APlusStudent.com : From Concept to Creation

Through mid-1999, APlusStudent.com operated with limited in-house resources to construct a truly attractive website with the automation required by their business mission. The company’s Flash designers were highly capable of developing the hundreds of interactive Flash lessons being incorporated into the online curriculum each week. However, the company needed several features:

• A method of organizing all of the interactive Flash lessons on the website
• Ability to change the thousands of pages in the site efficiently, without requiring hours of HTML coding
• A way of providing user accounts, secure access and acceptance of online payment for subscription services
• Ability to create complex, multi-tiered registration for parents and children such that children would be receive sub-accounts linked to their parents payment status
• Needed to provide enhanced interactive services such as online, real-time exam scoring with resulting scores recorded in users’ score databases

With budget restrictions that prevented the hiring of full-time programmers and senior consultants to properly conceive, develop and manage coding work for the services required, APlusStudent.com approached Polar Design with the challenge of developing a complete technical strategy from the ground up, as well as implementing and testing it.

Polar Design’s senior technical team, composed of a lead business consultant and a senior developer, collaborated to develop a full design document with detailed database, software, interface and design schematics to guide the client and developers through the creation of the many interactive services and site automation systems. Polar Design developed the approved system, which integrated user security, online payment acceptance, browser-based and web-accessible lesson and exam generation and publishing tools. Most importantly, Polar Design delivered the project according to specifications, within budget and within three months.

The updated site met with an enthusiastic reception by the company’s stakeholders - investors and management received a coherent, scalable back-end capable of automating error-free creation of quizzes, lessons and other site features, thus minimizing future staffing needs. Employees found their productivity increased as they could focus primarily on exam and lesson authoring, virtually sidestepping the need to review and test published lessons or work with HTML. Most importantly, the new site attracted customers and education experts, some of whom have profiled the company's unique offerings in several educational websites and newsletters. This recognition contributed to an increase in the number of registered users of 200% between the launch of the re-designed site in October, 2000 and February 1, 2001. The APlusStudent.com project and ongoing maintenance represents Polar Design’s broad competencies, including targeted design, technical strategy, software products (e.g., the lesson publishing system), application hosting and custom development capabilities. As such the project demonstrates our success in developing software and design according to demanding specifications and in producing high-quality online businesses that attract and retain customers.

Please visit http://www.aplusstudent.com and register for free membership to learn more about this exciting online education service.

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