THE PROJECT

Meta Strategies is a Canadian consulting firm that develops electronic strategies and Internet applications, primarily for non-profit organizations. The client approached Fruition Interactive to deploy a prototype content management system that would address their clients' needs for managing and sharing Web-based content among affiliated, yet independent, organizations.

THE OBJECTIVES

The project had three primary objectives:

• Identify a standards-based platform for developing the publishing system that best meets clients projected needs and that can be deployed for clients at relatively low additional cost

• Create an effective sales tool that Meta Strategies can use to use to demonstrate the system's capabilities to prospective clients

• Achieve the project's other objectives within a budget reflecting the risks inherent in developing a new product

THE APPROACH

After negotiating an agreement that sees the two companies share the project's costs as well as the potential rewards, Fruition employed a five-stage methodology to successfully meet the project's objectives:

• Fruition presented Meta Strategies with a comprehensive project plan ensuring that the project partners shared a common understanding of the project?s timelines and budget, personnel and their roles, protocols for resolving issues, strategies for mitigating risks and the overall project lifecycle

• Working with Meta Strategies staff, Fruition performed a comprehensive analysis of the projected requirements for the system, operationalized those requirements into a competitive feature-set matrix and evaluated competing platforms against that matrix

• Fruition and Meta Strategies agreed on user experience specifications using tools like reference implementations as well as wireframes and mock-ups Fruition prepared to help cement the shared understanding

• Using short, iterative releasing cycles, Fruition was able to ensure that the client was able to start getting value from the prototype within days of development commencing. The short release cycles also helped both partners be certain that development was heading in the right directions over the entire life of the project

• Finally, Fruition trained Meta Strategies staff on how to use the system and advised them on factors that influence costs and timelines for future deployments

THE RESULTS

• Client's first sale finalized within 4 weeks of project wrap-up
  Project completed within budget
  

• Significant ongoing interest in the solution on the part of Meta Strategies' clients and prospects