Case Study: Digital Learning Solution for a Global IGO

Background:
Trigyn’s client was a global intergovernmental organization (IGO) dedicated to the implementation of consistent intellectual property (IP) rules and regulations around the world.  To support this mandate, the clients was seeking to implement a digital learning solution to train representatives from member states and developing countries to educate them about IP best practices and build human capacity in IP. Through distance learning, the client strived to expand the educational opportunities available to a broad spectrum of beneficiaries worldwide, using this e-learning website as a delivery platform.

The client had a legacy system in place which was based on .NET framework. The legacy system was constraining the client due to it not being compatible with non-Latin characters (Arabic, Russian, Chinese, and Georgian), slow performance, poor scalability, high TCO (total cost of operation), etc. The client sought a supplier to modernize its digital learning platform and reduce total cost of ownership by incorporating open-source tools and technologies. Trigyn was awarded a contract to provide application development, maintenance, and support services.

Trigyn Approach:
Designed and developed a low-cost solution to address the client’s challenges including the following

• Support for priority languages,
• Improved performance and scalability,
• Reduced recurring license costs,
• Expanded reporting capabilities,
• Enhanced program standardization,
• e-Certification features,
• Capability to support multiple client training programs,
• Integration with the client’s payment gateway, etc.

To deliver the solution Trigyn completed the following tasks:

• Trigyn rendered its application development, maintenance and support services to successfully deliver the required solution to the client, leveraging the entire spectrum of the Software Delivery Life Cycle (SDLC) including Requirement Study, Solution Architecture & Design, Code Construction & Testing, Implementation and Post Implementation Support.
• Trigyn started with initial discovery, detailed the requirements, and set the expectations with the client team to understand the problems with the legacy system.
• Trigyn’s team of Technical Architects, Specialists and Developers designed and built a state-of-the-art solution with enhanced functionality & features addressing the client’s requirements.
• The Trigyn solution was built using Moodle LMS, PHP, JAVA, Spring, Oracle and MariaDB.
• The new digital learning solutions allows users to self-register for in person and online training courses and submit payments for any applicable course fees. The solution allows users to choose courses from an online course catalogue. Once registered for online courses, the user can engage in learning activities and complete online examinations at their own pace. Upon successfully completing a course, the user is provided a certificate to document their successful completion of each course.
• The solution includes administrative controls to allow client staff to manage the course catalog, course content, registrations, examinations, and certificates. For in person training, the solution includes additional capabilities to manage registrations.
• The final solution consisted of a series of integrated applications and used Single Sign On (SSO) to provide a seamless user experience allowing users to seamlessly navigate from one application to another after signing in. As part of this project, Trigyn delivered eight integrated applications, all are authenticated via central SSO. The individual applications included:
  • Academy Course Catalogue 
  • Academy Central Registration and Payment System
  • Accessible Intellectual Property Training
  • IP for Youth & Teachers
  • Intellectual Property Experts Database
  • Judicial Training Institutions Project
  • Learning Management System (LMS)
  • Academy Central Administration 
• Trigyn developed a responsive user experience which matched the client’s website and adhered to their design guidelines.
• Trigyn setup all the necessary application user roles such as Course Manager, Head Tutor, Tutor, Student etc. including user groups under individual courses so that each group can have access to its own activities like assignments, quizzes, lessons, discussion forums and other resources.
• Trigyn developed Moodle plugins, blocks, custom reports and carried out Integration of Moodle LMS with a Java based registration module using Moodle Web Services API. The Moodle External Enrolment plugin was used for Course Enrolments.
• Trigyn trained client personnel in developing SCORM courses independently using the SCENARI Chain tool.
• Trigyn implemented its continuous upgrade framework to ensure that the latest versions of all integrated technologies were used and updated.
• The delivered solution supported more than 10 different languages.

The delivered solution included the following features:

• Web-based solution that incorporates cross-browser compatibility and responsive design to provide platform independent user experience.
• Dynamic multilingual course catalogue which gets automatically updated based on course availability.
• Global exchange of content adhering to SCORM compliant standards.
• Registration System integrated with existing client user database.
• Consistent user experience and program offering across priority languages including Arabic, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, Mandarin, German, Croatian, Korean, Serbian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Georgian.
• Reduced manual administration by providing a unified learning experience including payment processing.
• Online e-certificate generation in PDF format allowing students to generate and print their own e-certificates.
• Customizable e-certificate templates available in 10 languages.
• Graphical representation of data in many different formats for Finance and other departments.
• Many kinds of statistical reports with filters.
• Equipped client team with the ability to efficiently produce peer reviewed final exams and perform periodic course reviews.
• Increased autonomy for client learning partners without affecting course quality or compromising client e-learning standards.
• Provided e-learning courses for youth that included gamification,
• Created three comprehensive training programs to address various priority audiences the client had identified.
• Features to manage in person training events offered by the client.

The digital learning solutions used the following technology stack:

• Moodle 3.5, Moodle Web Services API, Moodle Plugins (External Enrolment, Certificate, Configurable Report, LDAP Authentication)
• LAMP (LINUX, Apache 2.4, MariaDB 5.5, PHP 7.2)
• Java/JEE7, JSF 2.0, Spring 4.1.7, CAS/SSO
• Oracle 11, MariaDB
• DataTrans Payment Gateway integration, Client ePAY
• Memcache Caching Engine
• Chart.js, GoogleMap
• Apache 2.4, Tomcat 7,
• Eclipse, JIRA, SVN

Outcome:

• Trigyn delivered a low cost, and feature rich digital learning solution, using open-source technologies which eliminated annual license costs.
• Trigyn’s highly scalable solution, which can support more than 400 simultaneous users, has allowed the reach of the client's digital learning initiatives to be expanded greatly to achieve the following milestones in its first year:
  • More than 272,000 registered users.
  • 370,000+ course registrations.
  • 1,068+ courses.
  • Participation across more than 165 countries.
  • Learning delivered in 10 languages.
  • More than 29% learning delivered to users accessing training mobile devices.
• The solution requires low maintenance requirements and is successfully meeting the needs of multiple client departments.
• The e-certificate feature has replaced the need to mail hard copy certificates eliminating significant postage and printing costs.
• Improved program operations and management through the enhanced analytics and reporting capabilities.

For more information about Trigyn's Digital Learning Services, Contact Us.