Working with designers is a significant part of our business and over the past few months we’ve been busy with a number of projects. Some projects we can talk about but others we cant mention specific names for various reasons. We’ve no ambition to become a design agency but design contributes to every project we do. Our focus is on system design, usability and the development of websites and applications – something that most designers dont want to or can’t do well. Projects over the past few months include:

Client: Design Agency / Public Sector

Project: Standalone Interactive Tool

Technology: Adobe Air, jQuery, Javascript, CSS

Highlights:

This project involved the development of an interactive tool for capturing details about the steps/actions in a business process and generating a colour-coded process map based on the selected options. The tool is used at events and workshops, and also captures the contact details of people interested in the workshop and/or those that have completed the process mapping survey.  The details entered are saved in a secure local (computer) database so that the user can download them to a csv (comma separated value) file that could be imported into a spreadsheet. 

The tool utilised Adobe Air technology to allow it to be run on a PC, Mac or Linux computers as well as be distributed as a download from a website or sent as an attachment via email.

 

Client: Design Agency / Public Sector

Project: Web based application

Technology: PHP, MySQL, Javascript, CSS

Highlights:

The project was delivered within a very short turnaround – 10 days from project approval. On the front end it is a pre-course survey booking application that captures potential attendee details and stores them in a database. Course leaders can then view all the applicants, approve their application and download their details. In addition to the requirements we created a visual candidate ranking feature that gives the course leader a quick view of the most appropriate course applicants.

Both projects highlight just how easy and cost-effective a custom application can be written for your business, based on good requirements specification and a little development magic from SMBTECH.

 

ICT Support for Primary Schools – more than just a technician.

A question we are often asked is how are we are different to the incumbent IT handyman, local one stop computer shop or lumbering IT support team. It’s a great question because it goes right to the crux of what we are about as an organisation, and, what is lacking from so many IT outfits nowadays.

Firstly, it is important to understand the challenges primary schools face:

• ever-changing curriculum objectives or how to achieve or monitor them
• increasing requirement to combine ICT with other subjects
• an ICT network (servers, desktops, laptops, netbooks) the size of a small to medium sized business but without the budget to afford an IT team or department
• an increasing reliance on ICT to support basic functions
• lack of trained IT specialists

The solution – how do we best tackle these challenges?

Initially, the solution to answer these challenges (like any business challenge or requirement) has to be designed, which during our early days we sat down and completed. Technically it’s adapted and changed since then but 5 core stages remain:

1. Discover and fix – an important phase that involves learning and discovering about the technical landscape and what is trying to be achieved in the school. In addition we identify if anything needs to be urgently fixed and do it.
2. Plan – together we put together an all encompassing plan that supports curriculum objectives and provides a solid foundation of support
3. Develop - we look for ways in which to further develop how and what ICT is being used
4. Review – as an ongoing process its important to take a step back and review progress and direction
5. Support - provide a clearly communicated method of supporting all the activities and steps above

What this means is we become a pro-active force for supporting curriculum objectives rather than a purely reactive, and rather typical technical support role.

So, if you’d like to apply a bit of this in your school, give us a call and we’ll discuss your individual requirements or visit our sub-site www.primarytech.co.uk

Twitter for the un-initiated is a social networking service that allows registered users to communicate with friends, peers, customers and strangers – all within 140 characters or less.

How can it be used in business?

We’ve put together five simple ideas that we hope will prompt you to think about how it relates to your organisation or even joining in this phenomenon. To sign up visit www.twitter.com .

1. Use it as a customer service tool. Use Twitter to invite feedback on your organisation, its products and services; research what’s being said about your company (in near real time) using a service like Twitterfall

2. Start a new way of marketing. Twitter gives you another voice – not just as a short message broadcasting service but as a way of demonstrating subject leadership and interacting with your customers.

3. Start a new way of prospecting. If your potential prospect customer are online Twitter could be a great way of starting off new relationships with people. It’s an almost instant way of communicating – just remember it’s mostly a public service, so whatever you say could be bouncing around the internet within minutes!

4. Use Twitter as an easy step towards setting up your own blog. Twitter can be an excellent way to kick start your journey into the world of blogging, primarily because you don’t have to plan out a whole article – just 140 characters. This tiny message is easier to construct and it’s easier to plan in the time to send out a regular tweet – daily if required.

5. Use it to leverage group think. Start off with encouraging the use of twitter internally and benefit from a wider source of knowledge and experience. As the number of collective followers increases, so does your potential pool of group think intellect.

If you need help in bringing together your thoughts on how Twitter could help your organisation/company/school – talk to us.