Define the Conceptual Model
In many projects, an aggressive schedule or a lack of experimental data prevents teams from defining the System Architecture before development begins. We’re skilled at getting up to speed on your project quickly, determining what missing information is blocking your team, and creating the formal representation of the system in parallel to your ongoing work. Whether you already have your system architecture in place and need formalized documentation, or you need guidance to start from scratch, we can support you with:
- System Decomposition
- Functional, Behavioral, Structural Definition
- Interface Definition
- Data Bus Evaluation and Network Design
- Security Recommendations (future-proofing), Investigation, and Analysis
- Planning for Scalability and Reuse (future-proofing)
Assess Existing Tools and Process
As an organization grows, it is important to evaluate or expand tools use to keep up with industry trends, implement digital transformations, and prevent congestion of many redundant tools. We will work with your team to evaluate the existing pain points, assess how your current tools are used, and make recommendations to expand, streamline, and implement team initiatives for improvement in architecture, process, and tools. Our one-time assessment includes the following services in one convenient package:
- Interview sessions with stakeholders, developers, and management to identify areas which need improvement
- Deep-dive discussions in critical areas to identify risks and milestone timelines
- A comprehensive report of findings, with recommendations for tools, training, process, and staffing improvements
- Follow-on recommendations, if any areas are identified in which EGD can offer further support
- A full assessment can typically be completed in 1 – 2 months
Perform Targeted Trade Studies
Your team may have identified the need for new SW or HW tools, yet you do not have anyone in-house with the time and/or expertise to perform a full trade study. Alternately, you may be evaluating whether in-house development or using a third-party SW or HW tool is the best approach for your needs. We can manage or guide your team in conducting a trade to identify, scope, and justify the necessary tool(s). Our services for trade studies can be customized to your needs, with emphasis in areas such as:
- Interview sessions with stakeholders, developers, and management to identify and rank tools requirements
- Make vs. buy evaluations (if needed), with documentation of recommendation and development/rollout timeline
- Research and initial discussions with external vendors to downscale your tools selection
- Coordinate demos and evaluations of tools with third-party vendors
- Document trade findings, with weighted justifications, tools comparisons, pros/cons, tool licensing and pricing details, integration needs with other existing tools, and presentations for management and stakeholders of trade overview
- Create and support a rollout plan, including timeline and training plan, for tool(s) selected in trade
- Facilitate quotes, purchase orders, and other necessary details to close on purchasing tool(s) selected in trade
- A full trade study timeline will vary based on complexity and decision-making process for your organization, but will typically range from 3 – 6 months