Over many years of industry experience, we’ve developed a methodology that applies to all projects regardless of size, length, and type of service.
Most software development is a chaotic activity, often characterized by the phrase “code and fix”. The software is written without much of an underlying plan, and the design of the system is cobbled together from many short term decisions. This actually works pretty well as the system is small, but as the system grows it becomes increasingly difficult to add new features to the system. Furthermore bugs become increasingly prevalent and increasingly difficult to fix. A typical sign of such a system is a long test phase after the system is “feature complete”.
We’ve lived with this style of development for a long time, but we’ve also had an alternative for a long time: Methodology.
Methodologies impose a disciplined process upon software development with the aim of making software development more predictable and more efficient. We do this by developing a detailed process with a strong emphasis on planning inspired by our experiences and learnings in the past – which is why we tend to refer to them as Hosting Solutions Methodologies.
Over many years of industry experience, we’ve developed a methodology that applies to all projects regardless of size, length, and type of service. This continuous process, namely our development lifecycle, begins with learning your goals and ends with far exceeding them. Consultation services often only require a few hours, so this process is not exactly correct but this thought process is always used.
The steps involved in our consultation processes are as follows:
- Discover
- Design
- Develop
- Deploy
- Monitor
- Maintain
Discover
The first step is to discover and define the goals of your business while considering your immediate and future needs and assigning priority to work with within your budget limitations. Your job is to teach us your vision, and ours is to bring it to life.
Whether your solution takes just a few minutes, or a few months, this same process applies. The discovery phase clearly states the problem, and contains all of the information needed to design a solution to the problem.
Design
After we’ve completed the discovery phase and received the client’s approval, we come to the design phase. Then, keeping in mind all your goals, priorities, and budget concerns we will begin to design your solution including a project completion timeline.
The design will detail the scope of work needed and be all-inclusive. Economic, operational, and technical feasibility will all be assessed as well as the total cost of ownership of the new system. We will also be sure that whatever system we design meets your needs perfectly and is scalable to meet future business demands.
When both our technician(s) and you, the client, are completely satisfied with the proposal, we then move forward with project development.
Develop
In the development phase, the plans and ideas which were drawn up in the design phase will be created. Import and conversion of all database information is done at this time. Great attention to detail is given and we make sure that no matter what kind of project you are developing, it is done well.
Functional versions of your project are created and every aspect of it is tested thoroughly before we deploy it for use. Clients can often watch the progress of their development if it is on-site and participate in testing.
All server configurations, policies, databases, backup systems, workstation setups, etc. are tested and double-tested with intensive load and usage simulations if necessary. Early comprehensive testing and familiarity with your systems helps to ensure smooth operation after deployment.
Deploy
The final stage of the project’s creation is deployment. Once it is demonstrated that the project functions as desired and outlined in our agreed upon proposal, it is deployed for use. Launches are pre-planned to ensure minimal interruption to business functions.
Monitor
As a full service I.T. solutions provider, we go beyond the standard 4-Ds development process. We are committed to your company’s ongoing success and thus our relationship does not end. Monitoring your systems for errors, performance, and gathering statistical information play an important role for the long-term success of any information system.
Help desk support is available to monitor and track issues with your systems and get a tech out to you to troubleshoot them quickly. We can remotely monitor systems 24 hours a day as necessary if they are critical to your business operations.
Maintain
As your business requirements change, so too will the needs and expectations of your systems. Ongoing maintenance is necessary to any business information system, whether through user support and system administration, or just performing reliable scheduled backups.
Desktop and server systems can be remotely maintained as well. This means kept up to date with the latest critical updates, virus definitions, software versions, etc. This process helps your systems run smoothly and keeps them protected from harm at all times.
When you choose us, you can always rest assured that a skilled technician is just a phone call or a click away to help you when you need it most!
