Proper Project Management in Web and Software Development

This morning I ran into a couple friends at a networking event and we got into a conversation about the importance of project management processes in a web and software development project. The best comment I heard from the conversation was “…it’s not so much the end product as it is the means of getting there.” On my way back to the office it got me thinking about our processes and the advantage we have in the web and software development market.

We are well aware that our industry is fragmented. There are many web and software development companies within the Indianapolis area. We can all do great designs, solid infrastructures and proper coding but we honestly feel that at Galvin Creative Technologies we can set ourselves apart with our project management processes. We truly think of ourselves as more of a professional services company opposed to just a web and software development company. We value the relationship, the budget and the timeline of the web or software project.

Two weeks ago I was visiting a client and I stopped by one of our contacts office and asked him how things are coming along with the project. His comment was music to my ears. He said “you guys should write a book on your processes.” He was thrilled with the amount of detail that was involved. He went on to say that he knows exactly where we are with budget, timeline and tasks. Then just last week we helped the Secretary of State’s office develop and launch their Rethinking Redistricting website. What should have been a two month project got done in two in a half weeks and came in well under budget. It was a project that came to us quickly with a very tight deadline and a strict budget. Our project managers put together a two week timeline, while not shortcutting any of our processes, then accurately defined the requirements, then developed it and we nailed it.

In our six years of business I specifically look back at how we have grown over the past two years and what we have learned. We experienced the pain of not managing a project correctly and we have experienced the pain of not allocating our resources. But before things got out of hand we knew exactly where we had to improve and began to invest in our processes, business analysis and project management. Now, our projects are on time and within budget. Tom Schaetzle, our VP of Professional Services, has implemented very rigid project disciplines for Galvin Creative Technologies and the projects we develop.