We follow a simple but successful method of managing all our software projects. Our process emphasises the importance of the users' role in identifying and clarifying the requirements for the system. Each stage in the process helps to better refine the requirements starting with an initial proposal that sets the overall scope of the project, followed by mock-ups of the proposed system to help you and us visualise what the system will look like and finally a number of system releases with progressively more features.
The initial proposal summarises the scope of the project and provides an initial budget for the work. It is written by us after the first project meeting. The proposal is the first step in agreeing what the software will do and, if accepted, is the document that contractually starts the project.
During the requirements phase of the project we aim to determine the detailed user requirements. It is not necessary to identify all the requirements at this stage but we aim to clearly define the way in which the system will work. We use both paper and computer based mock-ups to try to represent the final system.
Paper mock-ups are fast and easy to change and help to picture the screen and report layouts.
Computer mock-ups take more time but they are more realistic and help to pin down the precise layout and functions of the system.
The design and build of the system is the phase in which the mock-ups are turned into a working system. During the design and build stage a set of features are identified from the mock-ups and these are implemented. As part of the design and build process the user is encouraged to start using the system and to provide feedback about their experiences using the software.
Once all the features of the system have been implemented and the system is in use we make sure the system performs correctly. Performance optimisation is best carried out towards the end of the project when the requirements have been finalised.
The final release is the final version of the software and is released once the users have signed off on the system.