ShowTracker Reporting Tool

Gail & Rice, Inc.
Southfield, MI USA

The ShowTracker Reporting Tool was created for Gail & Rice, Inc. (www.gail-rice.com) Gail & Rice is a full service company providing complete, custom event planning and production for all types of special events.

This is a brand new application designed for one of Gail & Rice's clients, a Tier 1 automotive supplier that provides professional talent to auto show displays and gathers sales lead information from consumers. The ShowTracker Reporting Tool is used both inside and outside of Gail & Rice. The client uses it for reporting while Gail & Rice managers use it for setting up and referencing statistical data.

The ShowTotals page summarizes each event and the total number of leads collected (actual numbers are hidden).

The application summarizes statistical information relating to individuals and the events they work. For each auto show and each talent, the system provides total, daily, and average-per-day statistics.

When a user logs into the ShowTracker application, a list of events with a grand total appears. There is a series of tabs that the user can select to access more detailed information such as total by person for the whole event, total by person by day, total by day, and average per day. The client can utilize the system's built-in tools for exporting results to Microsoft Excel, giving the customer unlimited analytical use from there.

Application size and scope

One Microsoft SQL Server database comprises seven database tables. The tblConsumerLead table is currently the largest holding 38,000 records. There are 20 database views and 146 web pages (ASPX and HTML). Fifteen application users process over 1,000 requests each month.

The project

The entire project took me only one day to implement using Iron Speed Designer.

Code Extensions and Customizations

No custom code was incorporated into the application.

Page layout customizations

I used the standard Iron Speed Designer page layout and design themes for this project.

Iron Speed Designer impact

I saved 24 to 40 hours of development time using Iron Speed Designer. I probably saved between $2,400 and $4,000 in development costs. While I would have been able to complete the project on my own, it would have taken me three to five days longer.

Next steps

There are no plans to extend the application going forward aside from regular maintenance. We may also add additional users in the future.

About the developer

Tony Gambee has run Latitude Software, a custom software company, for the past ten years. Latitude Software is a group of database experts specializing in tools such as Microsoft Access, Visual Basic .NET, eVB, and ASP.NET.