Innovation Management Tracking System (IMTS)

System overview

IMTS is an ASP.NET Core 8 web application for Bank of Uganda's innovation-management process. It replaces manual idea records and communication with a central workflow from idea submission through selection, concept development, experimentation or research, deployment, and closure.

The system is based on the Innovation Management System Requirements SRS and supports three primary users:

• Staff submit individual or team ideas, add attachments, view progress, receive notifications, comment, and retract or cancel their own submissions.
• Innovation Team view and filter submitted ideas, review details and attachments, manage stages and statuses, communicate with submitters, and monitor stage deadlines.
• IT Administrator manages user accounts, roles, account status, and audit activity.

The application uses role-based personal dashboards, SQL Server persistence, ASP.NET Core Identity, audit records, notifications, reports, and downloadable resources. It is intended for on-premises deployment on Windows Server, IIS, and Microsoft SQL Server.

Folder structure

ASPTemplate/
|-- Template.sln          Solution file
|-- Template.Common/      Shared enums, role names, constants, and audit base classes
|-- Template.Data/        EF Core entities, DbContext, migrations, and seed data
|-- Template.Core/        Business models, repositories, services, and authorization
|-- Template.Web/         MVC controllers, Razor views, static files, and application startup
|-- design-reference/     UI and design reference material
|-- Innovation Management System Requirements.pdf
`-- README.md

Dependencies flow from Template.Web to Template.Core, then Template.Data and Template.Common.

Run offline with Visual Studio

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2022 with the ASP.NET and web development workload
• .NET 8 SDK
• SQL Server Express LocalDB, normally installed through Visual Studio
• NuGet packages restored at least once while internet access is available

Start the application

1. Open Template.sln in Visual Studio.

2. Right-click Template.Web and select Set as Startup Project.

3. Start LocalDB from a terminal or Package Manager Console:

   sqllocaldb start MSSQLLocalDB

4. Restore packages if they are not already cached:

   dotnet restore

5. Build the solution with Build > Build Solution or Ctrl+Shift+B.

6. Select the https launch profile and press F5, or press Ctrl+F5 without debugging.

The application uses the InnovationManagementDb LocalDB database configured in Template.Web/appsettings.json. On startup it automatically applies EF Core migrations and seeds the roles, development users, categories, and sample dashboard data. No manual Update-Database command is normally required.

The default development addresses are:

• https://localhost:7254
• http://localhost:5104

Development accounts use the seeded password Admin@123:

Role	Username
IT Administrator	admin
Staff	staff
Innovation Team	innovation

For fully offline use, ensure the .NET SDK, LocalDB, and required NuGet packages are installed or cached before disconnecting from the network.