Methodologies

Why think about methodology?
Clients start from many different positions when it comes to implementing a new software or web system or revising an existing one. Some clients know very well their business process but are uncertain of the style and look-and-feel the system should have. Others have a very strong view of the visual style and layout but are not certain the best way the system should be used or the most optimal business process to benefit their staff or clients. Many clients, of course, fall between these two extremes and seek our advice both on parts of their business process and aspects of the visual style of their system or web site.

Alpha Systems therefore use all or parts of two different methodologies, honed over time with a range of clients within different market sectors - Mock Up driven Development and PROcess driven Development.

Mock Up driven Development - MUD
Using our Mock Up driven Development methodology (MUD for short), we work alongside the client to produce mock ups of the visuals of a system. A mock up is a rough-drawn impression of the system which can be easily and cheaply modified and reviewed until all stakeholders agree and approve the final mock up. This impression is then implemented formally as the look-and-feel of the system - only commiting to the expense of "code" once the rough visuals have been approved. This process provides a cheap and effective way for the client to massage and work on the visual aspects of the system before commiting to the code which implements their well-understood process (coding "right first time"). There are of course still options to revise the look-and-feel later in the implementation, or in later system versions so that the client is not stuck with the so-called final mock up, but there is a high confidence that the right thing will be implemented.

Our tool of choice for mock ups is Balsamiq which is designed to present a "hand-drawn" appearance to give the client the appropriate perspective. However, we find that some clients also like a more formal mock up. To create these we use our own custom tool which runs alongside Balsamiq to create a native look-and-feel from the soft mock up.

This mock up

Using this tool

Creates this native look-and-feel window

Our custom tool can be modifed for you to generate an enhanced native look-and-feel to suit your business and can even be extended to produce source code in the language of your choice which you can compile to create demonstration executables. If this tool or process is of interest to you, please contact us.

PROcess driven Development - PROD
Using our PROcess driven Development methodology (PROD for short), we help the client understand options for their business process so that a software or web system can be more intuitive or more efficient for staff or customers to use. We model the business process using diagrams or pictures which are meaningful to both business specialist and software developer to ensure that both understand the process to be implemented. We then have a confidence to implement the business process "right first time", whilst still allowing the client to further refine the business process in later interations of the system.

Want to know more?
If you'd like to know more about how we can apply these methodologies to your system or site, do please feel free to contact us.