Our software development process is focused on remaining nimble and agile. We follow a highly structured but flexible development method that enables us to deliver projects fast while retaining the ability to change direction quickly and easily.
Our structured, agile, milestone driven process helps us remain fast and flexible throughout the project lifecycle. Each milestone is typically about a week. This is a deliberate tactic driven by two considerations. First, we do not want you overwhelmed with the review and approval process. Second, corrections and changes get incorporated quickly without disrupting the overall schedule. This gives us the ability to turn on a dime if needed.
A typical project will consist of four phases: Planning, Development, QA & Testing, and finally, Production Release. In each phase people with various roles get involved. Some, like the Project Manager, you will interact with regularly; others, you may never know but are working in the background to make your project a success!
This is when the specifications or requirements get fleshed out in detail. The Project Manager will help you define the objectives you need to achieve with your project. This could involve multiple sessions over Skype, IM, and email.
To minimize ambiguity, we may also build a wire frame prototype or an application story board. Once we reach clarity about the objectives, you issue the approval to proceed. The Project Manager will then break it down into milestones that typically coincide with a version release and release a "Requirements Document" to the Project Lead (PL).
The PL will study the requirements, extrapolate the tasks required to achieve the milestones, estimate the detailed schedule, constitute the project team with matching skills, and allocate the tasks. The PL may also create Functional Specification Documents” (FSD) (Click here to see sample) to further elaborate complex modules or features. Only now, will the actual software development work start. All the tasks are uploaded into our online task management and bug tracking application. The software developer cannot start a task until he “opens” the task and he cannot complete the task until he “closes” it. This gives us a near real time view of project progress and the exact status of your project.
The Project Manager will send you the “Daily Project Update (DPU)” (click here to see sample) document that keeps you updated with up-to-the-minute information on project progress. If our QA & Testing department have authorized a version release, you will also receive a “Release Notes”(click here to see sample)document that describes all the changes and additions in this version.
QA & Testing
Once a development milestone is reached, the code gets released to the QA & Testing department. Test cases are actually defined right at the planning stage itself. However, unlike traditional software testing processes, testing is not a discrete activity. The QA team continuously checks the code and integrates it into the main project code through a process known as continuous integration. This speeds up testing, reduces defects, and compresses overall development time. Once testing is complete, the Project Manager will upload the release to your staging server and send you the Release Notes along with the DPU.
Production Release
You are now in a position to review the application against the milestone targets. If required, you may log any change requests or bugs into the online bug tracking & ticketing application. This will trigger a development and testing workflow as described above until you are satisfied with the milestone targets. Once you approve, the Project Manager will move the code to the live server and into production if applicable.
If you need any further details or technical clarifications, please do not hesitate to contact us. You will receive a personalized acknowledgement within one working day and most likely answers to your questions as well. In some situations, we may require additional information or need to rope in one of our gurus to answer your question satisfactorily. In that case, we may need another day or two. In any event, you will hear from us about it.
Ready to discuss your requirements? Please head over to the Project Enquiry page. The questionnaire is short and will help us zero in on your requirements quickly. You will receive a personalized acknowledgement within 12 business hours.
