Application Services
Custom solutions
Because some needs cannot be addressed by standard solutions, GFI develops for its customers tailored made solutions. These custom solutions are developed as end-to-end projects from early functional and technical specifications down to post-production (maintenance). As all the other solutions proposed by GFI, custom developments are made following best practices that ensure their success and openness to future evolutions. Our mission is to deliver our projects in time, in budget, and with the right quality level.
Methodology
Custom developed solutions are implemented through projects. By constantly adapting to the customer needs, GFI uses a development methodology that ensures consistency and quality of projects. This methodology combines the rigour of formal processes such as RUP and agility of modern development methodologies.
Because each client has different requirements and expectations, each project looks at different aspect of:
- A priori knowledge of functional requirements and technical environment
- Complexity of functional requirements and technical environment
- Understanding the customer organization and its requirements
- The amount of effort and time extension
GFI Development Methodology Portal
In order to respond better to each type of project and/or customer, GFI offers different engagement and delivery models.
- Engagement Models are the responsibilities associated with estimates effort and project costs. These are applicable from Time & Material to fixed price.
- Delivery Models are ways to carry out projects. These are applicable from on-site service to the implementation of the project in a division of GFI located in a region whose labour costs are reduced.
Since every customer has different requirements and expectations, the engagement model could evolve over project progress.
Engagement models
Time & Material
In a Time & Material model, GFI offers a daily rate by profile type (project manager, analyst, architect, developer, tester, etc...). According to the scenario, GFI assumes some or all of these roles. The billing is established on the basis of a timesheet. The Time & Material model offers great flexibility and is ideal when the client wants to influence the functional and technical aspect throughout the project.
Work unit
A work unit corresponds to a generic activity that composes a project such as e.g. analysis of Use Cases, programming screen input, workflow configuration, or mediation between n services. In this engagement model, GFI describes a number of work units relevant to the project and commits to a fixed price per work unit. This engagement model offers the same flexibility as the Time & Material Model but adds a guarantee of team productivity.
Time & Material Analysis and fixed price development
With this engagement model, GFI establishes the functional and technical specifications with customer. Once they are established, GFI proposes a fixed price for design, implementation and testing. This engagement model is useful when the functional and technical needs are not known at the outset of the project and the customer wants to be assured of a stable fixed price for the implementation.
Fixed Price
When the functional and technical specifications are initially sufficient, GFI can commit to a fixed price for the analysis, design, implementation and testing of the project. This allows the customer to have the assurance of a fixed price at the outset of the project.
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These services are mainly used in infrastructure management projects.
Delivery models
On-site Service
This is the most classic way of project achievement where project management, analysis, design, implementation, integration and testing are entirely at the customer location.
Onshore / Nearshore/ Offshore Service
Aware of the need to reduce the project costs while ensuring quality, GFI has developed an offer of industrialization projects.
This offer is based on the following:
- A service centre in Lille, which is part of GFI
- A service centre in Casablanca which is part of GFI
- A set of tools and practices adapted to the tasks in multiple service centres
The local service consists mainly of two components:
- The front-office witch is located at the customer. It manages the project, develops specifications, integrates the components and ensures testing.
- The back-office which is located in Lille or Casablanca and developing the components
Blended model
Combining the best engagement model for a certain customer with the best delivery model for that customer, results in an ideal blended service delivery model. This blended approach allows us the necessary flexibility to continuously adapt our way of delivering services and solutions to our continuously evolving customer. The graphic below illustrates how the blended model evolves: more customer intimacy and commitment allows us to reduce costs by increasing our industrialisation approach.