InStep Technologies: Design

Consulting

Design refines the vision and documents it so it can be clearly communicated		Design Approach
		InStep believes that thoughtful yet agile design is an essential prerequisite to the development of successful software. The investment pays off immediately by improving user satisfaction with the resulting product and by making the development and deployment more efficient. InStep provides design services for Windows, smart-client, Pocket PC and Internet/Intranet applications. These designs follow the GUIDS Methodology for object-oriented and service-oriented solutions.
		GUIDS Methodology
		The basis of the GUIDS Methodology is a focus on the goals and requirements of the application. By using GUIDS, InStep can help you refine your vision, communicate that vision to the other members of the team, and turn that vision into a successful application. The GUIDS Methodology will take you through the development of the business model with associated use case/scenarios, user-interface design, architecture, and data design. By incorporating agile techniques, the GUIDS design can be accomplished efficiently and with minimal overhead. Since GUIDS is a methodology and not a product or tool, it works well with other tools or notations used in your organization such as UML, OMT, and entity modeling.
		GUIDS In Depth
		GUIDS is a five-phase process that includes: G: Goal-centered design This phase refines the vision and turns it into a set of goals and scenarios (stories). U: User-interface design This phase defines the end-user view, based on the scenarios defined in the prior phase. The result of this phase is a user-interface design document - the primary document maintained throughout the design process. I: Implementation-centered design This phase defines the internal view, including the architecture and framework, and details how to apply the chosen technologies: SOA, n-tiered, remoting, Web services, smart-client, Windows Forms, Web Forms, etc. D: Data Design This phase defines the data view, including database structure. S: Strategies for construction This phase defines the project plan and best practices for the development phase. Using an agile approach, development can often be divided into 3 to 6 week deliverables - providing features in a shorter period of time. If you would like to use GUIDS on your next project, give us a call. We can work through it with you. We also offer training on the GUIDS Methodology.