PCA Application Prototype Design
Would you give a blank check to a home contractor and say "Build me a House"? Probably not. A more prudent approach: hire
an architect to develop blueprints and a miniature physical model — make changes to the model until you are completely satisfied
with the design and the cost — then begin construction. This 'design first, validate, then develop'
approach is precisely how PCA works: we start with a Prototype Design, make changes to the design based upon your feedback, then
initiate development after the design and budget is approved. Prototypes put projects on the right track, and
they inform reliable project budgets and schedules.
Custom application development projects fail most often due to disconnects between the business people who understand their business and operational needs (but don't fully understand software capabilities), and developers, who understand software, but fail to understand the real business needs and priorities. Prototypes
help tremendously in bridging the gap between business and technical domains.
Have you ever asked a software developer to build you an application, assumed they understood perfectly what you needed, only to
end up with something completely different? The two most common reasons that custom software projects fail: (1) a
disconnect between the business needs and the functionality (what the developer "thinks" needs to be built); and (2) a
disconnect between the functionality and the project budget. Translating complex business needs into the appropriate database
information structures with simple User Interface convention is rife for potential mis-communication. Requests are often mis-interpreted,
and countless (and needless) time and energy is spent going back and forth, until the software program actually conforms to the true business intent.
PCA initiates projects with an application Prototype design process, which provide PCA and our Client with a simple, visual means
to communicate needs, and confirm application functionality, workflow, layout and cosmetics — all before you commit to a project, and
before PCA develops the actual underlying software code. Our proven Rapid Application Prototype process provides a very
low cost, low risk way to see your application before it is built.