project management

Helix Software approaches all project work in a planned and professional manager.

We have gained considerable experience in management and delivery of online applications and fully appreciate the advantages in cost, time and meeting of goals that a systematic approach to project management delivers.

Planning and Specification

The initial requirement of any project is a fully understood and documentented set of goals and desired out comes.

Our typical approach is to take a brief from a client that outlines these goals and desired outcomes.

Next we research the brief requirements and consider the possible technilogical solutions

We then prepare a proposal document that includes the information from the brief and research which then outlines our proposed solution, often this is laid out to show the stages and options that are available. Where necessary gant charts or flow diagrams are included to illustrate the project timing and development stages. Any 3rd party components or services are listed with budjeted costs.

The resulting proposal is submited to the client for consideration. Often this action results in further discussion which may then required additional development of the proposal to ensure it describes the requirements fully.

Once the proposal is accepted we produce a more detailed set of specifactions and project documentation which is then used to manage the application development.

Prototyping

When a project includes a unique design or specialised technologies we create samples for the client to review.

For User Interfaces and Graphic designs this work will include some simple web pages with the User designs implemented but without the functional backend. These are then hosted on our servers for easy access by the client. Any adjustments are then made.

For specialised functionality, Helix will create simple applications and develop the code to prove the functional requirements. These are often referred to as 'Spikes'.

Component Based Design

All software developed for our clients follows a defined structure that ensures performance and reliable operation. We use object orientated software design and utilise frameworks to create a set of functional components that when connected together provide the whole application.

This approach allows for code re-use, easy maintenance, and simplifies the process of adding or removing functionality in the future. For some projects extra functionality can be added using 3rd party components. This can be save time and money.

Testing and Deployment

Once the application development reaches a functional stage a test programme is applied to highlight any issues and bugs. These are then resolved and the application re-tested. This process is repeated during the remain stages of the application development. The client is often involved in this testing process to ensure that functionality and performance meets their needs.

When the project reaches its final stages it is deployed to our servers so that it can be viewed in a 'live' environment.

After any further adjustments and with agreement with the client the completed application is finally deployed to the production servers and handed over to the client.