Software development project success starts with proper design and strategy. Software project success can be defined as:
- The software meets the business and technical requirements outlined by our customer.
- The project was completed within budget.
- The project was completed on time.
How many times have you heard of projects not meeting not only one of those success factors, but all three of them? One of the problems with software design is that there are many ways to get from point A to point B. Our two core design principles provide the foundation helps us provide successful project after successful project for our customers:
- Understanding our customer’s industry domain
- Understanding the software products employed in these domains
Understanding the industry domain allows us to understand technical constraints, functional requirements, quality attributes and business constraints. Both our deep expertise in the technical platforms we employ and more importantly the business space our customers reside in enables PSGi to comprehend these constraints. PSGi's understanding of our customers' domains allow us to strategize with our customers and jointly determine the best possible business solution to their business challenges.
In addition to PSGi's thorough understanding of the IBM i software space demands, we have multiple tools in our toolbox which we know how to employ to solve business challenges. In software development there are typically many methods, paths and technical solutions that can be used to solve a problem. Is the solution going to be sitting in the cloud? What programming languages will be best suited not only for development but for our customer’s ongoing support? How quickly must a solution be delivered and is the business challenge potentially going to evolve over time? These are just a few questions that impact design strategies and the tools we decide to use. The solution chosen must not only meet the business requirements but it stand the test of time!
PSGi will use its understanding of our customer’s domain and our extensive development toolbox (or knowledge of your tool box if our role stops at design) to form a software design strategy best suited for your needs and requirements. We rely on two design strategy foundations which can be augmented for your situation.
Flexible Planning and Design
PSGi's flexible planning and design method provides solid designs but allows for coding to begin before full designs are complete. If we are working in an agile environment and changes are occurring often or time lines are tight, providing a flexible design strategy allows us to deliver the right product at the right time while making the best use of our resources and our customers' resources.
Our flexible design process also allows us to build prototypes facilitating valuabkle customer feedback early in the process resulting in a better product in less time.
Full Planning and Design
Alternatively, PSGi may decide or the customer may require a completed design before development commences. This would be appropriate in complex yet static environments where the business and technical requirements are clearly defined and very specific solutions to address these requirements are desired. In these more static situations this "full planned" design strategy will provide a better product in less time. When the end result is more of a moving target the previosuly described "flexible planning" approach allows prototyping and is a better solution for our customers.