Solutions Engineering

Quality systems are produced through the deliberate execution of well defined Project Plans according to an articulate and time tested Methodology by a highly trained and experienced Team using the most appropriate set of Tools. The Business Domain of the client defines the problem set. The Project Plan defines which problems are to be solved, the task groups, interdependencies, time and resources required. The Methodology provides the systematic mechanics for articulating and resolving each problem. The required resources define the Team members and their required skill sets. The Tools are chosen based on the problem set and the selected technique for resolving them. We deploy these in concert to resolve all requirements to the satisfaction of the Client stakeholders on time and within budget. The systems we provide are software systems generally supported by a database, including real-time transaction databases, expert systems, data warehouses, data marts, reference databases, and embedded databases. These may employ a wide range of automation devices (e.g., barcode, radio frequency identification, GPS, imaging, speech recognition, …) for data capture. Additionally, they may employ interfaces to third party systems or services (FedEx and UPS for integrated shipping request and tracking support, Credit Card services for transaction validation and fund transfer, ...).

DIKA.
Our view of the world is really pretty simple. We call it the DIKA model - Data to Information, to Knowledge, to Action. All Data that is worthy of capturing must serve Knowledge and/or Action. The volume of data collected today that serves no master at the Knowledge or Action level is beyond comprehension. This represents a tremendous expenditure of resources - human time and money - without return to the organization. We use this model to retain focus on value to the Client organization throughout each Project.

Discipline over talent.
Developing high quality systems, quickly and efficiently requires discipline - talent is not sufficient. Talented programmers write lots of clever code. Disciplined programmers write high quality code according to well-tested standards completing module after module on time and within budget.

Execute in accord with reasonable expectations.
The vast majority of software written today can be written according to a plan which stipulates fixed time and cost. This holds true even for large and complex projects. It may have to be phased - Requirements Definition and High Level Design as Phase I, and Detailed Design, Programming, Testing, and Implementation as Phase II. Granted every project has its risks and these can kill budgets. Risk analysis must occur very early in the project. If a project is going to be scrubbed due to cost of overcoming a risk it's better to do it in week 2 rather than week 19.

Re-use what exists wherever it makes sense.
There is no glory in re-inventing the wheel. It is costly, will require testing and refinement, and is more difficult to support, enhance, and maintain. The total collective software assets of commercial grade in the world today are incredibly vast. Libraries of objects exist for virtually every problem domain. Building systems within the Object Oriented model and the COM (Common Object Model) has provided a large number of components that can be used or modified to meet the needs of many of today's Projects. Buy wherever you can, build whatever you must.

Humans as Aristotle every one.
The explosion of the microcomputer industry was coupled with growth of the software industry serving that market. The focus was on the user. By doing so the user became a key component of the system. We were handcuffed to the computer via mouse and keyboard (or microphone). Software systems of this decade need to remove the user from the architecture, or rely on the user only incidentally. Robotic and Process Control systems have been quietly built and deployed in manufacturing, chemical processing, and shipping. The same levels of automation need to be attained in every business domain where the business rules can be articulated and managed. Humans should focus on defining the business rules, auditing the system responsible for executing those rules, and remedying the conditions identified in the audits that account for the irregularities. By doing so organizations can dramatically decrease costs, increase quality, uniformity, and efficiency, and can easily scale for swings in business volume. And humans can go about doing more humanly types of things.