Our toolkit
Before we can start to develop new IT systems for your business, we need to understand:
- the business processes (what people do, when they do it, and how each activity triggers the next)
- the structure of the information that people need
- how that information flows through the business.
To reach this understanding, we use a range of analytical tools.
Entity modelling
We need a detailed understanding of the information used by the business. So we put together a simple map that can be intuitively understood by non-technical people. It shows the things of importance to the business (the entities), the relationships between them and the information required to describe them. This entity model is the basis for the data structures in the database.
Functional analysis
We need to establish what your business does, or should be doing, or may decide to do in future. So we analyse the activities within your business, breaking each down into its component parts.
We then identify those activities that can be supported by a system function. For each system function, we outline how the user will interact with the system, and what data will be needed.
Flow dynamics
We need to understand the formal and informal rules that govern how your business operates. So we look at the sequences of events and decisions that make up your business processes and identify what triggers them. Then we put these things together as a flow diagram.
Once we have built up a comprehensive picture of what the business does, we draw up a development plan. This identifies the systems you need and specifies which areas will be developed as a priority and which will be left until later or handled elsewhere.