Accelerating Delivery with FormFactor
The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) partnered with The Factor to modernise and streamline its onboarding experience, with FormFactor at the core of the transformation. Enabling the rapid creation of accessible and secure forms, FormFactor provided AIMS with a robust foundation for forms and automation. By leveraging Power Pages and Microsoft Dataverse, AIMS rapidly deployed the onboarding system in just weeks. A remarkable uplift that replaced manual processes, introduced automated stakeholder notifications, integrated with Azure Active Directory and AIMS’ HR System, and improved the new starter onboarding experience with a modern web portal.
The Factor was engaged by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) as a strategic partner to leverage the Power Platform as a common technology platform.
The purpose of the engagement was to develop a strong partnership what would deliver the following benefits for AIMS:
- Architecture and Design services in Microsoft Power Platform (MPP) and wider Microsoft environment
- Implement holistic corporate applications in MPP
- Establish a delivery capability for low code solutions utilising MPP which meets integration requirements with Technology One and other line of business systems
- Delivery using industry best practice business analysis, project management, change management and training methods
- Establish a working environment equipped with the right internal skills, methodology, tools and capability to achieve business objectives
The outcomes of the engagement were managed through a Sprint-based Application Delivery Program, to implement and improve Power Platform solutions for AIMS, using an agile approach that follows the Scrum methodology.
Over recent years, AIMS has taken considerable efforts to uplift their applications and digital assets. Previous phases provided the right technology foundations for us to implement Microsoft’s Power Platform. The intent was to achieve further capability in their marine research and management processes whilst ensuring digital governance best practices.
Application Delivery and Implementation Outcomes:
- Implemented Microsoft Power Platform Center of Excellence (CoE). The CoE is a collection of tools and best practices that will help AIMS to adopt and support the Power Platform, a suite of low-code solutions that enable rapid application development, automation, and data analysis. The CoE will also foster a community of makers and innovators within AIMS, who can leverage the Power Platform to digitise and optimise their marine research and management processes, while maintaining governance and control. This work also introduced a Power Platform strategy, development standards, a reference architecture, Data Loss Prevention policy, and several reviews of existing strategies and policies to meet industry and Australian Government standards.
- Delivery of the Contract Approval Process Application: provide the Legal and Finance reviewers of contracts and contract variations with a mechanism to review the data which is relevant to them and to then progress to the next reviewer. The solution integrated with Microsoft Teams and emails for approval workflows, DocuSign for digital signatures, and AIMS’ Data Warehouse for staff delegations. This has resulted in; Contract Owners saving approx. 2 hours for each contract they are owner for, Legal Services saving approx. 6 hours for each contract they support and Contract Reviewers/Approvers saving almost 1 hour per contract they are required to review/approve (Contract approval turnaround times have reduced from 1-4 weeks to 3-10 days).
- Delivery of the Onboarding Application: provide the People and Culture team the ability to manage new starter information and notifications. The onboarding application was designed to automate many of the manual processes which formed part of onboarding a new starter to AIMS. The application provided a configurable self-service portal for the new starter to provide all the relevant details required by AIMS prior to their commencement. We used our FormFactor product on Power Pages for expedited implementation. Automated email notifications and tasks are issued to relevant stakeholders at the correct time and are configurable by the People and Culture team. This solution was built in just 3 weeks and includes integration with Azure Active Directory and TechOne.
Throughout the course of this project, The Factor Consultants seamlessly integrated with the different teams at AIMS, collaborating effectively with the business stakeholders to deliver tangible value. The program has provided AIMS with both immediate operational benefits and a strategic platform for ongoing digital transformation, while maintaining proper governance and security controls for sensitive data and workflows.