A Texas-Sized Implementation of our Software

20th Anniversary Recollections: by Steve Willaert, Senior Software Engineer

The big state of Texas never does anything in a small way, and that includes their selection and use of MS2 software 10 years ago. When we implemented our software for the Texas Department of Transportation, we also evolved our processes and created new product functionality, which benefitted all of our clients.

When TXDOT came on board as a new client, they made a Texas-sized impact on MS2 and some MS2 employees wondered if TXDOT had as many users as the rest of our clients combined! So we knew we had to step up our game to be ready to support them.

We upgraded the software we used internally to evolve our software development process, adopting Microsoft Visual Studio and improving source control.

To make reporting easier for our clients, especially TXDOT, we implemented Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services as the engine for our new Report Center. This new solution made defining and displaying reports fast and easy, and our Transportation Data Management System was much improved as a result.

We also enhanced our software to better accommodate TXDOT’s workflows, and we learned a lot in the process.

The TXDOT implementation was a watershed moment for MS2. At first, we felt stretched for resources but we staffed up to meet the opportunity and matured as a firm as the project progressed.

Bringing a state DOT live is an even more involved process now that we have many more software modules, but the TXDOT implementation taught us how to scale up, enabling MS2 to take a big step forward.