1. Keith Erickson November 1, 2018 EE 1001

2. Presentation Goals Company Background Business Operations
Software Engineering
The Future View

3. Saturn Systems History
Software Engineering and Consulting firm
Founded in 1990, incorporated in 1993
Origins in DoD contracting: device control and integration, software engineering
During 1990’s, nearly all of our work was with a single DoD contractor - Mission Research Corp.
Since early 2000’s, customer base expanded and shifted from Government contracting to private industry
Steady growth through 2014, stabilized since then
We currently have 69 full-time staff; 57 are technical staff (programmers, engineers, QA)

4. Locations
Duluth, MN
Grand Rapids, MN

5. Recent Awards
Recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in the U.S. for five consecutive years (2011 – 2015)
Recognized by Minneapolis Star-Tribune as one of 150 Best Places to Work in Minnesota ( )
Recognized by Minnesota Business Magazine as one of Best 100 Companies to Work For ( )

6. Competencies/Skills Project Based Work or Staff Augmentation
Architecture & Design
Coding
Deployment
Technology Expertise
Cloud & Web: .NET, Java, supporting frameworks
Device Integration: IoT, C&C protocols, Data acquisition
Mobile: IOS, Android
Desktop Applications: Windows
Quality Assurance: Automated testing

7. Rural Outsourcing Lower cost alternative to metro firms
Higher quality alternative to offshore firms
Domestic firms in mid-sized U.S. communities
Close proximity to top universities
Saturn Systems model
Central U.S. location (culture, accessibility)
High skill niche (degreed engineers)
Low employee turnover
Provide a great work/life balance in Duluth

8. It’s All About Culture Technically challenging, interesting work
Teamwork and collaboration
Transparency and communications
Perks
Corporate lunches
Chili cookoff, Halloween costume contest (yesterday)
FLEX time, telecommuting
Wellness program
Many other great benefits
Respect, honesty and integrity

9. Staff Profile Management Team MSEE, ECE, CS, Math, Accounting degrees
Technical Staff
CS, ECE/EE, related 4 year degrees
Project Managers, Technical Leads, Senior Software Engineers, Software Engineers, Programmers, QA Testers
Telecommuters
Saturn employees, working from their homes in outstate areas
Currently 3 telecommuters; special circumstances only
Grand Rapids office
Currently 4 software developers

10. Business Operations Marketing & Sales Operations Finance
Recruiting &HR

11. Business Activities Business Development (marketing & sales)
Operations (scheduling, HR, administrative)
Finance (budgeting, taxes, accounting, forecasting, cash flow management)
Recruiting

12. Marketing / Sales Multiple Marketing Channels – New Customers
Minnesota Public Radio
Freeway Billboards
Organic Search
Google Adwords
Referrals
Existing Customers
Familiarity with Quality Products, Processes
Match Saturn Capabilities with Customer Needs

13. Revenue Generation Project Based Contracts Staff Augmentation
Time & Materials
Starts with an Idea….Ends with an Application
Staff Augmentation
We remotely plug into client’s existing development teams
Timekeeping procedures
We record all worked time in 15 minute increments, charge time to customer or Saturn administrative categories.
We invoice customer for all ‘billable’ time, including activity comments.

14. Business Costs Personnel Sales & Marketing Recruiting Infrastructure
Direct labor (billable staff)
Benefits (health, dental, vacation, 401k, perks)
Management and administrative
Non-billable labor (i.e. “bench”)
Sales & Marketing
Recruiting
Infrastructure
Other
Rent, utilities, insurance, taxes

15. Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Writing Proposals and Estimates
Writing Functional Specifications
System Architecture & Design
Software Development
Device control & protocols, web applications, desktop applications, database design and programming
Quality Assurance Testing
Deployment and integration
Ongoing support and maintenance

16. Traditional Software Engineering
Waterfall approach
Define project scope & requirements.
Document system design, interfaces, test strategy.
Development and unit testing.
Beta deliverables and client testing.
System QA testing and integration.
Training & ongoing support.

17. Agile Software Engineering
Iterative approach, designed to elicit immediate customer feedback
Define short-term limited functionality releases (sprints or iterations).
Frequent “scrum” meetings to discuss project status, identify problems, and update sprint schedules
Sprint level QA testing and integration.
Training & ongoing support.

18. Benefits of Agile Approach
Individuals and interactions - team interactions like co-location and mentoring are key.
Working software – builds confidence and provides a baseline for discussion.
Customer collaboration – requirements cannot be fully collected at the beginning of the software development cycle, therefore continuous customer or stakeholder involvement is very important.
Responding to change – quick responses to change and continuous refinement.

19. Development Process Agile/Waterfall/Mixed Lead Engineer Centric
Adapted to Customer Needs
Lead Engineer Centric
Cloud Based Project Portal
Consistent Process

20. Process & Communications
Project Portal for internal and customer communications (Jira)
Internal Project Checklist
Issue Tracking
Milestones
Published documents
Time Entry system for internal operations and customer invoices (BillQuick)

21. Quality Assurance Developer Independent Testing Documentation
Black/White Box Functional Testing
Documentation
Formal Test Plans
Test Case Creation Tools
Formal Test Results

22. The Future View
Companies will continue to invest in software technologies to increase profit and gain competitive advantage
We expect continued growth
Expanding Marketing Budgets and Channels
Expanding and Refine Recruiting Channels
Offshore competition has equalized

23. Future Goals & Opportunities
Rural IT Outsourcing
Saturn is one of a handful of nationally recognized firms in this industry.
Our model since 1990, it only gained the moniker in 2005.
Twin Cities, other large metro areas
Marketing to these areas through public radio, billboards, Internet search optimization techniques.
Local customers
Important, though limited potential market
Planning for strong growth over the next 3 years

24. Parting Thoughts Commitment to Your Degree Program
Study First. Study Hard.
Those with the best record get the best jobs
Work For Companies Where You are the Product
Revenue Employee vs. Overhead
Tech and Engineering Companies
Don’t be Afraid to Take Risks

25. Questions?