The PDI (Police Digital Investigations) dashboard groups all of our tools into one launcher for evidence processing and analysis. When I started as a Police Digital Researcher, this solution already existed. However, it was highly inefficient and relied on updating programs by building them on the user’s computer—requiring all the dependencies and build tools to be installed. It also required an authenticated user to be logged into GitHub on the user’s PC for updates to work. I optimised this by integrating updating via the GitHub API, and modified it to install the compiled program. The system also includes automatic detection of version mismatches and a built-in updater for the dashboard. Additionally, I redesigned the user interface to give it a more modern and intuitive appearance.

Tools and Methodologies

This was implemented using C# .NET and WPF, and utilises the GitHub API for software updates.

Deployment and Reception

This significantly improved deployment by eliminating the need to install dependencies and build tools, while also enabling automatic updates—removing the need to manually update each PC. Because fixes were made available instantly, usability for Police Digital Investigators improved significantly, with reduced downtime and a more positive reception overall.