Solutions
Definition and Design

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Design, Communication, and Beyond

Whether selecting a system “off the shelf”, integrating multiple packages to meet your needs,  building a custom solution, or a combination of all of these, communication and requirements definition can be a challenge. 
 
Design goes beyond just  how the software will work.  It also has to be based on helping the users successfully think through their challenges, articulate their needs, visualize proposed solutions, and make sure that they are utilizing canned solutions as efficiently as possible, before moving to integration and customization. 
 
When customization and development are involved clear specifications may be in order.  It is much less expensive to correct an error in the specification than after it has been committed to code spread across an entire development team.  These can also help with both unit and end to end testing as well as providing concrete test criteria when a Quality Control group is involved.  Another critical reason for these materials is when an offsite, or offshore team is involved.
 
With all that said, a watchful eye is still needed to be sure enough, but not too much time is spent in this area since too much emphasis here can bog down a project and lead to paralysis.
 
This is another area where Sabre can help when it seems that these services might be helpful.

Implement,
Control, Close

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Monitor  and Measure the Process

After the planning, the discussions, the coding, the testing, and the user reviews of the finished product it is time to implement the new solutions that  everyone has been waiting for.
 
This is a critical element in any project and one that spans three of the key phases (Executing, Controlling, and Closing) called out in the PMBOK Methodology referred to on the Home page earlier.  It will also be discussed further on the Project Management Page.
 
Depending on the degree of change this may be as simple as getting user agreement, approving execution of the Implementation Phase, loading the new code, and being on hand to deal with any issues. 

During this time in the Control Phase anticipated results are matched to actual results, system stability monitored, and performance measured against standards established during  the Project Initiation phase.
 
The Control Phase lasts for some time and may reflect reduced productivity while issues are addressed and the team progresses along the learning curve on the new systems.  In the final stage of this phase there should be a point where productivity begins to exceed the pre-project environment. 

This marks the beginning of the Closing Phase.  User acceptance of the implemented and completed project is obtained, reviews of what went well and what “Lessons Learned” can be applied to new projects are discussed. Actual to planned schedules and budgets receive a final review, and an appropriate level of project documentation is agreed upon and completed.
 
The right amount of effort in each of these phases is highly dependent on the team involved, the nature of the project, the culture of the business, associated risks, and where the business is in its growth life cycle. 
 
These are all areas of Project Implementation worthy of consideration by management, and when deemed beneficial these are areas where Sabre can help. 

Business to Business Commerce

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The Connected World

Love it, or hate it, the world is now a highly connected place and much of it is built around technology that is changing at an ever increasing pace.  The buzzwords change almost daily with terms like Mobility, Cloud Computing, Big Data, Ad Tech, MarTech all being examples of recent additions to the technology lexicon.
 
Sales and Marketing professionals, Managers, and Executives are all at the epicenter of the most recent seismic shifts.  Technologists no longer live here alone.
 
Process, Production, and Inventory Professionals had their world changed with the advent of Supply Chain Management as End User demand and store shelves were connected to Warehouse Inventories, Middlemen, Manufacturers, and even Raw Material Producers. 
 
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) began all this many years ago.  The Internet,  ubiquitous bandwidth around the globe, and huge leaps in software development techniques  have made it possible to connect businesses of all sizes with Suppliers and Customers in ways never imaginable just a few years ago.
 
At the outset these tools were exclusively in the domain of the very large, well-capitalized organization.  The internet has made it possible in many cases to distribute the cost of supporting the many layers  of technology across many beneficiary organizations.  As a result, the capitalization threshold to reap these technological benefits has been dramatically lowered and radically changed  the competitive landscape.

This has in turn dramatically reduced the entry cost to acquire, run, and benefit from many forms of business software that until recently were completely out of reach for the small or rapidly growing business. As a class of software this is often referred to as Software As A Service (SAAS) and is generally sold on a subscription basis.
 
This simplifies budgeting for the Business User while helping level out Cash Flow concerns for the Software supplier.  It also helps all users (Customers,  Product or Service Providers, Warehouses,  Manufacturers, Raw Material Producers) to stay current on the latest versions of software.  It also raises issues of what can be run as SAAS and what needs to stay inside the company.
 
It is telling that there are now many thriving businesses on the internet that profitably move huge quantities of physical product from raw material to end user, without ever touching or warehousing a single item.
 
This is an area where there are many “dots to connect” and “pros and cons” to be considered.  Sabre would love to help whenever there is an interest and a need.

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