I want to get my software project done on time, according to my needs, and within my budget. I’m looking through dozens of proposals to find a vendor. And each time I think: “How reliable is this company?”
Have you ever felt this way? It’s a typical situation.
Before making any decision on a product or service, we all research, check, and ask about a potential vendor. But listen, is it really a company that we are buying? No, we’re buying a solution to our problems. This solution is reached through in-depth business analysis and well-defined development processes. These two things are what you need to know about the most. You can find information about how software is being developed everywhere: on the internet, in books, on company websites. But we have a better idea.
Have you ever wondered what goes into creating a Tesla car? It all starts with raw material. To produce a Model S, aluminum coats are uncoiled into blanks. These pieces are then fed into the press line, which further forms the panels. One part is produced every six seconds. Once all the parts are done, they are brought to the body shop and put together. Afterward, a completed body shell is sent to the paint shop. After painting, the vehicle is being assembled from the inside-out. It takes from three to five days for Model S to come from raw materials to be finished.
You’re probably wondering why we are telling you this. Like in Tesla production, software development requires a specific sequence, people, resources, tools, and capacities. Our idea is to open up the doors of our manufacturing shop and show how we produce software. Ready?
You are always welcome at our office.
Start with a business analysis
Any software you use in business should provide value. Otherwise, why would you need it? Development involves specialists who analyze your business processes. They determine which areas technology solutions can add value.
Before this analysis starts, we will send you a proposal. You will be able to familiarize yourself with the team responsible for the analysis. Usually, this process consists of a business analyst, a system architect, a designer, a PM, and a QA engineer.
Next, DICEUS analysts collect functional and non-functional requirements that display your goals and needs. Firstly, they analyze the current state of your business. Secondly, they define the future desired state. Ultimately, they come up with solutions that bridge the gap between today and the future. Why does this phase matter?
According to PMI’s survey, 43% of PMs consider poor communication factor to be one of the key things affecting project failure. If you skip the business analysis, you may not get what you expected. And, consequently, you will ask for changes.
Although our change management process is well-organized, developers will have to redo a lot of requirements and code. In these situations, stakeholders lose their time and money. That’s why we highly recommend taking the business analysis phase seriously.
Based on the requirements, architects create a technical specification. Along with requirements, this document is provided to a client who in turn is highly engaged in the development process. How?
After completing the requirements and specifications, you will receive documents for approval. You will have 5 business days to study the documentation and give your written feedback. If something isn’t right, give us written notice. We will edit the documents according to your comments. You will have 5 more days for revision and approval. If you need more time, it can be specified in the statement of work (SoW).
What deliverables should you get in this stage? In total, you will receive three documents: system requirements, project architecture, and design mockups and wireframes. Okay, what’s next? How fast can we start to develop?
Actually, after the approval of the business analysis phase, we mobilize our resources within a couple of days. That’s easy for us because we assemble the team for you during the requirements-gathering stage. We have over 200 developers who are specialists with extensive knowledge of different technologies and industries.
Such a large talent pool allows us to scale up your team quickly. Typically, we have 10% of our developers on the bench. If they are available, the team will be expanded immediately. If not, it will take our recruitment team 4-6 days to do this. A certified project manager who is key to project success manages the team continuously. A project manager is a link between DICEUS, the development team, and a client. These people have a lot of responsibilities. Among the most important is to communicate customer requirements appropriately to the team. Success depends on how well the team understands how the end product will function.
Learn more about the business analysis phase.
Communication is our secret recipe for success whether we share our vision with the client or discuss the most appropriate solution with our teammates.
Decide on the cooperation model
The model of cooperation you choose defines the payment schedule. We offer Time & Material, Fixed Price, and Dedicated Team. However, more often, we recommend T&M since you pay only for the work delivered for one month.
With T&M, we start immediately once we have got the initial critical requirements. Everything else is defined throughout the rest of the development. This model also allows you to control your costs and to be more flexible with the deadline. We have two options for payments. Either 100% upfront or you can pay 50% upfront, and the other 50% on a “pay as you go” basis. Your second payment may be more or less than expected, depending on the time spent and scope of work done.
If you choose Fixed Price, your schedule will be divided into several payments. We will define the main phases, and then you pay the agreed sum. For example, business analysis, development consisting of 3-4 stages, UAT, and post-UAT.
Go on with the development
Don’t think about the development as only writing thousands of code. The other processes that ensure successful outcomes include design and testing. All these processes have equal importance. They are interconnected and depicted in the work breakdown structure (WBS).
You can receive an initial WBS just before the business analysis phase. We deliver the detailed structure of the work after the analysis. We divide the project into tasks, sub-tasks, and work packages. While this is fine, how do we define which tasks are important and which ones can be done later?
We prioritize the work using Critical Path Analysis (CPA). This document, as opposed to the WBS, contains not only tasks. It provides the time needed to complete each of the activities. Ultimately, you know the shortest time required to finish the project. Besides, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Our experts will advise you on the technology solutions (modules) that are beneficial for you from an economic standpoint.
Why do the WBS and CPA matter? They serve a basis for project cost estimation. But you will receive not only the cost. You know people responsible for each part of the project. You also have a list of technical resources needed. Finally, you will receive official approval from task holders that they possess the skills required to complete their work. How else could you know for sure that our specialists are proficient enough?
All project managers at DICEUS have PMI certificates, and all developers have master’s degrees in computer science. Before joining our team, all undergo testing and a series of interviews with recruiters, technical leads, the delivery team, and the head of delivery. All speak English fluently, and as a rule, there is no miscommunication. Regular English classes with native speakers help everyone to improve the spoken and written language.
Communication is the cornerstone of our cooperation with clients. All people at DICEUS are easy–going and available to answer your questions. However, you will also have a dedicated account manager. This person will guide you throughout the development process from start to finish. As you see, together with the account manager, you will be involved in the project. How much time will this all take?
During the requirements-gathering phase, you will be involved to the fullest. Communication will be organized according to your preferences: calls via Skype, Teams, Zoom, emails, etc. During the project execution, be prepared to devote at least 5 hours a week. Why?
The more you are involved, the faster the development team will move to the final goal. We will invite you to daily stand-up calls, monthly and quarterly governance meetings, and on-demand deep-dive sessions.
We also provide regular weekly and bi-weekly written reports on the project status. DICEUS developers track the time spent on your project in the Jira plugin, Tempo. So, you will know the hours spent, the latest project news, plans, and priorities. The delivery status, upcoming milestones, risks, and issues will also be described. You will always be on the same page as your team.
We welcome closer cooperation. If you need your development team onsite, they’d be happy to join you for a while, allowing you to meet your team in person, discuss any pressing issues, and find common ground. Besides, knowledge transfer onsite is much easier than via Skype, for example. The same goes for when you come to our workplace for a week or a month. Together with your team, you can brainstorm and find a good solution. During such visits, communication becomes more dynamic, which means that your project will move forward faster.
We take our daily meetings very seriously. They are short, exact and effective as we value our clients’ time and investment above all else.
Focus on QA
Quality is not just about running tests to make sure your software works. We ensure the quality of the code and the quality of the final product.
The quality of the written code is reviewed, cross-reviewed, and checked via SonarQube. Why does this matter? Firstly, we provide source code to a client after the work is paid. Now, imagine if you need to add some new functionalities or change some existing features. No matter who you contact for this task further. If your code is legacy, no one will be able to proceed with the development. Our developers, however, write code that could be supported in the future.
The quality of the final solution depends on how well your business requirements are aligned with the system. To track this, we use a traceability matrix, which is a tool that shows how one requirement depends on another. The main value of this matrix is that it makes the development process transparent. You can use this tool in many cases, and for each one, you solve a particular task. For example, test engineers use the matrix to contrast test coverage vs. requirements.
We adhere to all quality assurance standards and execute different types of manual and automated testing like unit, integration, functional, and end-to-end. We also use regression testing to ensure that the released functionalities work as intended.
To ensure that your system is completely protected from different vulnerabilities, test engineers run security and penetration testing. Before you pay and launch, user acceptance testing is performed to identify whether you received what you expected.
Deploy your solution
Every project is unique. No matter where you deploy, on cloud or on-premises, we will thoroughly inspect your tech platform. If there are any issues, you will have detailed recommendations on how to eliminate them. Once all the deployment tests have been run, you get a written notice. Next, we execute user acceptance testing to find out whether your requirements are met. Our DevOps also take care of security planning, including disaster recovery, backup, rollback, and high availability strategies.
Once the solution is released, we provide professional consulting and training to end-users within your organization. A dedicated specialist will help you adapt to the new changes and learn how to use the new software.
DICEUS has grown considerably over the last few months so we had to acquire a whole new floor to comfortably accommodate our team.
Support and maintenance
You will also receive further technical support from the members of your development team. DICEUS developers are always available to respond to your concerns. You will have three options for support: 24/7, on-call, or during business hours.
To keep pace with current realities, expect further maintenance. We are capable of restarting the development process as soon as this is required. DICEUS creates a comprehensive knowledge base of your project. It includes not only the source code, but also the documentation on requirements, architecture, and risks.
Thus, we can start to build new features and functionalities immediately after you give us notice. Similarly, we can quickly scale up or scale down the project’s resources. It usually takes us 4-6 days to adjust the development pace and team composition.
What’s the secret of software project success?
The confluence of the right people, well-organized processes, and easy–going communication. All projects are led by professionals. They take into account all the requirements and possible change requests using their vast experience. You can invest your time and resources risk-free.
Does your business require custom software developed on time, on budget, and with high quality? Contact us!
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