Catalyst Resources
Modular & Reusable User Interface Design
for Software as a Service and Rich Internet Applications
Everyone talks about the need for Rich Internet Applications. We give you a plan and UI elements to implement them.
Catalyst's Rich Internet Application (RIA) Fast Track is a unique service that gives you a jump-start on developing your next application UI project. In just 10 weeks we develop a UI strategy plan and provide a user-validated, application UI design based on the high value scenarios and workflows in the application. At the end of this Fast Track engagement, you have an updated application flow, selection of the best RIA technology (e.g. Flex, AJAX/XHTML, Silverlight, etc) that matches your requirements and back-end, primary screen designs, and a prototype coded in the selected technology. You end up with a complete implementation planfor optimizing your application UI in the next release.
Determining where your application UI will benefit from RIA technology
RIA user interfaces can dramatically improve the user experience of Web-based applications in many different ways. As part of RIA Fast Track, a Catalyst team will review your application and identify where RIAs can offer the most dramatic impact and and best return on investment.
On the lightweight end of the spectrum, you can re-implement basic features of your Web application to be more responsive and offer visual pizzazz (e.g. Google-style "suggest" search box, background content loading, balloon help, tabbed displays, sortable tables, etc). On the other end of the spectrum, rich RIA clients can replace Web-based portals as a way to interact with Web services and SOA assets (e.g. Enterprise Mashups).
What it takes to succeed with RIAs
It is common to think that the same Web developers who code Java or .NET server-side Web applications or design Flash CSS-based HTML pages, will be able to quickly become expert RIA developers. The reality is usually very different. The technical skills are are not the same, the UI demands are more complex, the ramp up time can be high and it can be time-consuming to evaluate the various frameworks as they relate to your customer and back-end needs.
RIA Fast Track provides you with a UI design and development team that is experienced with a broad range of RIA technologies and frameworks, and understands the application, web and server programming necessary for implementation. This gives your team more time to come up to speed, decisions on what AJAX tools to use, a strategy on how to incrementally add RIAs, and a visual blueprint of how the final web application will operate.
The Catalyst Advantage
- Minimize start-up time and adoption risk by leveraging Catalyst's experience in RIA implementations
- Work with a multi-disciplinary team experienced in RIAs and dedicated to your project
- Identify and focus resources on scenarios that produce the greatest returns
- Maximize return on investment by increasing user adoption through on-going user modeling & validation
- Identify areas where adding RIAs would have the greatest benefit and select libraries that provide the right tools
- Provide clickable models to create an unambiguous visual blueprint for development
- Provide a 4-12 month road map for optimizing your application UI
What you get with the Catalyst RIA Fast Track
Catalyst's RIA Fast Track is a unique service to give you a head start on your next UI implementation using rich client UI tools and components. In just 10 weeks we deliver the following:
- 3-person multidisciplinary team assigned to your project
- On-going Web-based user validation
- Assessment of your current application to determine where RIAs would be effective in optimizing user experience
- Screen flow map of UI architecture based on high-value usage scenarios.
- Identification of key view types that could be RIA-enabled and then extended across the application
- Visual design for key view types in your software application that includes the RIA implementation with an updated look and feel
- Identification of modular reusable code components
- Assessment of RIA technologies and tools to use in your application to reduce development time and optimize UI performance
- Functional prototype coded in the selected RIA technology, based on key view types
- Full UI implementation plan that provides a 4-12 month road map for optimizing your application UI in the next release
Fast Track for Java-based RIA technologies
In addition to AJAX, Flex and Silverlight, Catalyst also offers Fast Track for Java-based Rich Internet Applications. Based on an assessment of your project requirements, we select the Java solution that provides the best UI components, tools, security, ease-of-implementation and scalability.
Bottom line benefits of RIA Fast Track
The benefits and ROI of the RIA Fast Track are tangible and dramatic:
- No Team Ramp-up
An experienced UI design and development team will identify the most effective areas to use RIAs. This reduces the investment required to bring internal resources up to speed on any RIA project. - Faster Time to Market
We recommend an RIA strategy, design and UI components all within 10 weeks. This accelerates time to market & drives competitive advantage. - Reduce Development Costs
If you are working with an existing appliciton our designs only use RIAs where it will have meaningful impact. You implement in a focused and agile manner rather than trying to RIA-enable an entire application. This significantly reduces development investment and maximizes measurable returns. - Eliminate Investment Decisions in the Wrong Technology
Catalyst is experienced with a broad range of RIA UI tools and can ensure that you develop with the right components that match your requirements. You stop bad technology decisions from happening in the first place. - Increase User Adoption and Reduce Support Costs
Because the UI for your application will be designed by an experienced multi-disciplinary team and validated directly with users, the design will be optimized to deliver the most effective user experience. The result is sharply improved user adoption as well as reduced training, support, operating and deployment costs.
RIAs are all about user experience
RIAs not about technology. Customers don't care about technology; they care about how the application feels and works. RIAs are a way to tune and optimize the experience users have with your software and is fast becoming a requirement for business. For consumer applications, well-designed RIA UIs increase online conversions, improve customer satisfaction and reduce customer support costs. For enterprise applications, RIA UIs increase productivity, reduce support costs and speed the delivery of new functionality.
Contact Us to Discuss Your RIA Project or Request a Confidential Briefing
To discuss your project, or request a confidential briefing on case studies relevant to your own project, we ask you to complete the following form. The specifics you are able to provide will allow us to respond accurately to your request. We will respond to you shortly and look forward to discussing your inquiry.
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