Software development has a life-cycle: a Start, a Finish and the stages in-between.
Each stage is very important, and must be done well to achieve the best possible
results. There is a good reason why multi-million pound government IT projects keep
being scrapped - because the analysis and design process was wrong.
We believe that the secret to successful systems development is to combine the power of in-depth business analysis with
systems analysis
and design and then to apply an excellent standard of coding to the project.
The software development process can be broken down into 3 Groups containing particular stages or work modules. The
process can be stopped after any stage and each stage is separately chargeable.
Group 1 - Consultation
Investigation
When you approach BaySoft for a bespoke system, the first thing we do is
investigate and try to understand your business. Once we understand your business and the processes employed in running it we
can
look at your manual, paper based or existing IT systems and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and suggest methods to improve
them.
We listen carefully to your requirements - and your reasons for wanting to utilise them. These are
assessed in the context of what we have learned about your business.
Feasibility Study
It could be that a Bespoke system may not be the answer. This can be for a variety
of reasons:
- Benefits don't outweigh the costs
- Technically impractical or impossible
- Existing systems are adequate with some adjustments
- Software system simply isn't required to achieve your goals
We won't sell you a system you don't need.
Scope Of Requirements
Once we've agreed that a bespoke software system is the best fit for your business,
we will agree a scope of requirements with you.
We don't design the system at this stage - but we carefully agree on paper everything
that it needs to do, as well as discussing any detail or the process that could
affect the system design process. The blueprints / architect's drawings of your system will
be created from this scope of requirements.
Group 2 - Design
System Design
At this stage we create the blueprints for your system. This is comparable to an
architect creating drawings / blueprints for building a property. A software engineer
will work from these designs to deliver the final software product.
Similarly to building a house, should the drawings be changed after the build has
started, then there will be cost penalties and time delays. Some of the desired changes
may not even be possible at this later stage, this is why it is critical that the blueprints of the software
are correct and accurate before any programming begins. It is also difficult for
a software designer to design these plans if the scope of requirements is
lacking in detail or accuracy or the project scope keeps moving.
It is possible to arrive at a development cost from the blue-prints. And you are
under no obligation at this stage to use BaySoft for the actual programming work.
The blueprints can be taken by any software company and turned into a working system.
This is why this stage of the process is a separately chargeable item - just as
the architect's fees would be in a house build.
Group 3 - Deliver & Support
Development / Coding
You will be asked to sign the blueprints and pay a deposit before any development
work begins. You will be liable for any costs arising from changes to this blueprint
after development work begins.
Finally, a software engineer will take the software blueprints and create your software.
This will be delivered to you as a "compiled" working project.
Your delivered product will be made up of proprietary code, shared code libraries,
and third party compiled code libraries. These libraries help to keep the cost to
you down - as writing every line of code from scratch would be very, very expensive.
All source code and libraries remain the property of BaySoft or their respective
owners.
Test
Your software will be tested thoroughly before deployment and you will be invited
to test it in a "Sandbox" test environment before it goes "live".
Install
Installation will take place in a well-planned and timely fashion. We will even
do this work on weekends or evenings to avoid disruption to your business.
Training & Support
Training and / or instruction manuals / built in help will be agreed and arranged
with you to ensure that your staff quickly settle down to working with your new
software.
We will agree a gratis support period with your installation which will entitle you
to free bug fixes and support for a nominated number of days. After that you will
be required to purchase support either by the hour or on a monthly contract basis.
Ongoing Development
You will have opportunity to add to your software and enhance it. Every enhancement,
large or small, is subjected to this whole process. Of course, small enhancements
can be dealt with very quickly and inexpensively - but that doesn't mean that we
don't give them the diligence and attention that they deserve at the planning and
design stages.