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.
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.