CDP has worked alongside First Software for many years, helping them to develop their product, 'First Housing'.
First Housing uses an Oracle database with an Oracle Forms GUI front-end. It is the most comprehensive of all the Housing products available on the market. It has the unique facility of being able to run both in GUI for new customers and also in character mode for existing customers who do not yet wish to upgrade their systems to GUI.
CDP initially worked as senior members of First's internal teams, redeveloping the Rents and Repairs modules. CDP's contribution was in Screen design, Database design, team leadership and also in the coding and testing of these systems.
Following the successful release of these systems, CDP continued to work alongside the in-house teams, using our experience to help develop both the software itself and the skills of the First's own staff. During this time, the system was converted from Forms 3 to Forms 4.5.
During the last three years, CDP has delivered projects to First Software on a fixed price basis, developed primarily in our offices. Mostly, these projects were based on a functional specification provided by First, from which our consultants prepared a design specification in close consultation with First's staff. A system test specification was also drawn up and agreed. After sign-off of these specifications, the system was developed, allowing First's staff to view early versions of the software during the development stage. System testing was then completed and the system delivered for acceptance testing. The software remained under warranty for 3 months after acceptance.
In this way CDP have delivered many projects for First, a number of which are listed below:
Property Purchase Module
Administers the purchase of Council houses by tenants
Tenancy Services Module
A work flow system for recording and resolving complaints
Interfaces
Interfaces between First software systems and their clients' Systems
Planned Maintenance Module
Administers the Planned Repairs to the Housing Stock
Service Charge Upgrades
Administers the collection of Service charges from owner Occupiers who live in council owned blocks
Housing Allocations Upgrade
Administers the letting of the council housing stock according to the priorities of a local authority. In this project, the front end was substantially redesigned and rewritten
Estate Management Upgrade
Substantial upgrades to the system which manages Council properties and tenancies
Property Purchase Universe
Development of a Business Objects Universe Plus many other smaller projects.
An important part of the success of our relationship with First is the trust that has been built up between ourselves and First. This has given us the necessary flexibility to deliver satisfactory systems.
