OUR APPROACH
1. VISION & CONSULTATION
Getting the requirements right will determine the success or failure of the project.
How the information is collected, documented and shared is paramount to project fulfilment. Doing it right will ensure that your requirements are understood by the development team and what they build is indeed what was intended. Yet there is no consensus in the software industry on a single best approach to go about this and as far as the mainstream is concerned, this remains a puzzle.
Our novel approach is to combine the requirements analysis phase with the design phase in a unified series of workshops. In this approach, all information, decisions and business rules will be documented and visualised as interactive wire-frames which you can see, understand, assess, test and sign-off with confidence. This way you can know for a fact that all of your objectives and requirements are catered for, and that the proposed solution will verifiably be the right one.
2. INTERACTIVE PROTOTYPE
Specifying applications with just words can be a laborious process that often leaves many gaps which are open to interpretation.
At Geeks we have developed a technology which makes it possible to design every screen of a desired application, holistically, with an incredible efficiency and without having to pay out large sums of money.
It enables our customers to see and test the designed application, follow the on-screen workflows, refine the design, share it and get feedback and then ultimately sign it off with confidence and certainty of success.
In addition, we use contextual annotations within the wireframes to further elaborate any functional notes which cannot be represented visually. This ensures everything is covered and the project scope is on solid ground.
3. VISUAL AND UX DESIGN
Being technically correct does not automatically mean success for a software product. It must also be intuitive for humans to use.
We apply a user-centred design (UCD) approach which puts the users of a website or application at the core. It ensures that the system functions are phrased around the terminology or language of its users. For example, all buttons, navigation and workflow steps, will be designed based on the users’ way of thinking and their concerns.
This is an iterative approach where a number of “design plus feedback” cycles are repeated until the project's usability objectives have been attained. The users who participate in this process play a key role in ensuring their needs are accurately reflected in the solution.
4. AGILE DEVELOPMENT
This is where the magic happens. Solutions are developed using our own Agile software development methodology. Applications are developed using a range of appropriate technologies; typically Microsoft based technologies for web based applications and HTML5 based technologies for mobile apps.
5. QUALITY ASSURANCE
We have dedicated Testers (QAs) and follow a Test Driven Development (TDD) approach.
TDD is modern. It does add a bit to the initial development costs - which is why some software companies avoid it - but it is the only way to provide measurable quality and confidence in software.
We create automated unit tests to validate the sanity of your application’s logic and behaviour. Those tests are in the form of supplementary program code that verify your application’s code. This makes it possible to perform regression testing at any time, and upon every change.
6. PROJECT DEPLOYMENT
Lights, fanfare, fireworks. Your application has gone live. But the work doesn't stop here. As your business evolves we will be there to ensure your software evolves and facilitates your growth. We have on-going support packages to cater for all needs and are happy to develop new features and functionality as you need them.