1. Solution Consulting
Solution Consulting starts with a high level needs analysis. This results in a Solution Consulting proposal.

Once the proposal is accepted, normally a process design team is formed to review and change processes, as needed to prepare for automation. This takes advantage of the pending automation to refine process and remove steps that can be automated. This team is comprised of your management and employees led by one of our consultants. The role of this team is to review business needs, the way people do their work, eliminate non-value added work, look for ways to make the work more effective and efficient through business process automation and to design a streamlined workflow. This is where people, process and technology are balanced. The ending milestone is a streamlined workflow designed for automation.

2. Solution Definition & Design
With the streamlined workflow as a blueprint, defining the automated solution begins. Here functional and technical requirements are defined and then the project is split into deliverable phases. This includes a detailed project plan and schedule. The Milestone is the completion of a system specification and a development and implementation plan. A formal review of these documents completes the solution definition.

Then System design begins. This is where the business and functional software components to be used in the solution are identified and ordered. This step ends with a System Design Review.

3. Development & Test
Development is divided into three-to-five month phases each delivering key components. The idea is to be up and running with the most critical components in the first phase and add more components in subsequent phases. Use of our Business Component Library shortens development time for many applications. Formal Code Reviews are the ending milestones for all stages.

Following each development stage, the application is installed and tested. First with a small group (alpha test) followed by a larger group (beta test). Data conversion is completed at a pre-determined point during this step. Both tests are followed by reviews.

4. Implementation and Training
In this step the system is fully deployed, data conversion is completed and final user acceptance testing takes place. Employees (end users) are trained according to your needs, normally in bite size chunks. System Administrators are also trained in their functions, including data security and backup.

5. Support and Improvement
Ongoing support and continuous improvement ensure the day to day issues are resolved, new employees are trained and new business needs are addressed. The milestone for this step is an annual performance review.

Milestones