Oracle Siebel CRM is adaptable to company needs, allowing changes to support bets-practices and processes that assure the competitive edge. This flexibility also has possible downturns: after several releases the application architecture changes, making it difficult for the IT team to have a clear overview. MetaTools automatically constructs a visual architecture of your customized application providing the needed perspective. With the right application architecture understanding, the team is able to build solutions that respect the work already performed on the application.
MetaTools introduces a bottom-up approach that unveils the “secrets” of past customizations. Even if the IT team has changed in time, determining knowledge loss, MetaTools helps in reconstructing the awareness for a reliable Siebel application. In fact, MetaTools supports the Oracle Siebel recommendation for building the Component Inventory, which is a comprehensive list of the applications, modules, and components in the current project. In this way you get a solid basis on which to build your implementation.
Knowing the customized application, you can start to construct the new solutions required. The MetaTools environment provides a safe place for designing solutions without impacting the application. The visual models supply a scaffolding that sustains architecture constructions, based on the existing application architecture. The scaffolding is useful for building rapid prototypes/mock-ups, describing what the application aim is and how to reach it. It envisions solutions and allows sharing of alternatives, so that the entire team can participate creatively and evaluate design alternatives, assess their risk and impact, and provide for quality assurance.
Alternatives and final solutions are easily stored in MetaTools. They constitute the much needed internal best practices library, in a visual format ready to be automatically transformed in documentation. The library is accessible to all team members and is practical also for new team members. Knowledge is produced, shared and maintained inside the implementation team. The Documentator functionality transforms all this knowledge in printable material: from the technical design document to application architecture overview.
MetaTools conforms to the Oracle Siebel best practices for the technical design document. This documentation, produced by the development team, is an important part of project documentation and outlines the approach to solving a business problem. It should provide detailed process-flow diagrams, UI mock-ups, pseudo-code, architectural changes and integration dependencies. With MetaTools all the project materials are in the same repository, from requirements, to designs and architectural changes. As the technical design should be reviewed by both business analysts and the testing team, and approved by business analysts, MetaTools facilitates sharing and communication for all stakeholders with its visual approach. The visual design document is automatically transformed in printable format with your company's desired template.
