A Process to Ensure Success

Methodology

Even though companies within the same industry tend to operate in a similar fashion, each business has its own unique systems, priorities and culture.

Our first step in working with you starts with talking with you and your staff to understand not only your goals, but also the best way to achieve them. We work with you to prepare a plan custom-tailored to your company and your project, adjusting it to fit your standards.

Our methodology generally employs the following phases:

Each phase is deliverables-based.

High Level Project Description
High Level Functional Design
High Level Technical Design
Detailed Functional Design
Detailed Technical Design
Code
Unit Test
Component Test
System Test & Installation Test
Package and Delivery, and
Support During User Acceptance Test

The functional design phases are a joint effort with you, including conception, revision and confirmation, with prototypes where appropriate. The design gets tested early - and often. What's more, each phase has a Quality Assurance step to keep all work to our exacting standards.

Furthermore, we understand that changes are often necessary as the project progresses - and they also have the potential to increase the scope, cost and completion time of the work. Our proven Change Control/Management acts as a watchdog on changes, helping us to make sure that you get the product that you need, while controlling the scope.

How We'll Work with You

Our commitment to you is not only for a custom made, state-of-the-art system, but also for an efficient, inspiring development process that involves you and your staff and keeps you abreast of progress, but never wastes your time.

First, we survey your current systems, your requirements for the future and your expectations. We invest time up front to gain an intimate understanding of your goals, your strategic objectives and your business.

Then, we move into the design and definition phases. At this point we will begin to add project specialists from around the country, based on the specific areas of expertise that we determine are required by your project. The third stage is the build and implementation process. We ensure buy-in and support at every level of your company by providing prototype screens to your people early and often, and then revising these screens based on the feedback we receive from the system's future users.

When our specialists are not on-site, they are electronically connected and available to you. You'll receive well-documented functional design, technical design and implementation plans. We have onsite meetings with you as needed or as requested.

One of the reasons for our success is our process. We make it easy on everybody involved by making it clear from the very beginning not only how the process will work- but also who is responsible for what aspect of the work.

To ensure that you get the highest quality project possible, completed in the shortest amount of time possible, we've adopted the following statements:

Customer's Bill of Rights

I have the right to:

Set reasonable objectives for the project and have them followed.

Know how long the software project will take and how much it will cost, once the project has been defined.

Decide which functional features are in and which are out of the software.

Make reasonable changes to requirements throughout the course of the project and to know the costs and tradeoffs of making those changes.

Know the project's status clearly and confidently.

Be apprised regularly of risks that could affect cost, schedule or quality, and to be provided with options for addressing potential problems.

Have ready access to existing project deliverables throughout the project.

Project Team's Bill of Rights

I have the right to:

Know the project objective and to clarify priorities.

Know in detail what product I am supposed to build and to clarify the product definition if it is unclear.

Have ready access to the customer, manager, marketer or other person responsible for making decisions about the software's functionality.

Work each phase of the project in a technically responsible way, especially not to be forced to start coding too early in the project.

Approve effort and schedule estimates for any work that I will be asked to perform. This includes the right to provide only the kinds of cost and schedule estimates that are theoretically possible at each stage of the project; to take the time needed to create meaningful estimates; and to revise estimates whenever the project's requirements change.

Have my project's status reported accurately to customers and upper management.

Work in a productive environment free from frequent interruptions and distractions, especially during critical parts of the project.

Adapted from: "Software Project Survival Guide" by Steve McConnell, published by Microsoft Press, Redmond, Washington.

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