Development Process
From ESource Wiki
The Video, and the information below was a brain dump a few months ago. Since then I have found these web pages that better describe our targeted process.
- Information collection
- [Fee] Functional Specification (For Everyone and Tech Req) Agile Process
- [Fee] Technical Requirements (For Techs and Proposal)Agile Process
- [Fee] Proposal
- Start Agile Dev Process
- [Fee] Development Setup (From Tech Req)
- [Fee] DB design
- [Fee] Layout
- Scope Declaration (Opt to remove features)
- Re-proposal/Progress Report
Contents |
The Expierince (Why I can write this)
Over the past 7 years now I have been learning on the fly. I have had more ideas than I have had resources or skills to accomplish. It seems I just pursue an idea for a while then sit back and let it gel. I can recognize this process as the Focus and Expand principle I learned a few years ago.
I attended a seminar one time with this guy who was presenting to entrepreneurs. I learned a few good things, but he had this one principle called Focus and expand. The concept in it self is pretty simple but I really think is founded on a greater principle. Closely related to the "Fix It" principle. The ability to identify a situation, and truly inspect it, optimize it and resolve it.
My mission president used to talk about finding your weakest link or the biggest area of concern and focus on that to refine the processes. I feel like I have been doing that over the last few years. Learning new things, and then spending some time refining, and allowing some time to evaluate the change to the process.
In my line of work, specifically with Contract Programming, I have attempted to focus, and expand on the area of most concern. That concern is at the core of what makes the business work. The area is the ability to educate the clients of the cost of the services prior to them committing to buy the services. First lets start with what the purpose of the business is.
Purpose
The purpose is to privide IT service (programming/sys admin) in exchange for currency.
Current Industry Model
Typically what I find in my peers and competitors is a model simular to what I call as the "Bidding Model":
- Customer: I need a website that allows me to look up my contacts.
- Bidding Company: Sure, let me ask 1000 questions so I can give you a bid.
- Customer: Dont you know what I want?
- Bidding Company: I know a over view of wht you want, lets talk specifics...
After a bit they reach an agreement
Summary: The bidding company has assumed all risk that the client understands what they want, and the client has a set price in thier mind of what it will cost them to build there website.
Outcome: The bidding client has 3 scenarios:
- Make Too Much Money ( Over bid and came under )
- Lose Money ( Under bid and went over )
- Perfect exchange of value ( Client and Company feel they recieved a great exchange )
My goal
is to setup a new system to have the end result be option 3 every time and to share the risk
How we can do this:
There are a few scenarios that help to illistrate the situations that have ccreated this industry of the Bidding Company. All 3 scenarios have a client and a provider. We will compaire a customer shoppoing/buying these services compaired to they bidding company model.
Scenarios
Old Current IT Industry Model
Building a house:
- Customer whats to build a house.
- He has an Idea
- He has a Budget
- He finds an labor staff who gives them a ball park bid.
- The labor team chooses the parts and tech to build the site.
- The client puts 50% down on the bid
- The laborers recognize errors in the blueprint but build the cheapest resolution to stay unde the bid.
- The client sees the site when done, and has to pay the otehr 50% and any situations the customer has to re bid to fix.
New Proposed IT Industry Model
Building a house:
- Customer whats to build a house.
- He has an Idea of what he wants.
- He has an idea of what he wants to Spend or what we call a Budget
- No Cost Evaluation or Data Collection **
- The clients shops for providers, and gets initial prices for the Agile Processes involved in there Idea
- Starts Agile Process to convert the Idea to a Functional Spec **
- He finds an architect who he pays to build him a blue print or what we call a Functional Specification
- Starts Agile Process to convert the Functional Spec to a Technical Spec **
- He finds consults with a builder on the lot, parts, and resources needed to build the house or what we call a Technical Specification
- Client recieves a proposal with itemized work list and possible price breakdowns.
- Starts Agile Process to convert the Specs into the Deliverable **
- He hires a labor staff to perform the labor described int the Specifications called Agile Process
- The laborers recognize errors in the blueprint and report to the client Revision Cycle
- The Client/Architect re evaluate the options, and the client makes educated decisions based on Budget Scope Deadline
The house is completed based on the customer idea, the consulting of his hired team, and the customer shared the risk with the Architect, Laborers, and constants. In the end the customer paid for what he could afford.
budget, Scope, Deadline,
