Who is this tool targeted at?
Anyone in IT from technical management right down to the individual developer. Also beneficial for technical project manager and/or business analyst.
What is the purpose of this tool?
To be able to search across all your technology solutions for which you own the source code and/or setup/configuration files from one portal in a holistic way.
​
Example: Search for database table 'Customer'
Results: Instantly provides you with all the technologies where it is used, down to the specific file where relevant.
Server/Database - all the Stored procedures / Views ...
Reports - SSRS ...
Batch Jobs - IWS scheduled jobs...
ETL - SSIS packages ...
Applications - Web / Desktop ... any source code / language
Technology stacks - MSSQL Server / Dot Net / ASP
Stake holders - Across all Departments / Teams / Applications
So what can you do with the findings?
Having asked the questions, the results provided can give you the list of objects that would need to change.
These could be allocated back to the relevant teams and/or they can use the tool to further search in more depth so that nothing is missed in their domain.
Is this a project management tool?
No, this is not a project management tool but it can assist in this process. It's primary use is to ask questions and get references to individual objects in any solution from any technology stack across all IT team.
If we are already asking individuals or teams to assess code changes, how can this help?
In most cases, this relies on a subject matter expert, existing workloads, and priorities.
While this is a time-consuming activity, accelerating the process is crucial to enhancing efficiency and alleviating pressure on teams.
Certain proposed changes can be initiated by anyone, with results delivered in minutes, offering a faster and more accessible alternative to traditional methods.
What technologies can the CIA tool help with?
The CIA tool is incredibly versatile, capable of working with virtually any technology that can be expressed in a readable format. This includes code, configuration files, and other structured or unstructured data. By analyzing and interpreting these formats, the tool can provide valuable insights.
I am a new software engineer / developer in my company, how can this help me?
When you are thrown into the deep end and asked to make changes with little documentation or handover and not sure what else is affected by your changes outside of the application code you working on.
Do you feel uneasy about promoting this having worked in isolation!
By utilizing the CIA tool start to gain a bigger perspective reducing uncertainty and boost confidence.