Our methodology for our consulting and development service is based on an industry standard lifecycle. This methodology is used by trigger to ensure quality and attention to detail a built into the project from the outset. By using a known and clearly defined methodology we can scale to meet client needs without sacrificing control and consistency. At each stage of our development cycle we provide documents to support, present and control the process, building client confidence and tight team involvement in the process. There's no excuse for poorly designed or developed software and this process has helped us to not only deliver great software but to communicate our solution at every step of the way.

We believe in transparency, efficiency and accountability, each of which are critical to a successful partnership. At trigger we have a motto that keeps us focused - 'NO SURPRISES'

The benefits of following a formal methodology include:

• Everyone on both sides of the partnership, from the Client's Board of Directors through to the implementation team have a clear picture of the project. There are clearly structured documents and other materials to refer to at every stage. Everyone's eyes are wide open from the start.
  
• The client can expect a professional, formal approach, based on industry standards and proven quality methodologies.
• The costs associated with each phase are clearly understood and fixed where appropriate.
• The level of detail and completeness of every document is reviewed by our development manager to ensure that all parties are supplying enough information for successful procurement.
• Nothing is forgotten; the process builds in quality assurance and documentation as standard from the outset so these vital areas are not left to become afterthoughts.

The seven stages of our bespoke development lifecycle are as follows:

phase 1 :: Project Assessment
The assessment process determines the fit between a potential client's needs and trigger's business and engineering expertise. Project objectives, business requirements, timelines, and budget allocations are reviewed. This phase is accompanied by the client’s project definition document (PDD) and trigger supplies a proposal document for client review. The proposal will give an indication of the complexity, volatility and size of the project. This work is carried out free of charge by trigger and would normally not exceed a day or so of time input. If the existing application is based on spreadsheets then a healthcheck may be carried out at this stage.

phase 2 :: Business Requirements Gathering
This phase investigates the required features that determine the functionality of the proposed application. During phase 2, the trigger Consultant will work with the client team to identify and document all the requirements for the application to be developed. At this point, trigger works hand-in-hand with the client to deliver the User or Business Requirements Specification (URS). This document outlines and prioritises features associated with the project. The project manager may also issue the Project Plan (PP), with proposed milestones.

If trigger is involved in the development of the URS then this phase of the project is chargeable on either a fixed or time only basis depending on client preference and project suitability.

phase 3 :: Software Requirements Gathering & Design
In this phase, the software solution is designed in detail. Every functional areas of the system is documented and the technical as well as functional requirements detailed. This is a very in depth document that is at a sufficient level of detail as to allow a fixed price to be determined by trigger. trigger produces the Software Requirements Specification (SRS) document at this stage for review by the client. The Consultant ensures that the design of the user interface and back-end functionality is consistent and all requirements in the URS are confirmed as being addressed in the SRS.

Milestones and test deployments are confirmed at this stage. This phase of the project is chargeable on either a fixed or time only basis depending on client preference and project suitability.

This stage is complete when the SRS document is signed off by the client and the quotation for the fixed price elements of the project are accepted. trigger will raise a sales order which is then signed by the client to confirm that the project is to go ahead.

phase 4 :: Development
The development team uses the final Technical Requirements within the SRS as a roadmap to engineer and develop the application in this phase. The Technical Lead divides the project into separate units to be developed by members of the team. Each unit is completed and unit tested by the assigned engineer.

During development, the Quality Assurance Lead will work with the development project team to create a System Test Specification which details all aspects of the testing methodology. This includes information about the testing personnel, environment and the tests to be carried out. For each technical requirement a unit test script will be completed. For each functional requirement a module test will be completed.

This phase is complete when the core code has been finished and unit tested. The individual units are next combined for QA testing as an integrated solution. Also during this phase, the Consultant and Technical Lead reflect any functional or technical modifications to the design in the SRS, which then serves as the technical documentation for the project.

This phase of the project is chargeable on a fixed basis.

phase 5 :: Quality Assurance
trigger ensures that every application completes a robust testing phase including functional, user interface, performance, regression and user acceptance testing. trigger Quality Assurance works with the client and trigger project team to assess testing requirements of the application and to develop a Quality Assurance Test Plan. The test plan outlines the types and extent of testing to be conducted on the completed application and the responsible parties for each type of testing.

In this phase, trigger Quality Assurance tests the application by executing the tests outlined in the Module Test Specification (MTS) in addition to our standard test plan documents (STP) used for each development language. All source code is reviewed by a senior engineer as part of this phase and for most languages it must also pass automated code reviews carried out using DevPartner software from Compuware.

DevPartner is an industry leading source code analysis tool that is tailored to each language we use. It looks for violations of our coding best practices, memory leaks, poor performance and other known programming bad practices.

trigger's quality assurance partners can be engaged on the project to complete a wide-range of testing services including security, recovery, data integrity and performance/load testing. The Quality Assurance phase ends when the QA authority verifies that testing is complete and signs off on the completion of the UTS, MTS and STP documents.

This phase of the project is chargeable on a fixed basis.

phase 6 :: Deployment and Production
In the deployment and production phase, the project team moves the application from the development environment to the client’s environment. trigger sets up and configures the system and provides a deployment guide to assist in future installations. Next, our system administrators install and configure the application on whatever platform the client desires. When necessary, data is migrated by the trigger deployment team.

This phase of the project is chargeable on a fixed basis with the number of deployments agreed in advance.

phase 7 :: Project Wrap-Up
In this phase all project documentation is delivered and a project summary questionnaire is issued to the client in order to measure project success. The goals of the project, recorded in phase 1 are reviewed. A project wrap-up meeting evaluates the success of the project and indicates any issues to be addressed or lessons learned.

This phase of the project is free of charge.