Building and trials begin

In my previous post, I reported on the completion of the final specification, Stage 3. We’ve now moved on to the prototype software build, stage 4 out of 5 development stages.NEW_LINENEW_LINEAs part of this phase, the KnowledgePoint platform is now open as a test sitefor limited-release trialling! If you would like to take part, please email[email protected]. We have a full list for the first two weeks of testing, but please do let us know if you would be interested in being involved in the next release. More information on the trials can be found toward the end of this post.NEW_LINENEW_LINEFinding our development teamNEW_LINENEW_LINEThe KnowledgePoint project is run by a consortium that currently includesRedR, WaterAid, IRC international Water and Sanitation Centre,Practical Action and EngineerAid. From this alliance, we created a procurement panel to oversee the selection of candidate software developers.NEW_LINENEW_LINEOur procurement decision would of course be founded on the cornerstones of cost, quality and timeliness. But as anyone who has been part of software procurement knows, you rarely have three directly comparable options or an obvious list of candidates to start from.NEW_LINENEW_LINEWe want to build something that meets unique requirements. At our KnowledgePoint Forum in the Hague in December, we heard compelling arguments that we should, nonetheless, avoid trying to create software from scratch; we should ‘stand on the shoulders of giants’, and build something innovative from existing components. We’re particularly grateful to Deepak Menon of India Water Portal and Mark Westra of AKVO, among others who attended, for their advice on the software approach.NEW_LINENEW_LINEGoing straight for the main giant, we spoke to a tech company that is an industry leader in this field. They supported the project wholeheartedly – but wanted us to work within their existing software, which unfortunately meant losing some of our key requirements for our operating environment.NEW_LINENEW_LINEWhen asked, “what would it take” for them to meet our specification, they replied that they had received and rejected comparable proposals from multi-billion dollar companies. The product philosophy is everything for such pioneers of the information age, and in their view they were being asked to stray too far from it. And we don’t want money, they added, closing off a traditional route that clearly others had tried.NEW_LINENEW_LINEThere were few alternatives at this level, so the search went on to the wealth of agencies, design houses and lone developers, who may be based anywhere in the world.NEW_LINENEW_LINETo narrow the search, we focused on identifying organisations and individuals who had worked on similar technology and preferably using open source software. Eventually we narrowed it down to three that best matched our needs. But our final decision in fact involved asking two organisations to work together.NEW_LINENEW_LINEThe best option that met our criteria for talent and expertise in our core technology was based in Santiago de Chile, who also offered a competitive tender. The main problem is that they were not set up as a software consultancy; although an established business, they would in essence be working through one person as a lone developer. Independent of how highly we think of that lone developer, there is an unavoidable risk in putting all your code in one basket.NEW_LINENEW_LINEWe saw that by combining them with another organisation, Aptivate, we were able to fill the risk gaps that we had identified in using a lone developer. Aptivate have huge experience in delivering IT projects for humanitarian and development organisations, and furthermore they had worked with the same core software before. They specialise in many of the same approaches that we are prioritising (essentially, open-source, agile, low-bandwidth developments).NEW_LINENEW_LINEActing as technical advisors, Aptivate are providing everything from code reviews to project management support, and mastery of agile software methodology. At the same time, our core software developer is providing great code and ploughing through the features we’ve specified. Now we are in a position to test out what we have built so far.NEW_LINENEW_LINETrialsNEW_LINENEW_LINEWhile our core platform is still very much in development, KnowledgePoint is following an agile approach to software that prioritises early user testing. This has many advantages for an innovative project. It focuses attention on user needs whilst providing a flexible project structure. So when feedback (almost inevitably) requires changes to the software, risk and cost have been reduced by allowing problems to surface early. The agile methodology is highly participatory, which fits well with the overall aims of our project.NEW_LINENEW_LINEThe trials are limited in scope so that there is time to respond to feedback individually and answer trial questions. The trial site is currently at its most basic level – but new features will be released every two weeks for people to try out!NEW_LINENEW_LINEOnce we have completed all iterations, we plan that KnowledgePoint will be in a position to conduct full-scale, controlled tests on live enquiries.NEW_LINENEW_LINEWith each release, we will also increase the number of people using the trial site, building a greater community. Please do let us know if you would be interested in being involved by contacting us directly using the email address above.NEW_LINENEW_LINEWe hope people trialling the site will pose and respond to some test enquiries in the domain of Technical Support, but also just have a look around what we have built. Testers won’t be required to fill in lengthy feedback forms, but if there’s something you would like to tell us, we do hope to hear any comments or suggestions at all you might have.NEW_LINE

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NEW_LINE A quick final note on software, to say thank you to Balsamiq, who providedpro bono licenses to use their mock-up software, which has allowed us to put more funding towards core software innovation. As blogged previously, you can see what we did with their software here.