Conductor

Independent Technical Audit: Enterprise-Scale Platform

Independent third-party technical audit validates: $20M-$35M replacement value. 2+ terabyte production database with 500M+ archived transactions. Ranks in top 5-10% of custom enterprise applications by scale, complexity, and longevity. Technically comparable to commercial platforms from Prometric and Pearson VUE, but with greater customization and full code ownership.

Verified metrics: 100,000+ user accounts. 5,000+ testing facilities. 1,000,000+ lines of professionally-developed code. 99.9%+ uptime over 20 years. Zero data breaches. Zero data loss incidents. 15+ external system integrations including government agencies (ICE/DHS), payment processors, and state licensing databases.

The System

Built from scratch and operated as CEO for 12 years. Not just a credentialing platform—complete business process automation from hiring evaluators to payment voucher processing to termination workflows. 13 major system modules. Multi-portal architecture connecting every stakeholder. Still running today, 20 years later, processing certifications 24/7 across 35+ states.

Started the company in 2005 and built this platform myself while running the business. Scaled from $0 to $12M+ annually. At peak, managed 588 people—100+ staff and 300-500 traveling RN nurses. Processed 1M+ certifications. Over $100M in exam revenue processed through the system. Zero contract losses in 12 years as CEO. Successful exit in 2023.

13 Major System Modules

1. Portal Management — Multi-portal architecture connecting Admin, Evaluators, Facilities, and Regional Test Sites. Role-based access control. Real-time synchronization across portals.

2. Evaluator Electronic Enrollment — Complete evaluator lifecycle management. Online application with Credentia background check integration. Skills verification. Contract management. Payment setup with ADP/TriNet integration.

3. Facility Electronic Enrollment — In-facility testing site enrollment. Regional test site (RTS) enrollment. Compliance tracking. Multi-state regulatory requirements.

4. Event Management — Testing event creation and scheduling. Automated evaluator offer system. Facility booking. RTS scheduling. Conflict resolution. Real-time availability tracking.

5. Payment Voucher Management — Automated payment processing. Integration with Paychex, ADP, TriNet. Voucher extraction and validation. Multi-tier approval workflows. Exception handling.

6. Audits (Evaluators & Regional Test Sites) — Comprehensive audit system. Performance tracking. Compliance verification. Quality assurance workflows. Automated scoring of audit results.

7. Escalation Management — Incident tracking system. Issue escalation workflows. Resolution tracking. Performance impact analysis. Termination workflows for severe violations.

8. Quarterly Rotation Management — Bed scheduler for rotating evaluator assignments. Skills distribution algorithms. Regional balancing. Workload optimization.

9. Candidate Scheduling — Candidate portal for test scheduling. Payment processing via QuickBooks integration. Real-time availability. Automated confirmations. Reschedule workflows.

10. Test Packets — Digital test packet generation. Secure content encryption. Test version control. Distribution to testing sites. Photo verification workflows.

11. Scoring — Automated exam scoring. Skills evaluation workflows. Clinical Skills Test (CST) scoring. Written test processing. Real-time results delivery.

12. System Reporting — Comprehensive reporting suite. State compliance reports. Financial reconciliation. Performance dashboards. Audit trails. 13+ report categories.

13. State Database Integration — Real-time integration with 20+ state licensing databases. Automated reconciliation engines. Primary source verification. License expiration monitoring. Automated renewal alerts.

Automation Impact

83% staff reduction — $1.6M annual savings — Scaled from 30 back-office staff to 5 while growing revenue 5x. Competitors had teams of 50+ people doing manual data entry. We automated most of it.

40 hours/week saved — Automated reconciliation eliminated manual cross-checking between our records and state databases. Real-time sync caught discrepancies immediately.

90% reduction in emergencies — Automated renewal reminders eliminated most expiration-related crises. Staff could focus on exceptions instead of routine monitoring.

60% fewer support tickets — Self-service candidate portal handled scheduling, payments, results access. Reduced phone calls and manual intervention.

$200k+ annual savings — Mobile exam platform (SCORE) eliminated physical test distribution. Replaced entire shipping operation with iOS/Android apps.

The Problem

Nurse aide credentialing in the US requires managing 35+ states, each with different requirements. Testing centers, state licensing boards, healthcare facilities, background checks, primary source verification—all disconnected systems communicating via phone calls, faxes, and manual data entry.

When I started in 2005, the industry ran on paper. Testing companies shipped physical exam materials to testing centers. State boards maintained paper registries. Healthcare facilities called around trying to verify credentials. Average turnaround time was 2-4 weeks.

Built a system that eliminated most of the manual work. Then ran the business on top of that system for 12 years. Every feature I built eliminated a specific pain point I experienced as CEO. Not hypothetical requirements—real problems costing real money.

Technical Architecture: Enterprise-Grade SOA

Multi-tier service-oriented architecture (SOA) with proven scalability supporting 500+ concurrent users and 100,000+ daily transactions at peak. Five major web applications with complete environment isolation. Multiple SOAP/WCF web services. Comprehensive security architecture with defense-in-depth strategy.

15+ external system integrations including government agencies (ICE/DHS identity verification), payment processors (PCI-DSS compliant), state licensing databases (20+ states), background check services (Credentia), payroll systems (ADP, TriNet, Paychex), mapping services, and shipping/tracking APIs.

Custom enterprise frameworks: Workflow engine managing 100+ workflow types with state machine patterns. Scheduling engine with conflict detection and multi-resource optimization. Document management system with version control and full-text search. Comprehensive reporting framework with 200+ automated reports.

Database architecture: 2TB+ production database with 500+ tables. 500M+ archived transactions in separate archive database. Advanced partitioning and indexing strategies. SQL Server AlwaysOn availability groups for high availability. Point-in-time recovery capability.

Security: Zero breaches over 20 years. PCI-DSS compliant payment processing. Comprehensive audit logging capturing 100% of sensitive operations. Role-based access control with 1,000+ permission points. Encryption at rest and in transit. Multi-factor authentication support.

Why It Worked

Designed for longevity from day one. Conservative tech choices. Boring architecture. Extensive error handling. Zero-trust data validation. Multiple layers of reconciliation.

Not sexy. Not the latest JavaScript framework. ASP.NET C# and SQL Server—boring, stable, well-understood technology that could run for decades.

The real secret: I ran the business on top of the system. Every bug affected me personally. Every performance issue slowed down my staff. Every data error risked my contracts. That level of accountability creates different code.

Most developers build features and move on. I built features and lived with the consequences for 12 years. System still running today because it was built to last decades, not just until the next funding round.

The Exit

Acquired by leading testing automation company in 2023 after 18 years of operation. Platform still running today under new ownership, processing certifications in 35+ states. System has been operational for 20 consecutive years with 99.9% uptime.

Over $100M in exam revenue processed through the system. Zero contract losses during 12 years as CEO. Staggered contract renewals maintained across all clients throughout the entire 12-year period. 100% contract retention rate.