guide the usage of tools for extension and development needs.
| Category One | Category Two | Category Three |
|---|---|---|
| The leading ERP vendors currently being evaluated each offer extensibility
capabilities, allowing unique WVU needs (specific to the selected ERP application)
to be met.
Category One will be focused on reviewing development use cases when the form, fit and function complements functionality within WVU’s cloud ERP platform. |
Platform supporting WVU’s distinct application needs in use cases that are not a natural fit for extending WVU’s existing enterprise assets directly — especially when the use case requires access to confidential or sensitive data or supports a mission- or business-critical process. | Independent application development platform, providing ease of use for “citizen
developers” (i.e., employees who create application capabilities for consumption
by themselves or others) and organizations across campus.
Such solutions require less central oversight because they do not create a shadow system, fall outside WVU’s Master Data Governance policies, do not use confidential or sensitive data and do not support mission- or business-critical processes. |
For Category One, the expectation is that the extensibility capabilities provided by the selected cloud ERP vendor would be used to develop applications to address critical gaps that exist within the associated cloud ERP platform. Although the capabilities and requirements for Category Three applications are conceptually like those for Category Two applications, the primary difference between the two relates to security/data sensitivity and business criticality of the resultant end products, which impacts governance. Use cases that require access to sensitive data or support mission- or business-critical processes should be developed under a formal, central governance model.
The proof of concept focused on category two type applications identified in the governance review. After reviewing requirements and top vendors in the space, WVU chose a two-pronged approach to ADP tools choosing both Microsoft Power Apps and Salesforce Omnistudio. Each has strengths that work well in different scenarios required for distinct use cases within WVU and were natural fits within the existing ecosystem of products already employed at WVU.
Lessons learned from the proof of concept were incorporated into the Governance and Roadmap document so it may serve as a guide as the University moves forward utilizing the new development tools. We will be opportunistic with places where we can incorporate the new technologies to help make the University more efficient as we move forward.