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Our Development Process

Custom Business Application Development to
Save You Stress Time Energy and Money (SYSTEM)

Custom business application development is a new experience for many businesses. But no worries! Thanks to our development process, it is well within your grasp as a business to create a great software application. We can help your business succeed through automation, organization & efficiency.

whiteboard with diagram of development process

There are three primary stages to build a great business application:

  1. Design — This is where we plan it out and answer questions like “What exactly do we need it to do?” and “How much will it cost?”.
  2. Develop — This is where we spend the majority of time building the layouts, coding the scripts, creating the reports, and building the dashboards which your business will need.
  3. Deploy — Once completed, we install your application on a server. Then, we import any starting data, add in the account access, and do some final testing and adjusting of your application for real-world usage.

STAGE 1: THE DESIGN PHASE

Good planning here will save you a lot of time and money later. At the end of the design phase you will have three deliverables in your possession which will form the foundation of your business automation software:

  1. Entity Relationship Diagram – The ERD is a schematic which shows ‘data flow’ in your business. Like an electrical chart or a blueprint for a house, it is an essential first step to prepare your database solution. The ERD will help your application to have a solid foundation and be scalable for future growth or changes in your business.
  2. Design Layout Mockups – These are (usually) black and white wire frame diagrams which will illustrate the major layouts in your solution. It will give a general idea of dimensions, buttons, data entry fields, and other aspects of the application layouts. With a couple of iterations in editing, we will have the plan for layouts before we ever start developing them in FileMaker. This will save you money and speed up the development process at stage three.
  3. Application Description – This is a long document which details every element of your application. It will list all entities, layouts, fields, buttons, scripts, reports, and the access & deployment methods which will be used. It is important for us to have a big picture idea of the entire application, so that we can plan the development more effectively. Finally, based on this detailed application description, we can give you a better estimate of the potential costs of your business automation software.

STAGE 2: THE DEVELOPMENT PHASE

With a solid foundation laid, this stage can go more quickly and efficiently. As the development happens, you will be sent constant updates and opportunities to review progress. With regular project meetings, you will be in control of the development process at every step.

STAGE 3: THE DEPLOYMENT PHASE

At this stage we will release the software for deployment and testing. If you are using a hosting company, we will upload your database so that you and your employees can access it. Or if you are self-hosting, the file will be delivered to you for installation on your own servers.

Then there will be a period of testing where you give it a trial run, and we make any necessary corrections or tune-ups. After that, you can sign off on the software and you will be on your way!

revenue software on laptop

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

Because each stage is independent, you will be able to stop the process at any point. You will receive copies of everything. Therefore, everything completed for each stage will be owned by you.

Ready to get started?

Give us a call today!

We will jump into your project and begin working for you!