WAP 2.0 Solution: Style Guide and ECM Integration
Fortune 500 Wireless Communications Carrier
Business Challenge
The competitive cellular telecommunications market in North America requires service providers to offer more than just voice communication services. The ability to access the Internet from a mobile device is one of many features customers demand. With the advent of Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) 2.0, consumers placed more value on the availability of a wireless Internet. When compared to WAP 1.0, WAP 2.0 offers color-enabled web surfing among other enhancements.
A Fortune 500 Wireless Communications Carrier needed to implement the changes necessary to provide WAP 2.0 content to its customers. They chose Acumen Solutions to execute the conversion. Specific challenges included:
- Migration process from WML to XHTML-MP
- Adopting a WAP 2.0 code base that would be compatible with several new devices
- Backwards compatibility of WAP 2.0 content with older wireless devices
Solution
Acumen Solutions developed and implemented a WAP 2.0 solution that utilized skill sets from its Global Services and Communications & Media practices. The overall approach included two phases:
- Define and document how WAP 2.0 could be implemented within the constraints of corporate branding guidelines.
- Develop a method to create WAP 2.0 content that conforms to the client’s needs, while conforming to the predefined guidelines.
The former resulted in a WAP 2.0 Style Guide, a document which defined content standards for the client and third party contributors. The need for a Style Guide was initially undervalued by the client, but its importance became evident in the next phase as the Acumen Solutions Communications & Media Practice developers came into the picture.
As a part of the overall WAP 2.0 solution, the Acumen Solutions team created a set of automated content generation templates. These templates generated WAP 2.0 content from customized web forms. The forms were developed within the context of an existing Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system. This approach reduced the overall cost of the project to the client while simultaneously integrating the solution into familiar business practices.
Return on Investment
Acumen Solutions was approached to develop a WAP 2.0 content management solution. The client received a great deal more. The WAP 2.0 Style Guide delivered in Phase I of the project allowed the client to reinforce (and in some cases redefine) corporate branding standards for their wireless Internet. As a result, the client has seen an in improvement in third party content contributor compliance.
The automated content generation templates have allowed the client to easily and efficiently create WAP 2.0 enabled content. The client absorbed no additional cost for training in order to implement the WAP 2.0 solution. Additionally, the use of predefined templates has enabled the client to enforce guidelines in a manor that was not possible prior to development. Acumen Solutions effectively integrated quality assurance into its delivery at no additional cost to the client.
Technology/Business Expertise
Several Acumen Solutions resources contributed to the successful delivery of this project. From the Global Services Practice, Acumen Solutions’ User Experience group utilized their expertise in hypertext markup standards and technical writing. Communications & Media Practice developers utilized their knowledge of ECM applications and automated form-based content development. Some of the markup and programming languages used include XML, PERL , XSLT, WML, and XHTML-MP.