Rapid Application Development
When designing and implementing a complex Project Controls solution, RPCuk’s Rapid Prototyping approach offers an agile and efficient way of working to complete a successful implementation in the shortest possible time. You will be up and running in incremental stages from Discovery through to Closure, working towards full functionality built on the confidence that any operational issues have been identified and corrected in the early stages. It’s an approach that not only minimises risk, but also expedites your ROI and allows you to offer user training in manageable, phased stages.
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Design-and-Build Sprints: The RPC Way
At RPCuk we deploy a combined Sprint and RAD (Rapid Application Development) approach to our implementations. Working with the customer, we break down the overall implementation requirements into small packages (Sprints): each one layering on the previous completed Sprints. Within each Sprint, to provide the fastest ROI, the RPCuk Solution Set is employed as a basis for all design and PoC activities. These Solution Sets are tailored to specific requirements and are based on real customer requirements from previous RPCuk implementations, providing that “real world” aspect to its capabilities.
During each Sprint, a series of workshops is executed to fully define, demonstrate and build out the requirements of the implementation. RPCuk’s product and functional experts demonstrate the proposed functionality using the RPCuk Solution Sets. Together with the client, this enables them to agree the preferred solutions to satisfy each of the Sprint capabilities. Once the necessary detail has been captured, the RPCuk team will begin to configure the solution, Sprint by Sprint, using a typical agile RAD approach whereby the configuration and design are executed in parallel to minimise the time from kick-off to deployment.
Client collaboration: The Key to Success
Each Sprint is a collaborative activity between RPCuk and the client. Design workshops are hosted on the RPCuk environment, utilising the RPCuk secure cloud, which is pre-built with the RPCuk Solution Sets. This approach removes any need for disruption to the client’s current working practices during the development phase. During the Sprint workshops, the client provides Business Operations knowledge, documentation, processes and procedures as well as SMEs responsible for the detailed requirements of each element of the build. This includes items such as reports, business tools used to manage projects, organisation and project structures (where known and relevant). This detailed input from the client is critical to the success of the implementation, but also has ongoing benefits to the client, by developing Champion Users within the organisation, who can help to promote the new processes and offer a first line of support to new users.
Once the configuration and Unit testing is complete, a series of guided walk-through workshops allow RPCuk and the client’s Administrators to demonstrate the configuration and allow a wider audience within the client’s personnel to review and challenge the functionalities demonstrated. Where necessary, alternative functionality options are then incorporated into the design and configuration and further walk-throughs scheduled for review. This iterative process will be repeated until an agreed and accepted solution is defined.
By adopting this flexible and collaborative approach, we ensure that the transfer of knowledge to the client occurs at the earliest opportunity within the project. Following the completion of the guided walk-through for each Sprint, access will be provided to the client to allow further testing and validation of the delivered capabilities under the guidance of the client’s Administrators but with RPCuk’s support.
Administrator Champions: Accelerate your Deployment
There are many benefits to utilising the client’s Administrators as leads during the testing and validation of each Sprint. They are seen as champions for the new capability and gain a fuller understanding of the detailed configuration as it is being built. Building knowledge bit by bit in this way means that they do not need to expend a large volume of time to understand the detailed configuration after it has been deployed.
In addition, the handover of the configuration and design is streamlined and simplified as the Administrators have been involved from the outset in the configuration process; this also means that the transition of support from RPCuk to the client’s Administrators is significantly reduced and de-risked as they fully understand the configuration from the outset. The client can continue to further test and validate the configuration, requiring only minimal support from the RPCuk team, promoting a level of self-sufficiency at the earliest opportunity.
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