Key Takeaways

  • Effectual redesigned a federal bird-banding agency's website, replacing manual data entry with automated checks using Amazon EC2.
  • AWS CloudFormation reduced manual environment-provisioning work and improved productivity when debugging.
  • GitLab CI/CD checks code for errors automatically, speeding up developer changes.
  • Amazon CloudWatch Events trigger serverless Lambda functions and keep servers warm, cutting response times from 3 seconds to a couple hundred milliseconds.
  • The result is a low-maintenance system that automates bird identification verification, saving significant manual effort for wildlife researchers.

Effectual led a Federal Government client in need of automation, reliability, and efficiency for their bird identification website.

The customer supports the collection, archiving, management and dissemination of information from banded and marked birds in North America. This information is used to monitor the status and trends of resident and migratory bird populations.

The Challenge

This Federal Government customer required a move from its on-premises infrastructure to a centralized cloud environment. The client looked to our team to redesign their website, creating a system that would produce automated checks to save time and manual effort when registering banded and checked birds into the database.

The Solution

Our team assisted the customer in creating a system that would require minimal effort to keep up and running for years. This system saved time and manual effort through the implementation of Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) to automate cron jobs for repetitive tasks to push all submitted web surveys from bird hunters and enthusiasts to the on-premises database. When banded birds were checked in, the system would be able to ensure the identification was correct, eliminating the need to manually check that information.

The Benefits

Automation

We utilized Amazon EC2 to automate database syncing. This allowed the bird banding lab to be more efficient when a bird was reported on their website. The client no longer needed to manually log and input the bird species. AWS CloudFormation was implemented to reduce manual work while developing an environment, ensuring productivity when debugging issues.

Efficiency

We used GitLab Continuous Integration in conjunction with GitLab Continuous Deployment to check code for errors, expediting developer changes.

Reliability

Our team implemented Amazon CloudWatch Events for serverless workflow to trigger Lambda functions. Without having to provision or manage, the client was able to keep the same server running by keeping it warm with a CloudWatch Event. This reduced response times from 3 seconds to a couple hundred milliseconds.

Frequently Asked Questions

What federal use case does this case study cover?

A Federal Government bird-banding lab's website used to collect, archive, and manage data on banded and marked birds across North America to monitor bird population trends.

What problem did the client need solved?

A move from on-premises infrastructure to a centralized cloud environment, plus a redesigned website with automated checks to save time and manual effort when registering banded birds.

How was the registration process automated?

Amazon EC2 automates cron jobs for repetitive tasks, pushing submitted web surveys from bird hunters and enthusiasts to the on-premises database and automatically verifying bird identification.

What improved development efficiency?

GitLab Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment check code for errors automatically, speeding up developer changes, alongside AWS CloudFormation for environment provisioning.

How much did response times improve?

Amazon CloudWatch Events kept a server warm to trigger Lambda functions without provisioning or management, cutting response times from about 3 seconds to a couple hundred milliseconds.