Custom Site Planning
Building a Blueprint for Success

Custom Programming

Design and Planning

Every successful custom programming project begins with thorough and complete analysis of needs and objectives based on an in depth understanding of your business requirements. Every issue that can possibly impact your project needs to be examined and addressed before a single line of code is written.

We have been programming for over 20 years and we can tell you that each day spent on planning saves as many as ten days in coding, testing, and debugging. Projects are delivered on-time, under budget, and above expectations.

During the planning process, we create interactive models and prototypes that provide you with a working interface so you can actually see how your program functions and how the various user interface screens are organized. No expensive programming is done during planning so it is very easy and very inexpensive to rework the design and logic until it meets your expectations.

As your working model is developed, we examine and analyze the following requirements:

• Strategy, goals, policies, operational models
• Business processes
• Organization cycles, periods and timing
• User and Administrative Interfaces
• Functionality and Features
• Documentation, Content and Resources
• Quality Control, Reliability and Performance
• Verification and Data Integrity
• Data Preparation, Imports and Exports
• Reports and Statistics
• Security and User Permissions
• Maintenance, Backups and Systems Administration
• Technical Platforms & Technologies
• Third-Party Service Integration
• Third-Party Solutions Integration
• Future Upgrades & Additional Functionality
• Database Architecture
• Portability
• Archiving and Data Warehousing
• Transition from Existing Software and Systems

When you are satisfied that your working model and prototype reflects what you really want, we document the specifications and requirements into a detailed plan that can be used to accurately estimate costs, timeframes and milestones.

As we draft your specifications, we take the following points into consideration:

• Development, Management and Testing Resources
• Budgets, Time & Cost Estimation
• Timetables
• Milestones, Checkpoints and Deadlines
• Support & New Development
• Project Progress Reports & Conferences

Why You Need Our Planning Service

Most technology projects start out with a written list of specifications either made up by the owner or as part of the bid or estimation process. Most of the time just enough planning is done to make it possible to formulate a bid or an estimate. The programming is thought of as the "real work" so everyone is in a hurry to "get to work" on the project.

In reality all that has happened is that the planning has been added to the estimate or bid. You just don't see it as an individual specification with a price set to it. The planning work is still done and you still pay for it; the truth is that it is impossible to build a custom program without planning.

This is at the heart of most of the problems custom programming projects. You may feel safe because you have a fixed bid which guarantees how much you will pay but keep in mind that you will get ONLY and EXACTLY what was specified. Anything else will be extra to the bid and will result either in additional charges and time or disappointment because you won't get quite you hoped for. The same thing happens with estimates.

Every little thing that you realize you have overlooked in the specifications adds to what you will need to pay. If a "little thing" means that database structure, programming or interface work has to be redone or changed it can mean extensive changes not just on that one "little thing" but on every bit of code, database structure or interface design it affects. This can and does skyrocket your costs. The alternative is that you have to cut back on some other functionality to stay within bid or estimate.

In the technology world this is called feature creep and it is why 70% of all custom programming projects run over their original bid or estimate.

The solution is to do the planning work as the separate and critical step it really is before any programming, database or interface work is done using methods that visually lay out the needs and expectations you have for your project. With visual based methods you can actually see and click on the features and pages that will be on your finished site so those "little things" do not get overlooked.

It is extra work at the beginning but it pays off handsomely. Industry experts report that visually based site planning reduces costs by 25 - 50 percent and increases project success rates by as much as 80%.

How Much Does it Cost?:

Time for the planning process depends on the size and complexity of your project and can range from 3 to 10 hours for small to medium size projects. Large scale projects will require more time, especially if there is input required from two or more decision makers, vendors or professionals.

We require a three hour initial deposit at our standard programming rates to begin the planning process. After that we will bill you in three hour increments, with a final billing for any remaining hours that have not been paid.

Please Note: Even though we would love to win your business and have you continue with us for the development of your project, it is your choice if you would like to continue with us and sign a development agreement or take your project plans elsewhere.