Getting Started

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Step One - Let's Initiate a Conversation

You're facing a challenge. You recognize that technology could simplify your life, but you're uncertain about how to pinpoint precisely what you need and how to implement it.

Taking that first step might feel daunting. It involves reevaluating your current systems, but you know that without making a change, you'll remain stuck. That's where we come in – we're the ones who can create a tailored software solution to streamline your operations and propel you forward.

The initial step involves sitting down together to identify the pain points holding you back. This process serves a dual purpose: it helps both us and you determine if there's a feasible solution that aligns with your strategy. Think of it as our first date; we're figuring out if this partnership will work. No one wants to collaborate with someone who doesn't share their values or treat them as an equal. Since we'll be working closely for some time, building a positive working relationship is crucial.

From this initial meeting, we aim to accomplish three key things:

1. A Well-Defined Problem Statement: This is crucial for the success of the project.

2. Alignment with Your Strategy: We ensure that the solution aligns with your overall strategy.

3. Achieving the Most Important Outcomes: Our focus is on helping you attain the outcomes that matter the most to you.

This initial discussion sets the stage for our project brief, a document that will guide us as we move forward.

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Step Two - Define the Scope

This is arguably the most critical stage of the project as it involves creating the blueprints for your product. Without this step, we'd be navigating blindly.

Scoping delves deep into the problem statement to find the optimal solution. We spend time on-site, working closely with your team and any potential users of the product. By immersing ourselves in your processes and environment, we gain a comprehensive understanding of the problem and insights into your working conditions, constraints, and how your team or end-users would benefit from the software.

For organizations in regional and remote areas, we understand that the challenges often differ from urban settings. We aim to gather the complete picture before we can confidently propose a solution tailored to your unique needs.

The scoping process usually takes approximately 3–5 weeks. We spend a week on-site, gathering information, observing, and documenting. Afterward, we compile a comprehensive solution, create proposal documentation, and develop a prototype to help you visualize the software's functionality. After all, you wouldn't build a house without first reviewing the blueprints.

Our process and requirements team, who will be your main point of contact, will continue to work closely with you during the scoping stage and beyond. They possess a strong sense of empathy and effective communication skills to ensure a seamless partnership.

At the end of the scoping phase, you'll have:

• A full scope document for your organization.

• The most suitable change management solution.

• A finalized list of requirements for the build.

• A non-functional prototype (scaled based on complexity and budget).

• A realistic timeline for engineering.

• A future roadmap for additional features and ongoing system refinement.

• An estimate of the investment and future costs.

You'll then decide whether to proceed with us or take your project to the market.

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Step Three - Let's Get Started

If you choose to continue with us, the technical phase begins. We've already established the plan and timeline during the scoping phase, so we'll hit the ground running.

Once we've provided a quote and received your approval, we'll send you a purchase order and project plan that outlines all the stages, meeting schedules, team members involved, and the information we require from you.

We'll introduce you to our project management software, Jira, to facilitate agile communication and efficient collaboration throughout the project's lifecycle. Jira enables you to raise issues or change requests, test features, and access support.

Our development process typically consists of two-week sprints using an agile framework, with features planned for completion during each sprint. We'll release these features fortnightly for user testing and make adjustments as necessary.

As the Product Owner on your end, you'll participate in bi-weekly sprint planning sessions to stay informed about the project's current status, completed and pending features, and priorities. This transparency ensures you receive regular updates on the project's progress. These meetings also contribute to developing a roadmap for future development, features, and product enhancements. As we collaborate and test features, we may identify additional requirements to enhance user-friendliness and efficiency.

Before the official release, your team will conduct a soft launch to assess how intuitively the product is used by external users. We'll continue to release features in iterations as they're tested and ready for implementation.

We consider the product an ongoing project; software continually evolves to adapt to changing needs. We're here to support you through change management and ensure your sustained success with the product.

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Step Four - Continuous Improvement

At NWC Digital, we understand that custom software demands a unique approach.

Unlike off-the-shelf solutions, such as Sharepoint, our service is tailored to meet your precise needs.

Our Agile methodology ensures a collaborative approach to addressing issues or requests, allowing your software to continually evolve and improve.

Ongoing support is provided through a retainer and service agreement, designed to cater to your organization's needs and the needs of your application.