Consulting Practices

Business Analysis and Functional Architecture

Our business analysts help clients to:

• Model and refine business process with an aim to improve customer experience; realise process efficiencies; improve user experience; improve cross-sell and conversion rates; improve customer retention.
• Articulate the required scope of the project in standard business process and UML models which are easily understood by a range of audiences.
• Build a business case for their initiatives and map benefits back to the implementation.
• Define functional solutions to meet the stated requirements, working closely with the solution architects to ensure that all contributors to the final system are fully aligned and explore all angles for component re-use and extensibility.
• Implement new working practices and coach client teams who may be unfamiliar with Object Oriented Analysis and Design approaches, techniques and toolsets.
• Skill set includes: Requirements management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Customer Lifecycle Management (CLM), Business Process Modelling (BPM), use case modelling, object/service-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) using UML, workshop facilitation, conceptual user interface design and storyboarding, software development methodology (RUP, Agile, etc).

Solution Architecture

Our solution architects help clients to:

• Define architecture solutions to meet the business requirements, covering Application Architecture, Execution Architecture, Security Architecture, Integration Architecture, Data Architecture and Operations Architecture.
• Describe solutions at appropriate level of detail for the project phase using industry standard approaches (e.g. UML.)
• Identify opportunities for technology simplification.
• Leverage existing components and systems to derive the maximum value from previous investment.
• Select and make best use of software packages where appropriate.
• Introduce and enforce the use of solution templates and industry standard design patterns.
• Implement new working practices and coach client teams who may be unfamiliar with Object Oriented Analysis and Design approaches, techniques and toolsets.
• Technical skill set includes: SOA, J2EE (IBM Websphere, BEA Weblogic, JBoss), Web 2.0, EAI, UML.

Project Management

Our project managers help clients to:

• Estimate effort across all phases of project to an increasing degree of accuracy as project phases complete.
• Plan the implementation, taking into account skill levels, building in internal and external dependencies and ensuring there is appropriate time allocated to quality processes.
• Implement an efficient and valuable project office function, covering progress reporting, management of issues and risks and finance.
• Identify and mitigate delivery risks - we don't believe simply recording risks is 'job done'!
• Manage one or more project phases.
• Skill set includes: PRINCE2, Microsoft Project, Project Planning, Project Estimating, Risk Management, Critical Path Analysis, Financial Management and Cost Control.