Creating a set of defined goals is critical to success through all levels of your project. Whether the project is small or exceptionally complex, creating a plan that is both technically sound and in tune with your business objectives is paramount. So how is CompeteSoft's process setup to handle this?

THE SCOPE SESSION 

Not quite the same as the “Project Plan” or “Planning the Project” but an integral part of the process from our experience.  We have over the years developed a “scope session” methodology whereby over the course of approximately a work week we incorporate YOUR PROJECT PLAN and the marketing, product and infrastructure guidelines in place with a proposed technical scope for development and support of the product.  This is a highly hands on and iterative process that takes the base case of the business plan (your project treated as if it was a business) and attempts to “Build and Support it” within the budget currently in place.  All stake holders are participants in the exercise---Management, Sales, Marketing, IT, Finance, etc. so that pressure points and boundaries between “adequate” and “overkill” can be identified and sorted out across departments.

• A key objective of the exercise is to incorporate innovations or proven practices where appropriate while at the same time cut and streamline everywhere possible.  At the end of the process, we emerge with refined functional specifications, product architecture, development timelines and a refreshed model of labor, time and phases for rolling out the product.

A new “Base Case” emerges for the first phase of the product and that forms the foundation for going forward.  One vital by-product of this engagement has always been a much greater awareness (and by extension a greater support level) by senior management and product champions within the organization. We FACILITATE as well as ORCHESTRATE while working with your assigned Project Manager during this critical phase.  Handing over a comprehensive and supportable product package to the developers is one of the most important outcomes of the scope sessions.