I am thinking about making a small call logging system to use on our Helpdesk. The Helpdesk system will be used to log client jobs. Work is then completed by Engineers, narrated (in the system), and then passed back to the helpdesk to follow up. Engineers will need access to this Helpdesk system from outside the company.
Firstly, I am not really sure where I should start, so if you have, or know of, any online resources I could have a look at that would probably be good for a start. Secondly, I am not sure if I should be building a web application (Web Site) or windows application (Project).
I know this is a very high level view of what I am trying to accomplish, but your advice/suggestions would be most welcome.
Thanks,
Call Logging System
mclagett
Regarding web vs. winform
For the engineers on site scenario web interface sounds like a better solution. Though you can consider implementing a dual interface (web/win) so that each groups of users will get what they need.
take a look at open source help desk systems (e.g. http://osticket.com/) you can probably get ideas from them
Arnon
giftgirls
A question.
How do you get results, supposedly in a DataGrid, to refresh For example: you have the helpdesk application open and so do a number of engineers. When any one of the Engineers updates a job, the latest results will need to be displayed (refreshed) on all other user monitors, so that the latest information is displayed.
Jaze
Thanks for your input.
We intend to use this application internally. However, Engineers may be required to login from outside of the company and when at clients' sites. Can we still use a smart client with this scenario or would I be better developing a web application
Thanks,
Socrates Kapetaneas
That's a good point.
The majority of our clients are windows based and are using Windows XP Pro. So dailing in and pulling up a remote session would probably not be a difficult thing for them to do when at client sites, right
me*
IMO, you can go for a webapplication.
Reasons:
1. Maintanance is not an issue - Update the next version at one place
2. No need to worry about firewalls - easily portable for smart devices
you can use the pull model(i.e. refresh the data on intervals) to see the new data.
nomer
Well, with clickOnce technology smart client form applications are just as easy to deploy as asp.net apps are. There are many other factors that could make a difference in your decision. If the app need only to only live in an intranet then maybe the smart client can be used. This will provide you with better performance (i dont care what you web guys say :), faster delivery time, and a better all around user experience (if designed correctly!). If the app must reside outside the intranet then maybe the web approach will work better. No matter which way you go just take your time in your decision and gather all your requirements - after this your decision should be easier.
TELII
TerryYoung
Hi,
Are you developing it for profit If not, you can consider chosing from any of 100s of free tools available like http://www.bestpractical.com/rt
Please ignore if you need to develop it as a product or solution - or if you have specific needs which third party products cant fullfil.
nares
Alex cai
Well it depends.Will your engineers be loging into your network via citrix or something like that. If so, smart clients will work fine. I've seen some examples of smartclients being accessed over the internet via ClickOnce deployment - but you'll have to make sure that the client machine supports whatever framework the app is built upon (1x, 2x, etc). This is something you wont have to worry about with a web app.