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MDS Development Process
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MDS can handle all aspects of the development process. Our creative and technical services include the full life cycle development process.
From initial requirement definitions, deployment and maintenance, re-engineering of the existing solution, to building turnkey solutions from scratch.
MDS is committed to employ rapid development processes, delivering robust and scalable solutions to meet our clients' needs.
These aggressive and iterative methodologies ensure rapid solution development with higher project quality and lower time to market.
These techniques include, but are not limited to, the following project phases:
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Initial free consultation - This generally consists of MDS visiting your facility to discuss the solution needed and
get a general overview of the project scope. At that time we would provide further information on our capabilities.
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Problem and requirement definitions - This is a more in depth look into the required feature set to allow us to
estimate the resources required to determine the actual quotation, generally a non-binding estimate of that is provided at this stage for your reference.
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Discovery and Analysis of possible solutions - This phase is generally optional and would be performed only if the
requirements are complex and not yet clearly defined. This would entail meeting with the stakeholders at your company to nail done specific features
and expectations of the solutions.
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Cost and timing estimate and formal quotation - This is the formal quotation from MDS including the project timeline and a detailed
breakdown of the required tasks with costing provided for each. The solution architecture and technologies utilized is outlined in detail.
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Development and Feedback Loop - This is when actual development begins, generally an iterative process whereby you
and your users can see the application in the early stages in order to ensure that we meet expectations in terms of the UI and expected functionality.
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Testing - Upon completion of the development phase, MDS will perform unit testing to ensure all bugs are ironed out.
Unit testing will be done by the user community and feedback will be provided back to MDS to iron out any kinks.
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Documentation - The level of system documentation will vary based on customer requirements and may consist of training materials,
application architecture, database ERD diagrams, deployment process, and maintenance and administrative procedures.
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Acceptance - When the applications is deemed acceptable in terms of functionality and reliability, the customer would sign
off acknowledging the applications meets or exceeds all requirements as outlined.
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Deployment - MDS will deploy the solution and integrate within your existing IT infrastructure as required. Once deployment
is complete, the users will again test the application to ensure everything is working as designed.
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User Training - How extensive this phase becomes is a function of the complexity of the application and the familiarity
of the users with the functionality in use. Some applications will include interactive help screens and documentation to aid in this process.
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Maintenance/Enhancements - This phase will vary based on customer need for new features or modification to the existing application logic.
We have worked within formal development frameworks such as the Rational Unified Process (RUP) the Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) and Agile.
The particular methodology utilized is based on the scope of the project and customer requirements.
Employing these techniques allows MDS to maximize the efficiency of our development resources and those of our customers.
Sometimes a project is well defined and is limited in scope enough such that a formal development process is not warranted. We allow for this flexibility
and will work with you to ensure we manage the project correctly while keeping excess administration and communication overhead to a minimum. If you have internal
project management staff we will be happy to define the process by working through them.
In terms of financial arrangements, generally a deposit is required upon acceptance of the proposal with progress payments through the development
cycle as agreed upon project milestones are met. The final payment is only due when the customer has signed off on the application and deployment is complete.
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