Kanban in Japanese means "cards you can see". A Kanban board is a visual display that shows open, in progress, and completed tasks. It is kept up-to-date in real time by our project managers and developers. The entire project team has access to this information and can see the current project status at any time.

In an agile approach, use cases are turned into tasks, which are then organized into sprints. Technology Advisors builds around a two week sprint cycle and typically has 3-7 sprints in an average project.

Burndown rates are a measurement of how quickly tasks are completed in each sprint. The burndown chart is used to measure the progress of the sprints, therefore determining the project's estimated completion date.

A backlog defines tasks you wish to address in the future. Backlog planning assigns tasks to the correct sprint based on priority and ROI. The backlog is built by uncompleted tasks and new use cases that are found while using the software. TAI updates the backlog after every sprint.

Issues are problems that emerge during software construction, either during the review process or during the testing process. Issues are either fixed immediately or, if they're problems with requirements, they are moved to the backlog. Issues that show up after go-live are addressed by support.

Budgeting is an estimate of the costs of the overall project. The budget used is calculated daily from the work logs. By comparing the actual spend against the remaining tasks we can calculate the overall expected budget.

Change requests happen when an implemented user story does not end up solving the problem it was meant to solve. In this case, the user story is moved to backlog. Change requests can alter the project scope, budget, and schedule.

Every use case is assigned a risk factor. Risk analysis calculates the overall risk of the project and determines the highest risk items. Risk is determined by knowledge and experience. They combine to become a probability for overall project success. We manage risk by addressing high risk items first.

After committing to a CRM solution, the next step is to plan how you'll implement it. What's your timeline? Do you have any special fields or functions to build? Which key players on your team should have input? To make this process as productive as possible, Technology Advisors assigns you a dedicated project manager. The project manager coordinates the necessary tasks, builds a framework for how those tasks will be completed, and manages the communication to keep the project moving forward and to address any issues head on.

Migrating and integrating data requires patience and diligence. The data must be clean, the use cases must be defined, and the outcomes must be anticipated. Technology Advisors built its own powerhouse migration and integration solution (StarfishETL), so we could have the adaptability to guide even your most complicated data projects.

Have software that's dead in the water? If you've purchased a solution and are no longer finding value in it, it may be time for a rescue and redeploy. TAI conducts a workshop to identify your key problems and the best solutions to resolve those problems. This gives us a roadmap for redeploying your implementation. Rescue and redeploy project management exponentially increases your likelihood of success.

Software solutions sold out-of-the-box are a great baseline for many businesses, but for those with more complex needs, a one-size-fits all approach just won't do. Navigating a custom project can be confusing, time consuming, and expensive without the proper planning and project management. Technology Advisors mitigates these obstacles with detailed project scoping, planning, requirements, testing, and documentation - all while keeping your key players in the loop and your timeline on track.