...“Innovate, Review and Improve”...
Wednesday 25th February 2009, New Bamboo, the specialist in bespoke software development using Ruby on Rails, provides practical advice for businesses wishing to save money on new or existing web based projects. The three step plan of action aims to empower businesses to critically review their current situation during difficult economic times.
“Recession doesn't necessarily mean cutting back on IT, or reducing attention on it. Technology is a crucial part of any organisation and may prove to have a bigger part to play when economic times are hard. IT managers and development teams need to be smarter about how they go about developing or managing web projects. They should continue to build great sites and develop relevant software – but spend money wisely. As greater emphasis is placed on the Internet, organisations should strive to innovate, review and improve existing and new web development programmes,” said Max Williams, Co-founder & Director of New Bamboo.
New Bamboo is advising companies to consider three points when reviewing their web programmes:
1. Innovate: During difficult economic times the Internet is proving to show better ROI than many traditional marketing and advertising channels. Now is a great time to get ahead of the competition by innovating digitally and capturing market share. So create an interactive, content rich environment that will allow your business to engage with your customers more closely. Build the features they need and want rather than splurging on unnecessary stuff! Social networking, online collaboration, and streaming video will continue to grow in 2009.
2. Review existing web projects: The recession is forcing many businesses to re-exam their organisation and to root out any wastage or inefficiencies. So use this review process to also include online programmes too – and see that money is being spent well – can a different methodology help? Can we afford to continue working this way? Look at what is being produced and if the output is really adding value – and ask yourself: “Is the web programme meeting my business objectives? Is the output being delivered on time and on budget? Are we able to innovative during the development process?”
3. Improve efficiency and productivity: Control costs by using methodologies such as Agile, which provides an iterative development and constant re-evaluation of priorities. It also offers a leaner process delivering working software earlier and allows feedback to be gathered earlier in the process and incorporated back into the web project. Agile methodology delivers real business results quicker and cuts out wastage.
Williams concludes: “The Agile philosophy is not a silver bullet for software development, but it does have key benefits. It regularly exposes problems that development teams can then rectify, resulting in higher quality solutions. It also delivers earlier return on investment. With these benefits, it is hardly surprising that so many organisations are now looking to Agile to help address the problems associated with more traditional development methods.”
New Bamboo has several industry-leading clients in market segments that include business consultancy, global publishing and international not-for-profit organisations.
