If James Bond Built Your App…

No one would know his name (especially the end-user) and he would use hi-tech tools to get the job done. We don’t really like shaken martini’s but operate much the same otherwise. When outsourcing projects, it’s oftentimes obvious to the client that your operation is not completely in-house, which instills feelings of doubt and unrest. Doubleshot takes special care to remain transparent by matching your phone numbers, voice mail prompts and email addresses so we blend in with your company. Our agents will join your regular client conference calls and even travel to your on-site meetings for additional in-person engineering support.

The first rule of insourcing is to not talk like you’re outsourcing.

Myth: Outsourcing work is cheaper and more modular than in-house employees or contractors

Firstly, please see this article for a deeper background on the true operational costs of outsourcing software development. In essence, after budgeting for communication gaps, time zone differences, mistakes, poor quality control, missed deadlines and certainly not least, long term support, the $10/man-hour myth quickly erodes away.

A picture may be worth 1,000 words, but a face-to-face is a world of difference when planning highly complex projects.

How Does Doubleshot Start a New Project?

Before writing any code, spec is king. More precisely, an agile spec. Most program managers do not know all the system requirements before deploying a final project. Because the business logic may change mid-course, we believe in a brief introductory design cycle that allows for significant change and additional features when building any application.

A wise carpenter once said, “Measure twice, cut once.” We believe the same holds true for any engineering practice.

Support and Issue Tracking for Absolute Transparency

All Doubleshot clients have access to the latest versions of their application code as well as the online issue-tracking system. This means that a complete overview or progress and individual item status are just a click away. Of course, we are also always available for walk-ins to sit down and go over any major changes or fine detail.

If you have not spoken to your overseas contractor for more than three days, please give us a call and become re-engaged in your project.

Software Done Right, Using Current Best Practices

Whatever the goal, it’s always best to not re-invent the wheel, but rather stand on the shoulders of giants. Your team will rely on Doubleshot products for years to come and that is why we strive to build software that stands the test of time, as well as a diverse workforce. By maintaining version controlled and standards-based code, using robust open-source libraries and documenting our work, your deliverable will maintain its value over time. Common technologies used by our team include MATLAB, OpenCV (C++), Processing.org (Java), Android SDK (Java), jQuery (JavaScript), Ajax Push Engine (JavaScript), the Yii Framework (PHP) and Subversion.