Geodan & application development
A standard GIS package is often insufficient for satisfying our customers’ wishes. Sometimes, it offers too many possibilities while our customer wants less functionality, but quite as often it offers not exactly what the customer wants for his process support and optimization. In both cases, custom-made solutions are needed. Whether it is a ‘simple’ or a ‘complex’ desktop application, a database application or a webservices solution, Geodan has ample experience in developing those applications and all possible intermediate solutions and combinations of techniques.
The Geodan approach
An important starting point for Geodan when developing applications is that the customer’s wishes as regards the business process to be supported are at the centre. That is why interaction with the customer during the development process is an absolute must. This seems easy, but it is not quite that simple in practice. Therefore, we always choose an iterative approach of the development process so that users already start to understand the product during the development process and possible adjustments can still be made. Even in cases in which a good functional and technical design is available, we choose a process in which the end users are already involved in the result during the development phase.
For bigger applications aimed at supporting and optimising complex business processes, besides iterative development, we also opt for incremental development. The central feature of incremental development is that the end product is not developed in one go, but step by step. Often, we deliver intermediate results, which are a direct contribution to the end product. By using iterations within the increments, users can gain a progressive understanding in development of a product. Anyway, the final result will be much nearer to the end users as compared to conventional development methods, which results in enhanced acceptance and broad support.
Standards at the centre
Geodan is of the opinion that by using open standards, an important contribution is made to an efficient and effective organisation. Using open standards, it is possible to use software of more than only one specific supplier. Besides, open standards enhance flexibility to link to other internal and external information systems. Besides, open standards contribute significantly to the sustainability and accessibility of information.
In the field of geo-information, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) works on standards. Geodan has been a member of this organisation from the very beginning. This means that Geodan has a clear understanding of the developments in this field. Besides, Geodan plays an active role in the development of OGC specifications. The application developers from Geodan also actively follow and apply other standards that are relevant for application development, such as those of W3C, ISO, NEN and OASIS.
Further information
Would you like further information about the services and products that Geodan offers, please contact us. We will be pleased to help you out.
