CASE STUDIES: Enterprise Case Study

FourSquare Logo

The client

FourSquare Group is a global personnel relocations company, with a number of offices situated across Europe.

The problem

Prior to contacting BitBolt, each FourSquare office employed a slightly different process for managing their data and workflow. The processes were usually based around paper, white-boards, and Excel spreadsheets. These processes hindered information sharing, and were prone to manual error and loss of data. Furthermore the processes were quite inefficient, requiring many person-hours of administration to perform even the simplest of tasks, such as accounting, reporting, etc.

BitBolt were commissioned to build a computerised system to be used across the entire company, with the following aims:

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Our approach

BitBolt employs a modern and effective approach to project management, designed to give the client maximum return on investment, in the shortest possible time frame.

Software companies often attempt to fully specify a large system up front, and expect to get it right. Even if they are able to do this, by the time system construction is complete, the real world has moved on, and the system no longer addresses current business needs.

Additionally development teams tend to develop easy or fun features first, leaving features that add real business value until last. This can lead to projects being cancelled before any useful software is delivered.

BitBolt's approach however involves carrying out a short initial analysis phase, where we learn about our customer's business and their requirements. Once we have a basic understanding, we ask our customers to prioritise requested features. We then develop, and deliver as many of these features as can be completed within 4 to 6 weeks. This approach allows us to focus on delivering the maximum business value in as short a time as possible.

FourSquare Screenshot

As soon as we have completed the initial phase, the client can begin using the delivered software, and start reaping the benefits. We then carry out another short analysis session with the client, usually no more than a couple of hours, where we ask our clients to chose the features to be implemented during a second development phase of 4 to 6 weeks. Sometimes these features will be on the list from the first phase, at other times they may be completely new. This cycle continues until the customer feels that the system is complete.

In the real world, business needs change over time. Our approach of doing "just enough" analysis to complete a project cycle, gives our clients enormous opportunity to control software projects, by adjusting requirements and features as often as necessary, without significantly impacting cost. Because we only plan ahead one phase at a time there is no need to modify mountains of paperwork, contracts, project specifications, etc. It is no more expensive to introduce a brand new feature in later phases than it is to specify them at the beginning.

What's more, clients often find that after a few phases, their understanding of what they want has matured, and that the project heads down a different path than they originally imagined. Sometimes a project may be very successful with just the core features, and can be cut short, saving further development costs. With a typical software development model, where all the requirements are fixed at the start, the client usually has to wait a long time, and spend a great deal of money, only to end up with software full of features they never use!

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The solution

After a few release phases BitBolt delivered all of the essential features established during the initial analysis. As early as phase 1 we delivered the ability for FourSquare to access the system across all of their offices, and begin inputting data into the system, 24/7. Within another release we had added the ability for FourSquare's own clients to log on to the system, enhancing the various user roles and security access along the way. After a very short space of time FourSquare was noticing genuine time savings as a direct result of using the new system, freeing up their staff to carry out other tasks for the business. Furthermore, the ability to log in to the system and track work items became one of the top features they marketed to prospective customers, giving them a real competitive edge in the market place.

Features

The system we built had the following features:

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The technology

The technology used to implement the system was a combination of Microsoft products: the C# programming language, ASP.NET 1.1, Internet Information Server 6, SQL Server 2000, and Windows Server 2003.

A web based solution was chosen as the best approach for several reasons:

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Microsoft products were chosen ahead of a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySql, PHP) based solution predominantly to save costs. ASP.Net as a web platform is a generation ahead of PHP (PHP is functionally equivalent to legacy ASP). ASP.Net's use of modern, compiled, type safe languages; along with its control based architecture; and extensive application framework leads to greatly reduced development costs. Additionally Microsoft products are better supported than open source offerings, meaning solutions based upon them are less risky.

The system has been operational since July 2004. It is hosted in a modern data centre that provides physical security, uninterruptible power supplies, multiple network providers for resilient connectivity, server cooling, fire suppression, and 24 hour staffing.

The future

At BitBolt we don't simply deliver a software system, and then walk away. For all of our clients we offer ongoing support, and training if required. Training may be provided in several forms:, instructor led on-site tuition, paper based user manuals, or online help-files.

For FourSquare we are still providing ongoing technical support. This includes:

BitBolt is not a huge, faceless company, with a call centre full of uninterested and unmotivated staff. We are a customer focussed organisation, with a real emphasis on maintaining high quality customer relations, and delivering unrivalled technical expertise. A support contract with BitBolt will typically provide access to one of the senior developers on the project, a friendly face who will be there to help and answer questions from the beginning of the project through to the end.

Want to know more?

To find out how BitBolt can help solve your business problems, please contact us today!