Quickbase Integration Scott Remsen 7/14/2005

Company Background  Silicon Space is a provider of information technology services. The company has several applications that are currently being used by the federal government and in the commercial sector.  The recent success of the company has been driven by its quality products, support, customer services, and outstanding sales efforts.  In addition, Silicon Space has established an offshore partnership with a call center and technical solutions provider, Active Intelligence, located in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Problem Statement  Silicon Space is transitioning from a provider of technology consulting services to a product-driven strategy.  Inefficiencies have been identified, resulting in the lack of standardization for company-wide support process.  Incoming customer queries were routed directly to software engineers, resulting in resource allocation

Project Objectives  To improve company-wide software support for Silicon Space by streamlining existing disparate solutions.  To utilize common support processes and technologies to increase resource efficiency and realize significant savings.  To improve SSI’s company-wide product support and be in a better position to outsource support roles to offshore developers and call centers, reducing overall support costs.

Project Characteristics and Requirements  Quickbase web portal for each product to be supported  Customized Lotus Notes Agent for Quickbase case generation and issue tracking for each product to be supported  Dedicated support addresses and phone lines for each product to be supported

Return On Investment Analysis The current support processes are inefficient, demanding that a senior developer devote twelve billable hours a week (at $105/hr.). Under the new system implementation, only six hours of offshore support will be needed per week to triage product issues and handle tier I issue resolution, due to increased efficiency brought about by response standardization and organization. Two additional hours development hours from senior engineers will be required for tier II issue resolution.

Risk Management Strategy Risks of implementing the Quickbase support tools and processes: 80% Quickbase implementation will successfully reduce costs 20% Quickbase implementation will not reduce costs Risks of not implementing the Quickbase support tools and processes: 30% money will be saved using current processes 70% money will not be saved, or even lost

Communication Plan Timelines/Information Type:  Project manager: Manager will review project progress by holding weekly personal meetings with key stakeholders. Additional meetings may be held as needed.  Project team: Will participate in four analysis and design meetings to review current processes and proposed modifications. During product implementation, weekly meetings will be held to review progress and outstanding issues/concerns.

Timelines/WBS Project Duration = 16 days

Final Analysis  Successful project implementation will be measured by how quickly the new Quickbase tools and support processes are adopted by support technicians and offshore contractors.  Adequate training and post-implementation support should be given so that the new product is easily adopted and widely used.