By now you have evaluated several technology vendors based on their skill sets, domain know-how and more. But the one who eventually becomes your technology partner should offer more.
Your technology partner should be willing to invest the time and effort required to understand the unique needs of your business, and offer solutions based on these, instead of offering ‘one-size-fits-all’ services. He should be your partner in business growth.
So how do you ascertain if your chosen tech partner ticks all these boxes? A good measure of the partner’s delivery potential is in their approach.
Here is how Embitel’s ecommerce services team works towards being the ideal tech partner for your business.
Strategy Consulting (Functional) – to get the right fit
Anuj Ramachandra (e-Commerce business consultant at Embitel) and Arun Kumar (e-Commerce Head) spearhead strategy consulting (Functional) workshops as part of our engagement with clients.
The objective of such workshops is to clearly understand the business goals, brainstorm about the features to be developed for the project, customize back end platform functionalities that will help clients effectively manage their web store’s business operations, and thereby help them reaching their business objectives. “We understand the need [of the end-consumer] that the client wants to fulfill before we envision their web-store,” says Anuj.
The workshops are designed to define a specific outcome in the form of a Functional Requirements Document (FRD) which outlines the scope of the project (with ‘out-of-the-box’ and ‘custom’ features) along with identification of various third-party system integrations, interface points and later, evaluation of plug-ins which would fit the business requirements, in case of custom functionality requirements.
“Through a detailed study of the business needs, we architect the client’s ecommerce business,” Ramachandra sums up.
On boarding, Project Management and Delivery – to do things the right way
QA is in the essence of project management and delivery process at Embitel.
“Our systems and people ensure we follow all the right processes and check and double-check at every stage so we can deliver the best solution,” says Nancy Nithya, Manager of Quality at Embitel.
Each project has an assigned SQA (Software Quality Assurance) Manager, who works closely with the Project Manager for implementation of all the processes as per the EmbiQ Model (a holistic Quality Assurance and Engagement Model designed by Embitel).
The SQA Manager also coordinates with the customer and maintains a regular dialogue to ensure that quality expectations are met at all stages of the project. Milestone reviews are carried out at regular intervals to check compliance with the stated standard requirements and quarterly internal audits at Embitel review processes and derive learnings from each project.
After execution and before release of any phase of the project to the client, pre-release checks are carried out to ensure all quality gates are met. “After all, the quality of output and the ability to match the client’s expectations depends on how the long and intensive development phase is handled,” says Nancy.
Once the project is officially concluded, Nancy invites feedback from the client to be able to help serve them better the next time.
Agile Development – for the right outcome
Vinod Beli, tech lead, ecommerce, at Embitel, says that the ecommerce team follows the Agile development method for its adaptability and evolutionary approach.
Each project is split into stories, which fall in iterations. These are scheduled as per their dependency on other factors and complexity of the project itself—the more intensive, the higher the priority.
Realistic deadlines are proposed for each, and adhered to. On completion of each iteration, a QA test is run, then demos are carried out and feedback is sought from the client. This is incorporated, and the QA checks are done. A retrospective review is also carried out after each iteration to derive learnings and implement them in the next one.
After the final iteration is complete, a User Acceptance Test is carried out. “During the production stage, we test for performance of the webstore and its features. Now, it’s time to test the entire website—as experienced by the user,” says Vinod. User feedback is incorporated until and testing continues till the client is satisfied.
Embitel’s promise to quality doesn’t end there—some clients opt for our efficient maintenance services to ensure smooth functioning of their web store in all circumstances, a commitment that our engineers meet with diligence.
Embitel promises unique solutions and, through a step-by-step approach and careful consideration, we deliver them!
If you have any query/feedback for Anuj, Nancy or Vinod, connect with us at sales@embitel.com to set-up a conversation!
For more such interesting updates, join us on LinkedIn:
