design is the easiest way to re-energize a product

Our Model & Design (M & D) phase focuses on the Rich Internet Application from the end user's perspective. During this phase, the user interface, including all captured data fields, is developed by Cynergy Systems Architects and Designers.

Initially the interfaces consist of just the screens, controls, data fields and menus. Users work iteratively with the M&D staff to accomplish these critical goals:

• Guarantee screens reflect unique needs
• Guarantee all data requirements are captured
• Guarantee the relationships between the two are well understood

These screens are then hooked together so that the flow of the application begins to take shape. At this point, the user can tell us instantly and definitively what's right and what's wrong. With this feedback, we then confidently deliver the roadmap for the Rich Internet Application that drives development to deployment, including:

• Data Model
• Functional Specification
• Project Plan
• Test Plan
• Deployment Plan

By focusing on how the user interacts with business data, we drive out requirements easily missed by the traditional, tedious back-to-front approach. We all know that requirements documents can never be truly validated by end users until they see and interact with the user interface. With our approach, users are more engaged, more interested and, in the end, provide more meaningful feedback and information, dramatically reducing the chances of the expensive missed requirement.

In this critical phase, the user interface is implemented and hooked into the middle tier services where business logic and data access logic are partitioned. The middle tier is then connected to the database and the application begins to come alive. We focus on the use of established Rich Internet Application development best practices including open and transparent source control, automated builds, automated unit and functional testing and the use of collaborative tools such as a wiki and issue management system.

The actual development of the application is traditionally the time where users and stakeholders feel the most left out. Developers retreat to dark corners slinging code to deliver a Rich Internet Application that never sees the eyes and ears of users until the last possible moment. With LookFirst™, we understand that providing an open and transparent development phase helps not only reassure business users, but helps our Developers, Project Managers and QA teams to know they are building the right solution.

We partner with Atlassian Software, makers of the JIRA issue management tool to open the doors providing a transparent development process. The project and test plans developed in Phase 1 are loaded into JIRA and as tasks are assigned, fixed and tested, JIRA provides a complete view of the progress. Issues can be discussed, assigned, redirected and re-opened through a very intuitive web based interface. Reports can be viewed online, in Excel and can be delivered right to the desktop using RSS. Most companies hide the truth about their development process, because they have something to hide. At Cynergy Systems, we crave the involvement of our customers.