Software Solutioning
We help governments and corporations create software solutions that are on-budget, on-time and meet users’ needs.
Would you like to successfully implement new software?
Have you struggled with your latest software implementations? Have the projects gone over-budget, over-time, and has the quality of the finished product been poor?
You are not alone! In the past 10 years the technology industry has moved to an Agile methodology and are struggling to make it work.
Why is this happening?
When you build a new product the most important step is the definition of what the product will do. The second most important is the design - that the design you choose is a design that people want to use
Agile has thrown out the design step, and, minimized the definition step.
We can help! We specialize in the definition and design of software solutions. We define and design solutions, and turn that into Agile developer speak. You can turn our solutions into an RFP to go out to bid, or give it to an internal IT group to build.
Athena Guarantee
We guarantee that if we define and design your software solution, the overall time to completion and cost of your project will decrease.
We also guarantee that the software solution will meet the users’ needs, and will “delight the emotions”.
Software Solutioning Process
We start by focusing on process. Using process we fully define the software solution and uncover every nuance.
We use User Experience (UX) design to flow of information through the system. We then design every detail of every element on every page.
We turn our definition and design into Agile Development speak, called User Stories.
We stay on the development team as the software is built, as your eyes and ears, to ensure that the project stays on-budget and on-time.
Athena Definition Process
We conduct one-on-one interviews with stakeholders at all levels of an organization. From these conversations we take a first stab at an optimal process. We then facilitate a group discussion between stakeholders to review and correct the process to make it optimal.
We use the optimal process to fully define all nuances of a system in the form of User Stories.
What Success Looks Like
A system which is built on-time and under budget!
The ability to accurately predict time to completion after users’ needs have been defined because of minimal “churn” during development.
Confidence that you know where your project is at all times because we will be your eyes and ears during development.
A quality end-product that “delights” the business by centering the user in every design decision using User Experience (UX) Design.
We will help you make Agile work in the real-world!
Athena Design Process
At Athena we have a unique process to add User Experience (UX) design to our definition captured in User Stories. Our Business Systems Analysts represent the business, and our UX Designers represent the users in our unique three-step whiteboard process to create the flow of information through screens, the happy path, and all possible unhappy paths.
The design is added to User Stories as Acceptance Criteria.