Custom Software: DIY Advantages and Disadvantages
Good Planning a Key Differentiator for Custom Software
Custom software can be a great tool to match processes to your business. The recent proliferation of do-it-yourself tools makes this even easier because they allow people who aren’t professional programmers to create their own software. Read More
Custom Software: Four Moments of Truth
Moments of Truth for Custom Software
During a recent leadership conference the Entrance team began brainstorming how to make our custom software consulting even better. The leadership team has since started an active conversation among our consultant team on this topic.
One of the main points the speaker made was that every business has moments of truth that make all the 
difference. For a restaurant, great food and service can be destroyed by a dirty floor or cockroaches. For a clothing store, the most stylish dresses can’t be outweighed by long lines and unfriendly clerks.
One of the Entrance values is “Improve everything,” or as some of us say, “Suck less every day.” As apotential client you may be wondering how we live out this value.
We see moments of truth as one huge opportunity to bring this value front and center. The below is directly from the Entrance custom software team themselves. We see this list as just a few of the places that we strive to improve the quality of our work every day!
Four Moments of Truth in Software
- Any sprint demo
This is the first chance that clients have to see how the Agile methodology works. This isn’t just about selling an idea. It has to meet our client’s needs and efficiently deliver software that works.
- Fixing custom software bugs
Every custom software application gets bugs once in a while. A good development team will identify the problem and fix it as quickly as possible. It’s just not acceptable to say a bug is fixed if it isn’t.
- Owning mistakes
By the same token, every team makes mistakes. It’s how that team owns up to them and makes it better that defines this moment of truth.
For one client, the developer communicated to the client about his mistake. He then quickly fixed it. As a result, the client appreciated his work even more than they would have if there had been no mistake at all!
- Requirements sign-off
This is one of those steps near the end of the custom software process that can make all the difference in terms of satisfaction. The development team and the client sit down to review what was promised and what has been delivered.
This can help bring to the surface any gaps in the final deliverable. If any are discovered, the team can develop a plan for making it right.
Improve Everything with Custom Software
Improving everything is a value that the Entrance team must live out every day. In addition, all of these moments of truth involve a degree of transparency.
As a client, it’s your job clear about what you need and to stay engaged through the process. The result of transparency on Entrance’s side is that you always know where your project is and how we’re delivering on your business need.
For more on quality custom software check out our Agile series, “Getting the Most for Your Money.”
Four Reasons to Consider Software Consulting
Software Consulting and the Right Team
During our ongoing discussion on quality and custom software, Entrance’s software consulting team recently covered what we bring to the table for our clients.
As a buyer, you may have wondered why you should hire an outside programmer versus building an internal team. What follows is a four great reasons why the investment in software consulting is worth it for your company.
Exposure to Many Industries and Practices
As software consultants, we get exposed to many different companies and industries, so part of the value we bring to the table is our diversity of experience. Our clients may be asking for a specific request, in a specific way, because they are unaware of any other way to do things.
We can help them diversify their options by sharing our knowledge and experience from other clients and projects, especially when those clients and projects are in a different industry. Other industries may have been doing something for a long time, and consider it standard practice, but that same process could be a revolutionary innovation in a completely different industry.
As an example, think about FedEx, who applied a hub-and-spoke concept that revolutionized the overnight delivery industry.
Subject Matter Expertise
Yet another way we add value is by becoming a subject matter expert, either for an industry as a whole, for specific operations within an industry, or for a series of technologies. One specific place where Entrance shines in this regard is our deep expertise in oil and gas software and integration solutions.
Then we become advisors, coaches and mentors to our clients, thereby reducing their efforts to make decisions that are right for their company and industry.
Saving Time for the Tasks that Matter
One of the best value-adds our clients have seen from software consulting is that we can improve processes so that they can focus their energy on doing what they do to add value. Usually this is improving workflows or automating data gathering and reporting.
Over and over again, clients tells us, “This isn’t my job, this is just the stuff I have to get out of the way to GET TO my job.” A trusted team of software consultants can help your employees get past those road blocks that waste their time on a daily basis.
Beyond freeing up time that may have been spent on time-consuming tasks that don’t bring value, software consulting can also address problems that have been languishing at your business for a long time.
A lot of times, customers see a need for improvement, but do not have the capability to implement that improvement while also maintaining existing commitments. Frequently, we are in a position to take care of this without interrupting the normal flow of business.
Fresh Set of Eyes
When your company is dealing with a long-standing problem, a fresh outlook may be just what you need to get it solved. Far too often, people cannot get to the root of their own problems, which prevents them from coming up with insight that leads to worthwhile solutions.
Some people may not have a mindset of curiosity, others are uncomfortable with change, and many are too busy to dig deep and solve problems. As a result, companies tend to lean on tired solutions that only half work.
When an Entrance software consultant starts a new engagement, we focus on identifying how our clients deliver value to their customers, and then find the roadblocks that stand in the way of that happening. We use questions and our outsider perspective to break each piece down to its essential components and build it back up again in a way that is novel and valuable.
Turning Your Business Goals into Reality
As your company considers internal versus external resources for software, qualities like domain knowledge, inter-organizational experience, technical knowledge, and providing additional capacity to deliver solutions to match business initiatives should all be considered.
For more on how software consulting can help your company make decisions that are right for the business, check out our series, “Software Selection: Buy versus Build.”
SharePoint Consulting: Library and List Thresholds
SharePoint Consulting Best Practices
Our SharePoint consulting experts have recently run into some problems with SharePoint library and list thresholds that we have been trouble shooting. We’re sharing some of the best practices that we’ve developed as a result to save other users out there some of the trouble!
Custom Software Scoping: Avoid Preconceived Notions and Expectations
Custom Software Planning Requires an Open Mind
A few weeks ago, Entrance software consultants started a conversation on what quality looks like when developing the requirements for great custom software. This week, I’d like to add to Amit’s thoughts and discuss getting past your expectations to create truly innovative custom solutions.
Glitch-Ridden Healthcare.gov: It pays to have a custom web development plan
Custom web development gone wrong
NBC reported today that the custom web development project to create Healthcare.gov is many millions of dollars over budget. The website, which is intended by the government facilitate sign up for health care exchanges, has many bugs and appears to be unable to handle the necessary volume.
Custom Software Projects: Planning, Projection, and Agile Methodologies
Agile and Custom Software
Starting a new custom software project is both exciting and daunting, both for the customer and the developer. I read a blog this week on Microsoft’s website that highlighted one of the most difficult parts: accurately estimating the scope of a project.
Agile and Custom Software: Getting the Most from Your Money Part 3
Agile and Custom Software: A Love Story
Earlier this summer, I started blogging about how Agile methodologies can help your company get the most from custom software. For part three of this series, I will share a success story from one of our clients.
Agile and Custom Software: Getting the Most For Your Money, Part 1
I ran across an article about why users hate Agile development, and it got me thinking about what our potential clients can do to feel like they’re getting the most from their custom software project. As the article mentions, Agile custom software development can be a very ambiguous process for users, because neither the cost or the time frame for completion is fixed.
Building a Case for Custom Software
We meet new prospective clients on an almost daily basis, and one way or the other they all come to us with the need for custom software or consulting. What separates the clients with super successful final products from the others is their understanding of the business value behind a software project. This isn’t to say we don’t put 100% behind every project, because we do. But this understanding makes a huge difference in overall satisfaction with the final product.
Managing Big Data: Focus on Problem Solving
Yesterday, I started sharing a list of five strategies for successful data management from the Harvard Business Journal’s article “Why IT Fumbles Analytics.”
Their main point is IT staff will use conventional methods for managing and deploying big data projects to their peril. Instead, “they need a fundamentally different approach and mind-set.” I have covered the first two strategies, focusing on how people use information and emphasizing information as the method for unlocking value from IT. Here are the other three:
What is a ScrumMaster?
A ScrumMaster serves as a facilitator within a software development team, managing the information exchange process. In agile software development, team members have a daily standup, during which they review progress and prioritize and claim tasks to achieve goals that are top-of-mind for each ‘sprint’ or section of development with defined deliverables. The scrum master asks the team the following standard questions:
- What did you do yesterday?
- What will you do today?
- Are there any impediments in your way?
Meet our new ScrumMasters!
7 certified ScrumMasters to boost Agile software project management
Entrance adds 7 new ScrumMasters to its Agile Software Project Management arsenal. Instead of focusing on the technical design minutia, scrum shifts our design to Who, What and Why of a solution. More emphasis and value will be placed on the individual team members and our communication with our client. We will be able to respond to change in requirements quickly rather than STUCK following a plan. Read More
Award-winning Software Development!
We’re proud to say that our Royalty Compliance project team has been given an award for their performance developing a critical system for one of our Upstream Oil and Gas clients. The complex system of lease jeopardy mitigation software has been a major company-wide strategic effort for our client. And our contribution has not only accomplished the initial goal, but in doing so has set up a centralized system based on 5 databases that synchronizes information across departments, sends notifications when action needs to be taken, and generates daily status reports. We’ll be talking more about the benefits of keeping everyone on the same page in the upcoming weeks!
For now – Hooray it’s Friday! Check out our award! And if you’re curious, we just blogged about the project!
‘Measure Twice, Cut Once’ Works in Software
Many clients do not understand why they should pay for an up-front “scoping” exercise that does not directly result in software being delivered. “Scoping” allows both the software buyer and the software developer to get on the same page by establishing well-defined expectations for the outcome of the project. Proper scoping is crucial to a successful, on-time and on-budget software project.