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 IDesign architecture consulting engagements are short, dedicated, effective and very intense. The goal is to produce some 40-60 design diagrams depicting the various design aspects of the system, including definition of services and logical tiers, allocation to assemblies, run-time processes, identity management, security authentication and authorization, transaction management, thread synchronization and code-access security policies. Developers can then simply use these diagrams as the system’s blueprint and continue to construct the system.
Our engagements are typically 2 to 5 days in duration, where we review the product requirements and architecture, provide feedback or a new design, and work with the lead developer or architect on a vertical slice implementation of the architecture. We either use .NET 3.0 (in particular WCF) in the vertical slice or provide a forward-looking architecture that is compatible with it.
In a 2 days consulting engagement, we spend about half a day understanding the product and the requirements and half a day on the current architecture. In the second day we either provide feedback on the current design (if it is adequate), or propose an alternative design, using the IDesign Method™. This analysis method is unmatched in its mechanized-like ability to derive design out of use cases.
In a longer engagement (5 days), we spend the third and fourth day implementing a vertical slice of the architecture. A vertical slice is a stubbed-out implementation of one or two services in each architecture segment or layer. A vertical slice is the best way to validate the architecture and to ensure the customer understands it and can take it from there. The vertical slice represents most if not all of the ‘plumbing’ issues that are the Achilles’ heel of most applications, where developers spend the bulk of the effort, both in initial development time and in long-term maintenance. The fifth day is spent testing and even stress-testing the vertical slice. Having the design done and prototyped in a few days is a huge productivity and quality boost, as well as overall upfront risk reduction.
We have successfully applied our architecture method at companies large and small, from the Fortune 100 to the startup. For example, the design work we did for HP is now part of an official
Microsoft case study on .NET architecture and design.
Click here to ask for a sample architecture report and additional information.
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 IDesign’s
Master Classes are usually 5 days of hands-on training, and are the world’s
most intensive, most comprehensive
.NET training classes. There is simply no substitute for being trained by the world's leading experts in the subject, and the IDesign architects offer a profound insight on the technology and its applications. The material presented goes well beyond anything that can be found using conventional training sources often presenting IDesign's original techniques and breakthroughs. In addition to the frontal presentations, the classes use lab exercise and numerous conceptual demos and original tools and utilities. The demos are useful not only in training but afterwards, serving as a starting point for new projects, and as a rich reference and samples resource.
We offer the following Master Classes:
After attending either one of the training classes, you will be not just a .NET or WCF expert, but also a better software engineer. Click here for past student testimonials.
We conduct the Master training class all over the world, both on-site and as a public event. For an on-site, we allow the customer to customize the content and the duration of the classes. We can deliver the ‘standard’ 5 day class, 4-5 day class, or just 2, 3, 4 day subsets of the classes customized to emphasize the topics most relevant to your development needs.
For an on-site class, click here for additional information.
Below is our world-wide public classes calendar for 2010.
Public Architect's Master Class calendar:
Public Architecting WPF/Silverlight Applications Master Class calendar:
Public WCF Master Class calendar:
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 When you develop a service-oriented application, it would be naive of you to expect that the only things you will do differently will be limited to design and technology. The development process itself needs to be service-oriented. You cannot "stare into the fire" of technologies such as WCF without a mature service-oriented development process supporting your efforts. We have developed a highly effective service-oriented development process you can adopt. This process is compatible with CMM level 2-3, and is ideal for small teams (less than 15 developers.)
IDesign can help your organization reach and maintain this service-oriented development process and apply it to your .NET 2.0 and the new .NET 3.0-based products. This process will enable you to achieve robust applications, manage requirements, plan and track your progress and ensure faster time to market. We will help you analyze the risks associated with first-time SOA design attempts, and ways to minimize them. We will review the current development processes and provide you with a development plan and other tools associated with a mature process such as document templates and development standards, and we will do all that in one week. We call such a week SPI (Software Process Improvement).
The goal of the SPI week is to produce the Software Development Plan (SDP) – a comprehensive document outlining every aspect of your product development. The week starts with a one day training on what is it we are about to do and how. Click here to watch an MSDN webcast outlining the planning and tracking module of the first day. In days 2-5 of the process improvement week we proceed to implement every key process area covered in the training, all in the context of your project and team. All the items in the SDP are tailored for your particular project, not some boilerplate search-and-replace. You will end up with a turn-key process, ready to proceed and execute on the system development.
Note that the key to applying the IDesign process is a good architecture. If you have that, then the rest of the key process areas will fall into place.
Click here to ask for a sample SDP report and additional information.
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 For many companies, adopting a new development platform such as WCF is never an easy endeavor. Companies often have considerable investments in existing code base and development expertise. IDesign can help you develop and execute a migration plan from your existing .NET or even Windows-based applications into the new and productive world of service-oriented architectures (SOA). Our consulting and migration planning can help your company significantly in managing the move. IDesign will help you analyze and assess the benefits of porting versus interoperating with your existing system. We will train and mentor your staff on WCF and SOA and help with your new design and architecture. Even if you do not intend to upgrade to WCF immediately, there are many things you can do today to make the move as painless as possible in the future, especially in adopting the right programming models and technologies.
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 Starting a project with a solid architecture is critical to its success. But in most projects, you don’t know all of the requirements for the life of the system up-front. As a result of such evolving and emerging requirements, parts of the architecture may need to be readdressed, redesigned, or whole new parts of the architecture put in place. There are also often smaller-grained design decisions that need to be made throughout a project for which you want to get an expert opinion or guidance on how to proceed. If you have a full time highly-skilled system architect on your staff, addressing these challenges should be one of his or hers primary responsibilities. However, many organizations do not have the appropriate person or skills to address all of the scenarios that arise, or they just want to validate these critical decisions before they base the success of their business on them.
IDesign addresses these needs by providing Virtual Architect services. We assign an architect to your account, and that architect becomes intimately familiar with the project and its requirements, helping you to modify or supplement your architecture, as well as to guide you through on-going detailed design decisions and implementation choices. Often, many of these kinds of fine-grained architecture, design, and implementation decisions can even be provided remotely.
Click here for additional information.
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 The IDesign architects are internationally recognized speakers, addressing not only the raw aspects of the technology at hand but often the business and human issues involved. Take advantage of our unique perspective for your conference, in-house event, or broadcast. We will work closely with you to tailor keynote content specific to your needs. We can discuss the bigger picture, technology trends, provide historical perspective, technology issues, share humorous insider stories, address business models and return on investments examples, offer case studies, discuss advanced topics and competing alternatives. We will put your specific event and product in context and kick off your event by entertaining your attendees and motivating them around your objectives.
Click here for additional information.
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