Case Study

The client contacted us about developing an email application that could be developed and deployed to the Web in a timely manner. The application required the use of the latest client and server technologies without having to sacrifice speed and usability from an end user's standpoint. The interface was to be intuitive like many desktop email applications on the market today. The email client would be able to send and receive mail using standard protocols, and be accessible through most Web browsers.

Technologies

After much research, we arrived at using Macromedia Flash MX as the client component of the application and Macromedia ColdFusion MX for the back end. Since the MX technologies provide tighter integration than ever before, this would be a perfect platform. With new features available, such as components, we knew this was the right decision, and the client approved our use of these technologies.

We didn't run into any pitfalls based on our technology decision. Both Flash and ColdFusion MX provided enhanced performance and integrated perfectly. We definitely plan on using these products in future applications.

Development, Testing, and Deployment

The development of the project went well, and all of the initial goals were achieved. We were worried about time constraints at the beginning but were able to meet the deadline. This was mainly because we were able to utilize Flash and ColdFusion components, which sped up development time dramatically. The Flash components we used in the application could have taken months, just by themselves, to develop. The CFCs were quickly developed and provided a foundation for reusable code.

The main drawback during development was that we kept seeing the need for future additions to the project. We documented these and submitted them to the client as features that could be included in future versions. Sometimes it's difficult to assess what is needed and expected during initial development, and it's easy to get hooked on the bells and whistles of an application. Overall, we feel that we delivered a very functional application that is just in its infancy.

After development we were able to test and deploy the application without any problems. The application was moved to the production server, and everything fell into place. Our client notified us of the positive feedback it was receiving from the application's users.

With a well-planned and thorough process put into place, any application-development process can run smoothly. This project was a success due to the initial planning phases as well as the technology research that had been done. These truly laid the foundation for building a fully integrated Web application utilizing the Macromedia MX technologies.