Architect of the Capitol

Architect of the Capitol Work Request Systems

Solutions: custom applications, content management, e-learning
Vertical: government

The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is responsible to the United States Congress for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex, which includes the Capitol, the congressional office buildings, the Library of Congress buildings, the Supreme Court building, the U.S. Botanic Garden, the Capitol Power Plant, and other facilities. The labor shops at the Architect of the Capitol were managing day to day work requests for general labor (to include plumbing, electrical, lighting, air conditioning, etc.) via phone, word of mouth and some paper based requests. While information on these requests was tracked in a central database viewable only to labor shops, end users were unable to track requests that they had made and management was unable to view an overall picture of response time to requests made.

Fig Leaf Software performed an exhaustive requirements analysis on how the AOC could tie the existing legacy desktop based work request system to a centralized Web interface that could be used by any authorized user. Using PaperThin’s CommonSpot content management system as a framework, Fig Leaf Software built an independent set of modules for four of the major jurisdictions managed by the AOC. These included an independent set of work request systems for the following jurisdictions:

United States Library of Congress
United States House of Representatives
United States Capitol
United States Senate (Moves, Decorator, Furniture Modules)

Following the finalization of the requirements, Fig Leaf created a detailed written specification with wire frames to demonstrate system functionality and user interactions. Fig Leaf worked with the Architect of the Capitol lead designer to implement the final design interface for the system and following the programming and quality assurance, created hard copy documentation and an online training interactive using Macromedia Flash.

During requirements, Fig Leaf and the AOC staff decided that the new Web based work system would need to have a paper component, largely because shop workers would find this familiar and would not need to heavily alter their work processes. When a work request is submitted into the system a tracking number is automatically assigned and the work request is routed to the appropriate shop where a paper ticket is automatically printed. End users can track their work request via a Web based interface and can request escalation for important or urgent work requests.

The AOC work request systems immediately enabled end users to track their requests from inception to completion and provided management with performance metrics that were previously unavailable. The systems have been widely accepted across all jurisdictions and the Architect of the Capitol can leverage data across both their legacy applications and their Web efforts to ensure that their clientele are adequately serviced and that their labor shops are gainfully employed.