Consulting Services
Why OpenGate?
- High-touch service - Regular updates, progress previews, and we love your feedback!
- Superior quality - We take pride in our work, focused on your long-term success.
- Great design - We think like users first, anticipating needs so there is less work later.
Your service was exceptional and exceeded my expectations and my budget! I will recommend OpenGate Software to my business friends!
Web Application Development
We've developed many responsive web applications for our customers. And because we created an accelerator framework, Vivaldi for MySQL, we can jump-start your project to get you results quickly. Past projects:
- Mobile-optimized web application used to schedule live performers at multiple restaurant locations. Included workflow for artists to receive event request, accept, and update status. Dashboards and central views of all schedules by venue.
- Tracking application for large shipping company's end clients to display key components en route, weights, and current shipping status from shipping vendor.
MS Access Development & Migrations
In the last 30 years we've done more MS Access projects than we can count! We will use our own accelerator products in your project free of charge, including UI Builder for great menu navigation and styling, Dashboard Builder to wow your users with visual data stories, and Report Builder if you need professional reports. Some past projects:
- Database to track complex sub-surface mining operations and workflows.
- Specialized and configurable survey application that could be used on Microsoft Surface Laptops in a clinical setting.
- Equipment asset repair entry and tracking with workflows. Complex front-end and back-end for North Sea oil platforms that had no internet, but needed periodically synchronize back to land and keep all records in sync across multiple back ends.
- Migrations from Access ADP projects to Sharepoint, Access ADP to SQL Server, Access backends to MySQL and SQL Server.
- Complex multi-step worfklow process for chemical sales quotes.
- And literally just about anhything you could imagine too...we've probably done it with Access.
Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets
Complex XLookups, VBA Scripts, AppScripts, we've done it. Whethere you just need a spreadsheet doctor to improve performance, or more robust functionality with coding, we can handle the project.
Complex Data Analysis
Wrangling messy, large data sets and finding the needles in the haystack is something we LOVE to do. Cohort, correlations, trending, outliers, patterns, variance, we've got the tools and ability to help tell stories with your data. With over 10 years in business strategy consulting, we can help uncover important insights.
Our Process
Communication
During the project we will mutually agree upon communication intervals that are appropriate for the duration and magnitude of the project. OpenGate Software uses GoToMeeting for online meetings to help facilitate the requirements gathering phase, demonstrate project deliverables, and provide technical support.
Design
Our goal is to provide you with a solution that you can configure, where possible, to minimize future consulting costs. We leverage our extensive line of Microsoft Access products to speed delivery and provide you with the best end product. We focus on delivering an efficient, pleasant user experience.
Scoping and Estimation
During the estimation and scoping phase, we will meet with you and any key stakeholders from your team to understand the overall scope of the project. The goal is to identify all major functionality you are looking for, and also clarify items that may be out of scope. This process ensures we provide you with an accurate estimate, as well as avoid any misunderstandings about scope later in the project. If required, OpenGate will sign a non-disclosure agreement. Following the meeting, OpenGate will provide you with an estimation of the project duration and cost. We will also identify any outstanding questions that may impact the scope, duration, or cost. Provided you agree to move forward with the project, we will use the scoping document and estimate as the basis for initiating project execution.
Requirements Gathering
In this phase, we will meet with you and any key stakeholders from your team to define the project requirements in more detail. Existing databases, spreadsheets, reports, or other elements of any existing process are helpful, but not necessary, to speed the process. OpenGate may, if the magnitude of the project warrants, produce preliminary designs to share and validate before entering full development. This ensures we mutually understand the requirements at an early stage.
Development and Testing
The development and testing phase may take a few days to several weeks depending upon the magnitude of the project. For longer projects, interim reviews of the software being development may be scheduled to ensure the end product will match your requirements. We realize it can be difficult to completely envision what you need from a software application, and additional requirements may arise as you consider your processes and objectives in greater depth, or as business conditions change. Additions to project scope can be discussed and estimated throughout the project.
Delivery
Once development and testing are completed, we will deliver provide the software for you to download electronically (via email or by secure download from our site depending upon your preference). We will deliver the software in two files, a user interface file and a data file. In this way, we can provide you with any final changes or defect fixes without impacting any existing data you begin storing in your new database. We will provide step-by-step instructions to download and install the software in your environment. If agreed upon, we can offer remote assistance to set up the software in your environment. If documentation, training, and/or video tutorials were agreed upon during the scoping and estimation phase, OpenGate will provide these items during the delivery phase.
Post-Project Support
While we strive to thoroughly test our work before delivery, defects may arise. We will provide support for software defects reported via phone, email, or via our online support request form. We respond to the request within one business day, and provide resolution as quickly as possible. If additional changes are required as the result of new requirements, we will treat these requests similarly to new requirements identified during the construction and testing phase.