Making Memorable Software

Something exciting awaited us this morning, and no it wasn’t the recently-created Google™ Android™ Inventor App, (but we’ll go into that sometime this week). This morning on our beautiful Microsoft® Surface® there was a new Microsoft Surface application created by one of our custom software developers with the help of the SDK and Windows® Presentation Foundation. He created Amadeus Memory, based on the classic picture-matching memory game.

The first release of this application uses the pictures that Microsoft provided with the machine, but we’re already thinking of things to add to the application. The next Amadeus Memory game will have pictures from Amadeus Consulting events, and client logos that players can match together and then learn more facts about the projects that Amadeus Consulting has worked on over the years. And as a company that has been in business for 16 years, there is no shortage of fun pictures, factoids and collective memory about the many client successes we have had.

This is the great part about our software development team; they always go the extra length to give our company new, exciting and memorable products, services and in this case a fun new game. This got us thinking about something that is not only important to our company, but is important to the custom software development process for our clients. We’ve gone into detail about the things you should look for in a software developer, but what are the intangible attitudes that a great software development partner can bring to the table? How can they make your software memorable?

These attributes align pretty well with something very familiar to our company: our guiding principles. Funnily enough, they also fall into place with the end-to-end Client for Life process that our clients engage in.

Everything is Possible

This is not just an important philosophy to consider at the beginning of a process, it is critical to consider throughout the entire engagement. We believe that if you limit your mindset, at any juncture, then it will limit the reach and differentiation of your project. If there are limits, then everything will always stay within the boundaries. Technology is something that is ever-evolving, and it is rarely met with constraint. It keeps getting better and bringing more things that people once thought were impossible.

We have been met with this time and again, "Someone else told me this was impossible, can you do it?" Because this is our philosophy, we can always say yes. Take for instance our project with eTrial Communications. eTrial had met with several other application development companies, who told the client that in-line PDF editing and annotation was an impossible task. Our team solved the ‘impossible’ and created BriefLynx for eTrial, a custom link and in-line PDF edit and annotator that not only solved its initial problem, but helps it with almost every facet of its company.

We believe this is probably the biggest success factor for making something memorable. If you don’t push the boundaries, how can you expect anyone to take note?

Engineer Winning Strategies

When we begin a software development project, we set an important goal for everyone, a ‘win’. This usually answers the business need and goal that our clients come to us to solve, but also defines how we approach the project. The team likes to set an overall win, with intermediate steps and checkpoints to track progress, define the process and provide a meaningful framework for a software engagement.

The biggest part of this process is requirements gathering, and our directors put a heavy emphasis on gaining all of the needs and requirements at the beginning. This may sound obvious, but they go to extra lengths and ask many questions to make sure that needs and requirements are outlined extensively to ensure a successful project from start-to-finish.

Winning feels good, especially when it’s all around. And who ever forgets when they win?

Do the Right Thing

Having this as a consideration has proved to be something that has saved our clients time, frustration and money. Doing the right thing often means doing something the harder, more time-consuming way. This has been a success for us in the past because hasty fixes can lead to long term problems.

How we accomplish this is to have an open and honest dialogue with our clients from the offset. We like to set realistic expectations about the time it will take us to create their application design, and the resources necessary to get them where they need to go.

Doing the right thing is a success factor for our team because of the value it brings to our clients. If they remember the open and consistent process, then a trusted business relationship forms.

Develop great software with both science and art

This is certainly easier said than done, but as you know; our team doesn’t like to back down from challenges. Rather than viewing these methodologies as disparate, we view them as often going hand-in-hand.

The science aspect is critical to the framework of a project. It takes the form of the programming languages that our software developers ‘speak’ and code in, and the architecture and logic of a project. If the framework is missing, there is no structure to hold something together.

The art involves itself in the creative ways that we incorporate new technology, adding rich graphics or Flash application design, or intelligent and new means to solve a problem. This ties very strongly to the first principle, ‘Everything is Possible,’ and influences our development team to always handle things with an open mind.

Protect what we create

This is an important part of the creation process, because once our software development team creates a custom application for a client, they don’t forget about it. Protecting what we create is actually a veritable skill of ours, which our 24x7 Support Team monitors throughout the life of software. With proactive monitoring, they are continually monitoring the health of client’s software systems, rectifying any concerns before they begin.

Our team refers to this as the Client for Life process, by which we create lasting partnerships between ourselves and our clients to become a part of collective memory. As Amadeus Consulting turns 16 years old, we look forward to many more successful memories with our clients, employees and community.