Software Solutions

"Like a traditional tailor, we are not reinventing what clothing is but we do take the time, care and attention to ensure it fits perfectly."

Tailored Software

We've designed and built our products and services from the ground up to allow for changes to be made. You will never have to run your business the way a software application thinks you should.

Our Ring Matrix Platform is our preferred method to deliver solutions as it provides a solid starting point to build on.
Using our platform we can get to a minimum viable product quickly because the application foundation is formed by configuring tried and tested pre-built modules. These modules can be tailored to provide the exact features and functionality requried.

This is very different from bespoke software built from scratch each time. Bespoke software is often associated with poor implementations, high cost and project overruns. You won't get that from us.

Experience

We've been doing this a long time. Along the way, we've picked up some good habits.

Our experience has taught us, the only way to deliver software systems reliably is by combining technical excellence with great project management.

Project Management

We take a common sense approach to project management.
By keeping everything lightweight and by using simple tried and tested techniques, we get the job done.

  • We ensure key stakeholders and project sponsors are fully informed and engaged with the project.
  • We focus on visibility and clarity.
  • We take the time to really understand project deliverables.
  • We craft features and functionality into small modules of work.
  • We use software to set tasks and monitor progress.
  • Online forums are used to discuss and document decisions made.
  • We seek phased sign-off and conduct project reviews as we go.
  • We reduce risk by designing out complex task dependencies.
  • We strive to keep things as simple as possible. The tag line at the bottom of everything we do is "complex made simple".

Change Control

We have very strict policies and procedures when it comes to "making things live".

  • Software developers never get access to change production systems.
  • Systems administrators implement changes by following a written procedure.
  • Rollback plans are always used and backups are always tested before any change is made.
  • Our test environment is as close to the real production environment as possible.
  • Software developers have to write an implementation plan to move their code from development into test. This is the same plan used to move from test into production.
  • Every change is documented in our project management system.
  • If anything goes wrong during a deployment, the rollback plan is instantly activated.

Change Management

We place enormous focus on the interfaces and forms we design to ensure they are intuitive and self explaining.

The people who use our software on a day to day basis are involved in the design process. In this way the interfaces we create "just work" and user training is reduced to an absolute minimum.

We always strive to reduce complex processes to their simplest form. Where possible, we show the overall process clearly within the software application so users can see which step they are on in a process.

Training environments can be created where people can login to a near-real version of the production system and test things out and make mistakes in a safe place. The training environment is normally configured to automatically reset overnight.

Lastly, we can work with your communications team to tailor the message we send out.

Documentation

Our documentation is created as a living document and is stored online. The current version is always available to view while previous versions can be made available online if required. In Information Management parlance this helps ensure a single version of truth.

Every document starts in plain English and gradually gets more technically complex. The last few pages tend to be designed for the programmers or system administrators only. By keeping everything in one place users can always find what they are looking for and, as a result, we empower individuals to become power users and team experts by simply reading a bit more about the software they use everyday.

As core policy, INT6 require complete documentation for each and every module of work. We enable this by providing the time, the culture and the resources to do it right and we ensure quality through peer reviews.

By liasing with your document contollers we can implement your naming conventions and style requirements and we can adjust access permissions to documents as required.

Support

Support is a key component to the success of a project and a vital bedrock to a long lasting business partnership. We will always be there supporting you and your teams. Our general support statement is here: INT6 Support and our Ring Matrix support is here.

We take huge pride in our software and systems and we are delighted when we see smiles.