How We Work
We divide custom development into four basic steps: design, development, deployment and enhancement.

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	On The Right Track
	There are many reasons to consider choosing us as your automation vendor including: • Using AppleScript since 1992 • Using FileMaker since 1988 • Professional Development since 1994 • Standardized Techniques • Reusable Code Base • Innovative Thinking • Careful Planning • Clear Communication

	Client Testimonials
	Read testimonials and case studies about the solutions we build for our clients.

	Affiliations
	• Apple Developer Connection • TECSoft Developers Consortium

	Reasons to Automate
	Need good reasons to automate your workflow? Here are a few: • Save Time and Money • Increase Consistency • Increase Productivity • Expand Services • Reduce Errors • Refocus on Quality • Ease Workflow Stress

	Scriptable Applications
	• Adobe Acrobat • Adobe Illustrator • Adobe InDesign • Adobe Photoshop • FileMaker Pro • QuarkXPress

Design
Before we start building a solution, we want to fully understand your request and get your feedback while the solution is still on paper. Our planning process is designed to achieve these objectives.

Project Proposal
After reviewing and discussing your request for a custom solution, we will present you with a free proposal. This document contains an overview description of the solution and its features, a budget and a timeline for additional planning and development. Once you approve our proposed budget, we will continue the planning process or, for smaller projects, begin the development process immediately.

Specification Document
For larger projects, we create a solution specification document that expands on the proposal, providing more detail about how the requested solution will function. Because of the time investment required, we do charge for creating a specification document. However, the details it provides allow us to more accurately estimate the development process as well as deliver an optimum finished product. Once you have approved the details and budget in the specification document, we begin building your custom solution.

Development
Our goal is to develop the best solution possible so we handle every detail with meticulous care. First, we convert the details of the plan into a “code outline” which, like an outline for any written work, helps us visualize the solution as a whole before delving into the parts. Then we begin creating what will become your custom solution. Rather than starting with the equivalent of an empty sheet of paper, we draw on our past work, reusing standard modules, templates and a large library of pre-built code. This saves us time, which saves you money. Throughout the development process, each piece of code is tested to help reduce the amount of testing you will need to perform. Since no one wants to be kept in the dark about a work in progress, we always keep you informed with daily email progress reports.

Deployment
We understand that developing your solution is not the end of the process. Before we consider a project complete, we will work with you during a testing phase to see how it performs within the realistic environment of your workflow with its day to day challenges. During this time, we will review the solution’s functionality to insure that it will meet your needs. Depending on your preference, we can perform live tests of the solution in person or through remote-viewing software, or we can simply allow your staff to perform the testing and provide us with feedback about its performance.

During the testing phase, we always recommend that you run the new solution in parallel with any existing solution until you are certain that it is performing to your expectations.

Once any necessary adjustments are made and you are ready to sign off on the solution, its time to deploy it. Most solutions can be installed by simply copying a file or folder into the applications folder, so often our clients choose to perform this task themselves. We are always ready to help if needed.

Enhancement
Business professionals constantly face new challenges. That’s why we try to build every solution to be as flexible and adaptable as possible. However, when changes are more dramatic, a custom solution may require some additional work to expand or enhance its capabilities.

Custom solutions also need to be retested and revised when upgrading the system software or the individual applications that it uses. Also, if your business rules change in a way that was not originally anticipated, changes will be needed.

Since we can’t anticipate every circumstance that may arise, changes to a solution are typically treated as a separate project and, therefore, require a new budget.