When the Arizona Department of Education set a goal to promote outstanding K-12 teaching best practices, they turned to Six Fried Rice. We built an easy-to-administer web portal that seamlessly integrates streaming video, online discussion, and data from FileMaker Pro.
How Does it Work?
When you contact SFR about custom development, we go to work right away assessing your particular needs. Projects usually begin with an email conversation or a phone call. Once we’re sure our services match your needs, the planning process moves to the next phase. For larger projects, we like to meet you at your office. This helps us understand your business better, and facilitates a more productive conversation. (For some very small projects for customers outside the Phoenix area, an on site meeting may not be sensible.) After a productive on site meeting, we usually have enough information to produce a quote.
(It only takes a few seconds.)
SFR has produced custom software for dozens of customers around the world, and we know what it takes to succeed. We generally break a project into manageable milestones, and deliver multiple intermediate releases. This makes it easy for you and your users to see, experience, and critique the software as it is being developed. In general, very large and complex milestones are hard to do right, so we prefer small chunks with clear goals.
Once a project is finished (or a major milestone is reached) you can begin using the software in earnest. And we’re always available for fixes, improvements, ongoing support, and maintenance.
Do I Need FileMaker Pro?
Many of our customers don’t have FileMaker Pro when discussions begin. They choose SFR for our proven ability to deliver quality software, not because they want FileMaker Pro in particular. In the early phases of development, it makes sense for you to install a single copy of FileMaker so you can explore the software in progress. As we near completion, we’ll help you get the FileMaker Pro licenses you need. We can suggest the licensing models that work best for you business, and sell you exactly what you need.
How Much Does it Cost?
Cost is heavily dependent on the specific details of your project. In most cases, after a few discussions, we can produce a fixed-cost estimate for the first major milestone. (Some projects are too open ended to make a reliable estimate, but this is rare.) You can pay in cash, or with a credit card. The exact terms of the sale will be agreed upon during the quoting process.
As a point of reference, milestones generally cost between $5,000 and $10,000, and many small-to-medium-sized projects can be completed in just one or two milestones. Larger projects will of course require more development and incur more cost.
How Can SFR Keep Costs So Low?
We have developed proprietary technology in FileMaker Pro to mitigate many of the time consuming processes that plague FileMaker Pro development. Because of this, we can focus almost exclusively on what you need at the core of your system, and spend less time doing the repetitive stuff.
How do I Get Started?
When you’re ready to find out what SFR can do for you, simply contact us.