When we talk to our new clients about the software development process, we use the analogy of building a house.

Requirements Analysis and Design.

The First step in building a house is to get your architect to design the house and create a blueprint for the builder. We sit down with our clients and listen to their needs and design a solution tailored to their needs. We will write up a specification which describes in detail how the software will work. These are the blueprints to your house.

Once you have the plans you can take them to a builder and they will quote you on a price to build the house. Once we have finished the Specification we will provide you with an estimate of the cost of building the software.

Implementation

The next step in building a house is the construction of the house. Once the client has agreed that the solution we have specified matches their vision of the software we go ahead and build the solution as a software program.

During the construction of the software we will be getting your feedback to ensure that the software is heading in the right direction. We will also be continuously testing the software to ensure it matches the specification.

User Testing

Once the software is completed we give you the keys to the front door. When you use the software for the first time invariably there is something we have both missed. We will sit down with you and get list of things that may need changing, ie “That wall should be green” and “the window there needs to be bigger”. However if you need to add an extra room, then we need to create a specification for the new room and provide you with a quote for the extension.

Training and Support

Once you are happy that the software is ready for everyone to use we can provide training to all or some of your staff as required. We want to ensure that our users are able to use the software correctly and get the maximum benefit from the software.

Maintenance and Support

We are also there to support you when you go on to use the software yourself. We are happy to answer any question about the software after the initial development is over.

It’s important to understand that software needs maintenance much like a house. Over time there are changes you may need to make to the software because of changes in IT or changes in company policy, or even government policy.