17.5 Summary

Inmedius develops solutions for field service workers. Such workers require high mobility with untethered access to computers. These computers are typically highly portable-sometimes with hands-free operation. In each case, systems require integration with back-office operations.

Luther is a solution that Inmedius constructed to support the rapid building of customer support systems. It is based on J2EE. A great deal of attention has been given to developing re-usable components and frameworks that simplify the addition of various portions, and its user interface is designed to enable customer- as well as browser-based solutions.

Reliance on J2EE furthered the business goals of Inmedius but also introduced the necessity for additional design decisions in terms of what was packaged as which kind of bean (or not). This is an example of the backward flow of the ABC, emphasizing the movement away from stovepipe solutions toward common solutions.