What is JumbleSoft.com all about?

At JumbleSoft.com when we’re not busy with our own projects, we like to provide information and guidance on Software, Apps, Hosting and Web Development Services. We aim to recommend and design economical software solutions that can take you straight to what you want in the fewest possible steps. We’ll help you decide when ‘off the shelf’ solutions are right and when they are not, whether to buy ready made software and tweak it or start from scratch.

So how can you make the right choice between such differing software options? By way of illustration, consider the following; one of the projects below was an extension of an existing solution, one was entirely bespoke, and the other one was almost completely made up of ‘off the shelf’ components. But which was which? And why?…

The first of the projects demonstrates the benefit of writing an extension to an existing solution, in this case an eCommerce cart. The aim was to streamline the buying process and turn visits into sales more efficiently. Instead of producing a new solution from scratch, a plugin for an existing cart was written. This reduced the time and cost needed for development, and avoided unnecessary maintenance costs in the future. – Going fully bespoke when you don’t need to might appeal to your ego and will certainly make your developer more money, but trying to reinvent all the wheels at once is one of the primary reason why so many big software projects overspend and fail;  just Google ‘big software project failures’ and see if you come to the same conclusion.

On the second project a completely bespoke Pan-Tilt-Zoom camera control interface and control system was developed, because in this instance there was simply nothing commercially available that could perform with the speed and ease the client needed in the real world; commercially available camera control systems generally need the operator to think from the camera’s point of view and mentally adjust to it’s limitations. This causes unwanted delays and control issues. So the system was re-conceived and re-built to support an operator’s natural point of view (hey that’s what computers are meant to do, right? Make thing easy for people?). As a result there is now a reduced need for training and skill, and a reduced need for sustained concentration and effort. This adds up to faster and more accurate results and ultimately less distraction for end users of the camera feed so everyone can just concentrate on what they are doing. There are other cool features that were implemented, but the best thing that can be said about the software is this; now nobody notices the camera system. – When a bespoke system is working really well it usually means that nobody needs to notice it.

The third project was a new website for a Deaf charity made almost completely from ‘off the shelf’ plugins using the standard range of settings. This meant they could play with lot’s of different features and discover what was important in a live setting with Deaf users. – Sometimes, prototyping with off the shelf components means you are able to make changes as things progress without wasting large amounts of development money upfront before you know what you are actually going to need long term. 

Efficient development of business case driven wire-frame design outlines and prototyping to inform development decisions, smooth integration of off the shelf components when appropriate, careful attention to crucial adjustments and details, and bespoke development where called for; Get decisions about these things right and you’re off to a great start. Get them wrong and you’re building Frankenstein’s Monster.

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JumbleSoft.com aims to offer guidance and clarity regarding software choices, and direct help when ‘off the shelf’ genuinely won’t do. Fully comprehensive outsourcing options for software product development can be found at places such as peopleperhour, elance and fiverr.

If you’re interested in running any specific software development ideas past us you can Email your idea or requirements to enquiries@jumblesoft.com