ForceField Project Guidelines (What happens next?)

What happens next?

Ok, you’ve decided to go ahead with a Jargon Software mobile solution. What happens next? What do you need to do, what will Jargon Software be doing, and what happens when unforeseen things come up?

At Jargon Software, our professionals have installed hundreds of client applications and have noted how others do the same thing. By seeing what works best and what doesn’t, we have developed a project methodology that provides a good path to a successful implementation. In essence, it is a flexible, informal framework that is tailored to your situation. No two projects are the same, so we never force our clients into some rigid paperwork nightmare the way many software companies still do.

We don’t want to say “Gotcha”, we want to say “Got It!”

During our initial discussions, we worked together to identify any needed software customization. This is normally included in our agreement as a summary list of custom features, not a detailed specification.

As the first step in the process, we will schedule a conference call to get things started. You can include anyone you want in the call, including owners, managers, IT staff, and your project leader. It is very important that you select one person to be your project leader and our primary contact point.  This person needs both the resources and authority to make project decisions and to make things happen. Experience shows that a good client project leader is essential to a successful project.

In this conference call, we will begin identifying more detailed steps to be taken, including:

  • Specs for application changes and new features, based on the customization list
  • Specs to interface with your back office software, to export and import data
  • Access to your server so we can begin installing software
  • Hardware selection
  • Preliminary schedule
  • Next steps to be taken by each party

As soon as we have access to your server, we will install our server software to access your database. This lets us review your host database structure and see the real data that we will be working with.

After another round of phone calls and emails, we will provide a “first cut” list of the custom features and other project tasks to be done (the “punch list”). When everyone has reviewed and approved this list, we will start work on the custom programming and the server programs  for data export and import.

When the server software installation and the “first cut” of the custom programming is done, we will install the software on your system so you can begin testing it. This will normally be on one of your mobile devices (handheld, tablet, laptop, etc.), or it may be simply on one of your PCs (using an emulator if you are deploying on handheld devices).

This point marks the beginning of the 30-day test period, when you are able to test all the software using your own data (customers, products, etc.). During this period, your goal is to test as much as possible, using typical data entry scenarios, in order to build a list of things from the punch list that don’t work right or don’t work like you thought they would, as well as other minor new changes that were overlooked initially or that testing shows would be very useful.

We will review this list, discuss it with you to make sure we understand everything and perhaps suggest alternate solutions, make those changes and corrections to the software, and deliver a new version for you to test. There will be multiple iterations of this “revise and test” cycle during the Test Period, with later cycles involving real end users to get their feedback.

The mutual goal is to arrive at a finished version of the software that is ready for live testing by real end users. It is a good idea to first deploy to a small group of d people who enjoy trying out new technology and new software, because it is not unusual for this process to hit a few bumps while the final refinements are completed.

During the test period, corrections and minor changes to the software will be done at no additional charge. Of course, this does not include any major new features that were not previously agreed to.

After the test period ends, bug corrections will be done at no charge under our maintenance agreement.  Any other requested changes to the software will be billed at our normal hourly rates, with a one-hour minimum charge. We are always happy to provide a flat-price quote for any changes.

Note that it is better to bundle a group of changes in one request, so that we can work on them all at once. This is because our price to do these changes involves testing, installation and deployment, which is a fixed overhead cost to us that is the same regardless if the new software has one or ten changes in it. It’s like the cost to make truck deliveries to a customer for ten days in a row with one carton per trip, vs. the cost of one truck delivery of all ten cartons at once.

We always will try to find the best and lowest cost solution for you. Our goal is not to bury you in nickel and dime charges, it’s to make you happy you chose Jargon Software as your mobile solution provider!

 

Article Details

Article ID:
123
Date added:
2012-06-25 16:30:06
Views:
1,233
Rating (Votes):
(579)