R&A teams are committed to finding creative solutions to meet the specific needs of each client. We are designers, builders, integrators and implementers. We are flexible and reliable, enjoy learning new tools and methods, and collaborate with the customer every step of the way.
Our process includes listening carefully to client ideas and requirements, proposing workflow improvements and streamlining opportunities, and searching for already-available tools to reduce costs.
Whether custom builds or adapted, SaaS or COTS, our teams can bring projects to successful completion.
Proven management is the most critical success factor. We have successfully completed many large projects through skilled management, consistent staffing, manageable work units, and a transparent process.
- Project management of budget, schedule, resources, quality
- Sprint management of iterations and priorities
- Task management of change requests, bugs, and tasks
- Risk management
- Work breakdown
- Quality assurance
- Progress reporting
- Org change management
- Post-implementation reviews
- Technical oversight
Agile development involves a rapid cycle of small-sized iterations to incrementally build or integrate systems, resulting in frequent releases and flexible scoping. Our teams are successfully following this framework.
- Small, cross-functional teams
- Prioritized backlog
- Short iterations, consistent length
- Frequent delivery
- Just-in-time requirements
- Daily integration and testing
- Continuous improvement
- Frequent retrospectives
Adaptive planning breaks work into phases, identifies clear roles and responsibilities, and incorporates adjustments as needed. Our consistent approach involves the right level of planning.
Iterative design results in happy users. We devote extra time to data design because a well-designed database is the foundation of a lasting system. Once we thoroughly understand the data and the business rules, we iterate through User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) mockups and prototypes until we have a solid solution.
Thorough testing before submitting products for user acceptance testing simplifies the customer’s job. Our testers work closely with developers to make sure products are as clean as possible. In addition to eliminating functional defects, we carefully refine elements such as navigation, layout, white space, graphics, and wording to improve the usability of a system.
Customer collaboration is critical to a successful outcome. Involving users in every phase of the project improves product quality, staff acceptance, and ongoing support. We meet regularly with customer teams. We spend significant time on oral and written communication. We use structured visuals (models and prototypes) and examples to effectively communicate, and post documents online for transparency and easy access.
“Our relationship with Rudeen and Associates dates back over 20 years. In addition to initial scoping, design, and implementation work for our application, they have guided us through extensive modifications over time as our needs evolved and as we gained a better understanding of what was possible. They are good listeners and are effective at translating non-technical wishes into robust technical solutions. The product they created for us has made a tremendously complex process much more manageable.
We have been pleased and impressed with staff continuity within their company, leading to a thorough understanding of our program needs, and are grateful for their ability to communicate well and to work within our budgets.”
– Jeff deGraan, WA DNR Seed Plant Manager and John Trobaugh, WA DNR Webster Nursery Manager