A common mistake made by people looking for a customized business software system, or a new database, is to immediately begin the software development work before taking the time to plan it out well. This can be a costly mistake. If due consideration isn’t given to planning, a person can back themselves into a corner, and then have to spend a lot of time and money to fix it.
We prefer to take companies through a quality Design Phase. This includes development of the Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD), wireframes, and an Application Description. Here’s what each of these are:
ERD – this is the data schematic; it shows how the data will flow through the application. It looks like an electrical schematic, and is an essential foundation to building a workable app. We use OmniGraffle for this part.
Wireframes – it is time-consuming to build layouts in FileMaker. That’s why it is much better to wireframe every data entry layout in a quick sketch program like Balsamiq Mockups, and printed report BEFORE you ever start developing in FileMaker.
Application Description – this is a description of how the application will actually work. It describes every element on each layout, and what happens when you click on the various buttons, etc. We use OmniOutliner for this stage.
These three elements will lay the foundation to a successful business software development phase. Once this phase is done, you can move forward with confidence that your project will be a success.