OP-Pohjola and Tieto conduct application changes through smooth collaboration

The project provided OP-Pohjola with new development tools for its stock type application. OP-Pohjola bought the administration and realization of the project from Tieto. The migration project was seen through according to the agreed schedule and cost framework

OP-Pohjola uses Arvopaperilajikanta, an application created for the administration of different types of asset management. The application was maintained using Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 development tools. However, support for Visual Basic 6.0 and Visual InterDev 6.0 ended. Regardless, the further development of the application had to be ensured.
 
The aim was to change the code of the programme into a form supported by new development tools in a way that enabled OP-Pohjola to avoid having to use its own time to realize the work and test the functionality of the application. The company acquired the planning and management, the automatic transition of technology from VB6 to VB.NET, manual changes, and the testing of the application for the migration project from Tieto.
 
“We have made an agreement with Tieto regarding the maintenance and development of the Arvopaperilajikanta (Stock type database) application. Tieto offered the people for the migration project who developed the changes that we desired to the system. Tieto was given free rein to carry out the project,” says system development director Pirkko Kaipainen from OP-Pohjola.
 
High quality work according to a tight schedule
OP-Pohjola wanted to quickly update its old software so it could start developing new features for the application. The aim was to keep to a tight schedule as well as the set cost framework.
 
“Our responsibility was to build the environment in which Tieto employees completed the realization work. The construction of the environment and the installation of the development tools to the server were challenging. When we had completed building the environment, Tieto realized the migration quickly and efficiently,” Kaipainen tells.
 
“We expected to receive a functioning application that had been extensively tested. The work lived up to our expectations,” she continues.
 
The collaboration project took approximately one year. The new application was taken into use in March this year. A remote connection to the Tieto office in Kilo, Espoo, was established in order to realize the project. The realization itself was conducted in September and October 2010 and the testing of the application began in December.
 
The successful collaboration bore fruit
“The project was successful because we worked well together. The Tieto employees knew the application well, so the end result is of high quality,” Kaipainen says.
 
“We had little to do with each other during the realization of the migration. The employees who carried out the realization knew what they were doing, which meant their work did not have to be followed or supervised. We were able to trust that everything would work as intended,” she says.
 
The migration was necessary to enable OP-Pohjola to further develop Arvopaperilajikanta, their central warehouse of basic knowledge.