SVG Converter for Adobe

Printable Version

Challenge

•   Apply an existing library that was not from Adobe.
•   Manage for rapid turn around time required by Adobe.
•   Dynamic allocation of human resources to ensure optimal   efficiency.

Results

•   Project was virtually self-managed by Orbital.
•   Project was completed on time and on budget.

Value

•   Adobe could offer customers the ability to import SVG files   into FrameMaker products.
•   Adobe was required to allocate minimal management   resources to the project.

“Orbital offers strategic software development expertise to Adobe that increases our options for delivering features to customers. Orbital’s experience and skills in addressing challenging software development problems has been beneficial to Adobe and the Adobe FrameMaker business.”

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe) secured Orbital to develop a Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) converter for Version 7.0 of its Adobe^® FrameMaker^® software on Windows^®, Macintosh^® and UNIX (Solaris^®). SVG is an emerging file format that allows images to be scaled to variable sizes without becoming distorted.

The mandate for Orbital was to allow Adobe to offer a certain segment of its customer base the ability to import SVG files into FrameMaker products. This customer segment includes designers and related professionals who need or want to work with graphical images that can be easily scaled. In essence, an SVG conversion capability would allow Adobe to increase the functionality of its FrameMaker software to reflect the increasing use and popularity of this file format.

Orbital achieved this objective by building a converter that acted as a “plug-in” for FrameMaker. This converter was designed to transform SVG files into Frame Vector Image (FVI) files that are native to FrameMaker. This project took approximately two-person months of work and was completed by Orbital on time and on budget. In order to ensure successful completion of the project, Orbital management oversaw the development of accurate project specifications, the completion of diligent software development, detailed QA, prudent release engineering and necessary support once the SVG Converter had been shipped to Adobe.

The project required that Orbital’s development team learn how to apply an existing library not from Adobe to the SVG converter with limited support. In order to accomplish this, Orbital’s developers were able to call into this library and have it perform transformations on data, which assisted with the import process of the SVG image. This operation had to fit within the context of a cross platform design because the target platforms for this new plug-in spanned across multiple operating systems. In designing cross-platform solutions, Orbital was particularly focused on addressing system dependent idiosyncrasies that could tie a component to a particular operating system.

As Adobe had a very tight timeline for the project, Orbital’s management had to juggle existing projects to free up appropriate personnel. This was accomplished through the use of a dynamic multi-disciplinary team structure that allows Orbital to source its technical talent within various groups of the company and allocate them to specific projects for allotted periods of time, where their expertise can be best leveraged.

In completing this project, Orbital was able to offer Adobe an outsourced solution that was managed by Orbital and therefore required Adobe to utilize very little of their internal resources. Orbital simply received product specifications at the beginning of the project and then proceeded to work virtually independently, while providing regular status reports to Adobe.

This project demonstrates why Orbital is the leading provider of file converter expertise in the world. Orbital was able to react to Adobe’s time-sensitive needs and self-manage this challenging project through to a successful completion. As a result, Adobe was able to offer its customers powerful SVG conversion capabilities.

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