system analyst and adjunct cio business analyst and technical writer


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NEED ASSISTANCE?

Do you have...

» An idea for a software product or website?
» No idea where to begin?
» A need for someone to provide software and process expertise?

Answered yes to any of these?

We can help.

AN IDEA COMES TO LIFE!

The Challenge

One of the "Big Five" (before they became the "Big Four" of today) wanted to launch a new business venture. It would be a service centered around a financial portal providing investment guidance for many types of assets, not just stock and bonds. Individual investors could find anything from stock to housing valuations. Business owners and managers could determine valuations for anything from raw materials to entire businesses.

These valuations would be calculated using a very sophisticated mathematical model that analyzed historic trends. The model also valued intangibles often appearing as "goodwill" on balance sheets.

This firm needed a prototype of the portal and supporting documentation to convince senior management and outside investors to pursue the initiative.

The Solution

Vin D'Amico led the team that defined the software architecture, built the prototype and created the financial plan for building and launching the portal. We used corporate financial data from CompuStat to demonstrate the concept. We employed a high-powered graphics display engine from Advanced Visual Systems to show results pictorially, not just in tabular form. Finally, we incorporated a mathematical modeling engine from EDS.

The use of pre-built components enabled us to get the job done fast and cost effectively. By developing a working prototype, the team uncovered many of the complexities and hurdles to be overcome in building the actual portal. The experience gained on this project enabled us to develop a solid software development plan and financial forecast for creating the finished portal.

The Result

The finished prototype contained enough functionality and detail to enable this client to craft a business plan around it. We installed the demonstration on high-powered notebook computers so it could be taken on the road and shown to potential investors and partners. Vin wrote the supporting documentation clearly and concisely so that it could be supplied to these other parties for analysis.

It's also important to note that the project came in on time and on budget despite several twists and turns along the way. We were prepared to be surprised and had built time into the schedule to manage it.



If you'd like to learn more about successfully running projects, you should read this article called "You Need A Winning Process!".

















Reading a book

Further Information

If you'd like to know more about the vision and concepts that went into this project, two books were published based, in part, on our efforts. (No one at DAMICON is associated with these books and this is not a plug!)

You might find them interesting.

The first is Cracking the Value Code: How Successful Businesses Are Creating Wealth in the New Economy by Barry D. Libert, Steve M. Samek, Richard E. S. Boulton.

The second is Value Rx: How to Make the Most of Your Organization's Assets and Relationships by Edward J. Giniat, Barry D. Libert.

Both are available at Amazon.com among other places.