Methodology

Our software development services are offered within the framework of our unique Solutions Project Lifecycle (SPL), the primary aim of which is to facilitate the delivery of high quality solutions to our clients via:

• accurately and fully capturing the requirements of the project crucial to its success (now and in the future)
• delivering the allied solution on time, to specification and to budget
• facilitating the return on investment envisaged at project conception

The resultant process is based on industry standard best practices, methodologies and techniques, primarily the Microsoft Solution Framework (MSF), although it includes techniques from other methodologies as the framework permits.

The key phases of the Solutions Project Lifecycle, in summary form, are:

• Technical Consultancy
• Business Analysis & Requirements Capture
• Project Specification (design of the system to be developed)
• System Development
• Testing
• Deployment and Ongoing Support

The Solutions Project Lifecycle is offered in its entirety including integral project management allowing Propona to partner with our clients to manage and deliver the software development project from beginning to end. Alternatively, the services and sub services of the individual project lifecycle phases are offered in isolation if this is the requirement of the client project. For example, previous client projects have involved providing purely system testing services of 3rd party applications.

The Solutions Project Lifecycle is also applied only to a degree appropriate to the complexity of the project, ensuring a sensible balance between time spent on project management and solution development without compromising the quality of the resultant solution.

For most projects, the Solutions Project Lifecycle follows an agile, iterative model of overlapping phases based on adaptive project management methodologies which lend themselves to Rapid Application Development. Undoubtedly the key stage in the Solutions Project Lifecycle is the Detailed Requirements Capture phase, which results in a requirements specification document for client signoff.

Detailed Requirements Capture is loosely 'followed' by the Project Specification phase, including further research and proof of concept/ prototyping activities as required by the complexities of the project. In many projects however, the Detailed Requirements Capture and Project Specification phases of the project are run in parallel to keep the project running as efficiently as possible.

Following the Project Specification is the Development phase. Solutions are implemented according to our established best practice implementation framework, which ensures all the developers on a project are working according to the same standards to produce a cohesive and robust solution. As is the case with all agile methodologies, the Development phase usually proceeds iteratively according to client feedback, within the bounds of the agreed Requirements Specification, with regular review meetings. Testing and Risk Management are key elements throughout the project lifecycle.