|
Methodology
A critical component to the success of our projects is
adherence to our own custom development methodology. So that you can better
understand the lifecycle of a project, we've summarized the sections of this
methodology below.
1. Needs Review
RR Group focuses on determining the strategic direction required to meet
current and future business needs. The purpose of performing a Needs Review is
to understand the environment and operations currently in place in order to
identify efficiencies as well as shortcomings. With this first step in place,
we can best determine which of our vast number of services will best fit our
client's needs.
2. Business Requirements
Once we have finished the needs review, we then work with you to define and
document the appropriate business requirements. Enterprise applications are
built to solve business problems. Above all other requirements, the business
need drives application development. In this phase, our initial task is to
create a vision statement for the project with you. The vision statement is an
informal statement that communicates the expectations and assumptions on which
the project is based. Out of this grows the scope document. The scope document
clearly defines the specific business needs that the application is to going to
solve and/or augment.
3. Functional Specifications
After the business requirements have been established, the functional
specifications are created with the involvement of all team members. The
functional specification serves as a contract between us and you, the customer.
This contract is derived from the overall business objectives defined in the
business requirements phase. It clearly defines the visual design, functional
interfaces, and data requirements of the application. It also defines the
external interfaces, interoperability, performance goals, and other assumptions
and constraints that bind the approach to the solution.
4. Project Plan and Proposal
With the completion of the functional specifications, we then work to develop a
project plan and proposal. This document explicitly details project costs,
schedules, assumptions, limitations and deadlines. A copy of the functional
specifications is delivered with project plan and proposal. Upon your signed
acceptance of the project plan and proposal, the project then begins.
5. Development
Once the project has been given the "green light", the development process
begins. At the beginning of this process, we assign a project manager to the
project. The project manager acts as your primary point of contact during the
life of the project. This person is also responsible for the success of the
project from both a project deadline and budgetary standpoint. Our staff of
project managers are experienced developers with at least five years of
real-world development experience.
6. Beta Release and Testing
A key deadline in the project plan is the release of the first project beta. A
beta is a release of the software that may or may not contain issues or "bugs".
We use testing to help in the detection of bugs - not to prove that there are
none, but to locate any that are present. Testing verifies that the software
conforms precisely to the functional specifications that we agreed to with you.
Because there are many ways to approach testing, the project manager that is
assigned to your project works with you to determine the testing methodology
that works best for you.
7. Delivery
The delivery stage is the final stage of the project. This stage is where the
actual software is delivered to you. We are flexible as to our level of
involvement in this stage. Many clients prefer us to perform all aspects of the
delivery and installation. Other clients, with IT staffs as resources, prefer
to perform the software installations themselves.
|
|