Implement
Retiring to a back room for 6 months and emerging triumphantly with the completed code is not our style. Too much can change in the interim and so a more flexible approach is needed. In addition, single-point-in-time implementation results in huge single-point-in-time disruption!
We find that seamless and flexible implementation tends to include several key elements:
- Appropriate Platform Selection
- Assigning a Project Champion
- Staging the Development
- Knowing when NOT to DIY!
Selecting an Appropriate Platform
Consider a tent and an apartment block. Both provide accommodation. One delivers long term comfort, the other excels in portability. To achieve their goals one requires steel reinforced concrete structural members while the other very purposely relies on aluminium tube and nylon.
There are many software platforms available today. PC network vs. Internet browser based, Windows vs. Linux, open source vs. proprietary technology, they all have their strengths and weaknesses. The right choice often involves skilfully combining and integrating their strengths. We'll discuss and recommend the right development strategy.
Assigning a Project Champion
Someone on your staff, who is familiar with your business operations and the project deliverables, should be appointed as a central contact for all software development matters. They will ideally be empowered to seek feedback, gain confirmation and make decisions throughout the project. They most often also have a key role in testing and user training. Good communication with an appropriate project champion invariably delivers a better tailored result in a more timely fashion for a lower overall cost.
Staging the Development
Ideally the entire application is first mapped into a set of complementary functional modules. We then develop and install the most essential of these and include all the necessary services and infrastructure. On a regular basis (about 2 weeks) we add each new module until the whole project is complete!
Knowing when not to DIY!
As a last note, we applaud those who give it a go themselves. It takes courage and perseverance to develop an application yourself. It is both a significant challenge and a rewarding one. But for exactly the same reasons, the wise person knows when to get help.
It takes long term, committed, day-in and day-out type effort to really become proficient. And its going to be difficult for your staff to develop a depth of knowledge and experience because even if they have the aptitude, they often have other tasks that consume their attention each day. So you need to have realistic expectations - they're never really going to compete in speed or skill with the professionals.
That said, some of our most successful clients have grown from those who initially tried to start something themselves. Like most businesses they are opportunists and tend to go after potential improvements to their business and systems by any means possible. But the successful ones are also realists and they contact us not long after they get started. And by involving us from the early stages they generally achieve their goals in a very low frustration, swift and cost effective manner.
