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Whether we are undertaking a specific project or looking at the wider potential use of SharePoint in an organisation, we are always eager to unlock its full power and potential. However, we recognise that there are always constraints – usually in budget or timescale. The challenge is to get the most from a finite resource. Our Envisioning Service driven by our unique CUETIP Application Maturity Methodology does just that.
CUETIP has been developed following many years of successful software application design and implementation. It allows our clients to understand both the full benefit of using SharePoint along with the compromises required in the short term to accommodate the identified constraint. As importantly, it provides a clear indication of where a SharePoint application can be developed in the future once the initial implementation has returned its investment or the constraints are lifted. .
Whichever route you take to execute your SharePoint project, experience tells us that the foundation for success is a structured approach to the Envisioning and Design of the final solution. This activity involves all of the key project stakeholders, and provides them with a canvas and a framework to capture their requirements and objectives.
Rubicon's unique CUETIP Application Maturity Methodology provides the perfect framework to achieve a clear view of what’s desirable and possible within the normal constraints of time and budget. It gives structure to the process and, as importantly, it becomes a reference point and a platform for continuous improvement of the application throughout its lifetime.
Context
Before we embark on the detailed Envisioning exercise we will ensure that you understand the application’s potential, so our initial activity is focused on identifying the context of the process, both for your benefit and for ours. We will undertake a series of short meetings to achieve the following
- Understand your organisation – your mission and objectives. What you do, and how you do it, and importantly what makes you unique or better than your competition
- Understand from you the scope against which we will be applying CUETIP. Will it be project specific, departmental or organisation wide?
- Understand which business challenges are contained within the scope
- Understand who the key stakeholders are and their objectives
- Provide you with an initial overview of the capabilities and potential of SharePoint (optional)
CUETIP in more detail
CUETIP is a comprehensive framework that draws all of the elements of a complete solution together into an holistic whole. It will help to deliver a first class application solution to your business and ensure that you are able to take advantage of all of the integrated functionality that SharePoint offers, and it will identify where you can extend the application for the good of the business in the future. To find out more about each element of CUETIP please click on the relevant label.
- Culture
- User Experience
- Technology Architecture
- Information Architecture
- Process Architecture
Culture
Understanding the underlying culture of an organisation is a basic requirement to knowing how to successfully develop and implement a software solution. We will want to uncover important issues such as:
- Are you an integrated organisation or are there natural organisational or geographic divisions?
- Is there more than one language spoken?
- Are you an early adopter of technology?
- What types of people are employed by you? (Skill sets, training, background)
- What are the key demographics of your user base? (age, geography)
- What technology and software do you already use and what do you think of it?
- How do your people interact today? How do they share of ideas? How do you collect knowledge and work together?
- Is your business process driven, or more ad-hoc and unstructured?
User Experience
We find that the User Experience is probably the most crucial element of getting any software solution to succeed. Not just the graphic design of the user interface (although that is important), but how intuitive is it to use, how configurable is it for individual users, how easy is it for new users to learn. So we’ll want to which applications have been deployed and used successfully (and unsuccessfully) to date and what extra functionality might be needed to encourage wider adoption.
Technology Architecture
Getting a clear understanding of the technology infrastructure of your business will be central to establishing the constraints facing the project. We will need to validate:
- What is the existing hardware infrastructure – models, capacity and processing capabilities?
- What are the underlying Line Of Business systems and to what extent will they need to be accessed (if at all)?
- What is your desktop environment (operating system) and what are the major desktop applications (e.g. MS Office)? What versions of these are you running?
- What is the security infrastructure - identity management and log-in?
- What is the delivery method of choice - mobile, web based, offline etc?
- What are your plans for the future of this infrastructure?
Information Architecture
Understanding where key data is held and how it is, and can be used influences the complexity of a project. We will look to establish:
- What is the current method for storing, backing up and managing documents?
- Where is key data held (e.g. LOB systems, 3rd party data sources)?
- How do people like to store and retrieve documents, information, and knowledge (Information Taxonomy)?
- How does the organisation find the people with the right knowledge?
- What (if any) are the current procedural or legal requirements for storage and retrieval of documents?
- What are the “standard” templates, where are they located and who is responsible for them?
- How do people share knowledge and information today and how are those interactions recorded and stored?
Process Architecture
Process architecture forms a critical element of extracting the maximum value from your application. We will establish:
- What are the formal and informal processes in the business area we have targeted
- Which of these are document based processes and which are forms based processes
- How are these process undertaken at the present time
- How many of these processes are statutory in nature and what are the audit requirements.
- Are these processes subject to regular change
- What are the areas of process breakdown or delay
Output from a CUETIP Engagement
On conclusion of this exercise, a full CUETIP report will be provided identifying the current, and potential future uses of SharePoint within the scope agreed at the start of the CUETIP engagement. This provides a central reference point for the following:
- Design and execution of the initial project(s)
- As a measure of success of the primary deliverable
- As a strong basis and road map for future projects.
The report will also contain recommendations as to:
- How the design and execution can be managed according to time or budgetary constraints and the impact of any compromises.
- What software licensing and hardware options are available and recommended within the project constraints and the future plans there are using a ‘good, better, best’ format.
- Finally, dependent on the findings of the report, a proposal for the design and execution of either an initial pilot or complete project will be prepared with indicative costs and timescales for each option identified.
Contact us to arrange a CUETIP review
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