Cogenda have taken over the CogendaWorks debt collection software from Silverlink (see below). John has spent 18 months developing user interfaces for the original software. CogendaWorks is developed by configuring a set of database tools. John has adapted these to develop a range of "action menus" that provide the exact functions needed by users.
He has also headed up the customer support function for Cogenda and carried out many other enhancements to the software.
Sharedband contracted John to developed an automatic billing system for their customer support web site. This facility comprised some 80 pages of PHP and MySQL. PHP pages on the site connect to an email server to receive orders which are then processed automatically.
Pages interface with network controllers to analyse operations and calculate billing data. They process emails, extract attachments containing orders and process those orders. Web based "control panels" are provided for customers, agents, administrators and support staff. Reports in PDF format and emails are generated.
John created an active web site for the Sudbury Chamber of Commerce in 2002 and has maintained it ever since. As well as the public front end, he has ported over the member database from a stand alone system and has provided features such as content management for Chamber officers. The site includes invoice production and payment chasing facilities
Silverlink Services is a small software house specialising in procedures such as debt collection. Having won a large contract for a large debt collection company, Silverlink were stretched for resources. They contracted John McMillan to write billing and charging modules, and to transfer data from third party finance companies and in-house legacy sytems.
In 2009, Silverlink approached John again to implement an entire new set of procedures and change the operation of the package.
John wrote this Windows package in C++ for publisher Shaw & Sons. Shaws was one of the companies for which John created the software operation. The package allows solicitors, accountants and local authorities to fill in forms, such as Land Registry or tax forms. 700 copies were sold. The project was transferred to Iris in 2010.
See www.shaws.co.uk
In 1987, John McMillan was approached by Guildford Borough Council who wanted software to monitor town planning enforcement. Guildford wanted the software to be marketed as a package. McMillan Technology developed a package written in C++ using the Btrieve (Pervasive) data base.
The enforcement process is very complex and varies between councils. To accommodate this, McMillan designed a set of rules which allowed the process to be specified in an ISO 9000 style. This was highly successful.
The package was marketed by McMillan Technology under the name of cCOPE and was sold to more than 20 of the 300 district councils in England. It is still in use in 2011.