About ITSS > Application Systems > Programming and Development

Services Provided by Programming and Development

Improving Existing and Establishing New Programs
The Programming and Development group participates with the Application Support group to evaluate existing programs for technical improvements. The technical improvements may result from a software supplier’s upgrade or from a Board of Regents or other regulator’s requirement. The programming group receives detailed technical specifications from the Application Support group, develops required programming, and unit tests the new programming. The Application Support group coordinates systems testing and acceptance testing with the functional users.

The group also assists in recommendations for new technical approaches to help our customers perform their job functions in a more efficient manner. When an information analyst in the Application Support group identifies a business process that could benefit from a technical change or addition to a system, the Programming group assists in identifying appropriate technical modifications to improve the process.

Design, Development, and Testing of New Applications and Modifications
The Programming and Development group, with the Application Support group and the Database and Applications Administration groups, assists in the design of technically sound solutions to business problems in business, academic, and research areas of the institution. These solutions include development of new applications or modifications to existing enterprise applications. The group also participates in planning, programming, testing, and implementation of the new packages and modifications for the institution.

The Applications Support group develops functional specifications with the users and subsequently works with the programming staff to develop technical specifications. The Programming group uses the specifications and test scripts developed by the information analysts to develop the new programming code and unit test it. Unit testing is the first pass at determining if there are problems with the code. The test scripts provided by the information analysts are a better test of the function of a program than a test that a programmer would develop on his/her own. The Programming staff make appropriate changes to the programs to correct issues discovered during system and acceptance testing. These issues may involve changes to the Database and Applications Administration functions of the system, so the Programming group works closely with the DBAs and the systems support specialists to correct identified issues.

Implementation of New and Packaged Systems and Modifications
The Programming and Development group assists the Application Support group and the Database and Applications Administration groups with implementation and maintenance of new and packaged systems, including testing, upgrades, and ongoing maintenance. The group coordinates movement of new systems and modifications from the development area of the system to an area used for testing and subsequently to production.

Applications Systems Support
The Programming and Development group provides customer-focused support for application systems to the IT Service Desk, information analysts, and other IT staff by serving as a source of technical knowledge, ideas and second opinions about application related issues. The Programming group is one of the third tier layers of support for application related issues. If a problem points to an issue with programs in a system, the information analysts work with the Programming group to identify the point of failure and determine a solution. The information analysts assist with system and acceptance testing of fixes that are made to programs and with user sign-off prior to moving the fixes to production.

Departmental Programming Assistance
The Programming and Development group provides programming assistance to departments for specific needs including those associated with research. The group works with a department and with the Database and Applications Administration group to develop applications that capture research data, store it in a secure manner, and can be interfaced with statistical software.

The group provides estimates for programming services for use in grant proposals and assists with required grant reporting.