Quality Management Systems

Innominds understands that today's customers are well-informed, more sophisticated, and their expectations are ever growing, and the only way the business can prosper and survive is by making a commitment to quality and to deliver what has been promised.

A Quality Management System (QMS) such as ISO 2001:2008 provides management the necessary controls to address risk and monitor and measure the performance of the business. It will also help in enhancing the organization's image and reputation and help you to look for improvements through internal and external communication.

All processes at Innominds are in tune with the business needs and are extremely predictable, efficient and transparent to ensure the consumer's expectation. The Quality objectives are formulated through the quality policy with an intention to make a theme covering the core activities of all the teams. These objectives help in establishing measurable goals to achieve higher levels of satisfaction and performance. They also help in continuous assessment of existing quality standards and stimulate any improvements required.

Innominds project management involves four phases where a phase is known as the span of time between two major milestones of process in which well-defined set of objectives are met, artifacts are completed and a decision is made as to whether or not to move into the next phase. The phases are:

Initiation

• Involves starting up the project by documenting the business case.
• Conducting a feasibility study
• Terms of reference
• Appointing team
• Setting up a project office.

Planning

• Creation of a project plan, resource plan, financial plan, quality plan, acceptance plan and communication plan.

Execution

• Building the deliverable and controlling the project delivery, quality, scope, cost, risk and issues.

Closure

• Involves winding down the project by releasing staff, handing over the deliverable to the customer and completing a post implementation review.

Once all the deliverables have been produced and the customer has accepted the final solution, the project is ready for closure. An effective Quality Management System like this helps in unlocking the true potential of the organization.

Best Practices

Innominds best practices are derived from 13+ years of Product Engineering experience and working with more than 70 customers:.

• Establishing a goal driven metrics program that supports the organization’s goals as well as individual project goals
• Implementing good requirements engineering practices
• Getting accurate estimates of product size early for use in developing other estimates and tasks that will comprise the project baseline and verifying the feasibility of the project given the environmental constraints
• Storing estimates, along with project metadata in a project repository for use in future estimating and planning
• Capturing and quantifying process productivity
• Implementing risk management early

Project Management - Measure Schedule variance, Effort variance, Review Efficiency Coding productivity and Customer Satisfaction at each stage.
Test Management - Test case effectiveness, Test coverage, Bad fix ratio, Defect Rejection, Residual Defect Density, Defects Trend In-flow/outflow, Defect resolution Turnaround time, % of  Reopen defects & Information required defects etc.

Development Methodologies

Innominds follows the best industry practiced Project Management Methodologies. Our process is tailorable and can be scaled to fit the needs of projects ranging from small software development teams to large development organizations. Development Project that is taken up by Innominds will go through all the phases of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), or will go through only certain phases of SDLC based on the customer’s requirements.
Innominds adopt varied development methodologies for project development based on client specific needs and requirements. Our Development Methodologies in practice:

• Agile
• Scrum Methodology
• Iterative
• Waterfall

Agile
The Agile Methodology is best suited for the development process that is incremental (small releases, with rapid cycles); cooperative (customers and developers working constantly together with close communication); straightforward (easy to learn and to modify); and adaptive (able to accommodate rush orders).
Most agile methods attempt to minimize risk by developing software in short timeboxes, called iterations, which typically last one to four weeks. Each iteration is like a miniature software project of its own, and includes all the tasks necessary to release the mini-increment of new functionality: planning, requirements analysis, design, coding, testing, and documentation. While an iteration may not add enough functionality to warrant releasing the product, an agile software project intends to be capable of releasing new software at the end of every iteration. At the end of each iteration, the team reevaluates project priorities.
Using AGILE methodology helps in ensuring transparency, visibility and status of task allocations, estimated burn rates and actual progress.
Scrum Methodology
Scrum is an iterative, incremental methodology for project management often seen in agile software development. Although Scrum was intended for management of software development projects, it can be used to run software maintenance teams, or as a general project/program management approach.
Scrum is characterized by:

• A living backlog of prioritized work to be done.
• Completion of a largely fixed set of backlog items in a series of short iterations or sprints.
• A brief daily meeting (called a scrum), at which progress is explained, upcoming work is described, and obstacles are raised.
• A brief planning session in which the backlog items for the sprint will be defined.
• A brief heartbeat retrospective, at which all team members reflect about the past sprint.

Iterative
Iterative and Incremental development is at the heart of a cyclic software development process developed in response to the weaknesses of the waterfall model. It starts with an initial planning and ends with deployment with the cyclic interactions in between.
The Iterative Methodology is commonly used and recommended for innovative projects where the technology or approach to be employed has to be identified as a result of experiments conducted as part of the development process.

Waterfall
The waterfall model is a sequential software development process, in which progress is seen as flowing steadily downwards (like a waterfall) through the phases of Conception, Initiation, Analysis, Design, Construction, Testing and Maintenance.
The Waterfall Methodology is best suited when the requirements are frozen upfront and they are well-documented without any ambiguity.

Metrics

Innominds metrics are well-defined and rightly aligned to our business needs to get valuable insights at all levels. We believe in creating consistency and governance that accelerate the recognition of value and an environment that supports agility, quality and productivity.
Innominds identify various metrics based on the customer requirements, Project type and size.  Innominds measure and predict Quality, Productivity and Performance of the applications at various stages.  Metrics data is analyze at each stage and understand causes and suggest corrective actions.

Execution Models

Initially a cost cutting concept, IT outsourcing today has gradually established itself as a must have successful business model that provides not only cost effective, but also sophisticated and highly effective quality services and solutions.
Innominds versatile and flexible engagement models not only provides its client the choice of choosing the  appropriate engagement model, as per the requirement but also help in assessing risks and mitigating them which are one of the major concerns of outsourcing. Innominds designs the outsourced delivery models to suit varying customer scenarios and scales.
Amidst tight budgets and timelines, Innominds provides software product engineering solutions that can face the unique challenge of continually updating technology while avoiding the drain of complex software development projects. These Business models allow us to empower customers to focus on their core businesses while we build their software products:

Onsite:
In this model, skilled Innominds professionals are deployed to the client's premise. Our highly qualified representatives will provide the required strong business acumen and interpersonal skills throughout the initial consultation, maintenance and support.
On-site consulting activity is focused on providing services in technological areas ranging from E-Commerce to Data Warehousing. Our engineers have extensive experience in the latest technologies for Onsite project assignments. We are also involved in on-site project execution. In tune to the present business scenario, timely solutions are offered by our consultants.

Offsite
This option is offered to clients who wish to reduce their costs by outsourcing the project work and yet want to have the flexibility to manage and monitor the deliverables. Generally companies without additional space for staff and equipment choose this option. Innominds development lab in US provides the necessary space and equipment for large teams.
Initially the details of the assignment are worked out, where the project scope, deliverables, screens layouts, reporting, functionality, timelines and other related topics are finalized. A small mockup of actual application may also be developed to get a basic idea of the end product. The definition phase having been outlined, the work then moves to Innominds lab.
The customer may then choose to receive remote access to the development server via a VPN or another secured mean. By accessing the development server remotely, the customer can monitor progress in real time and maintain overall control even though the work is being carried out offsite.

Offshore
The majority cost effective model requires all of the project development. When the project is logically clear and the business logic straightforward, the complete length of work from customer need to end result, can be executed offshore.
Innominds Program Management team, work with tried and tested methodologies to ensure that the delivery is on schedule. The offshore dedicated project team works within predefined processes, thereby making this model the most preferred.
Innominds' development facilities in India offer world-class programming talent, access to cutting-edge technology, and a scalable team that can efficiently complete a project on time and on budget.

Hybrid
A combination of both on site and offshore this model results in optimized costs and maximized efficiency. Point of contact consultants is provided who directly interact with the customer also researching requirement studies, design and development, while interfacing directly with the customers.
Cost and Implementation time is reduced through direct interaction of the offshore team with the onsite team providing additional crucial support. By combining onsite personnel and a dedicated offshore development team, Innominds deploys a virtual expanded team that will complete your project within stipulated time frames with maximum benefits and savings.
 

Talent Management

Talent drives performance!
Teams with best people perform at their highest level. Leading organizations know that exceptional; business performance is driven by superior talent.

People are the difference. Talent Management is the strategy.
Organizations using talent management strategies and solutions show higher performance than their competitors and the market in general. Innominds consistently works on reducing the skill gaps and talent risks within the organization. Innominds concentrates on improving processes for recruiting, developing and retaining people with the required skills and aptitude to meet current and future organizational needs.
It takes talent to spot talent! An amateur jeweler will never realize all that glitters is not gold... So, Innominds consistently focuses on developing talent integrate plans and processes to track and manage employee talent.

Synopsis of talent management best practices:

Recruitment and staffing

• Talent pool strategy rather than hire for specific positions
• Close relationships with leading business schools and universities
• Highly selective hiring
• Compelling 'employee value proposition'; strong emphasis on global branding
• Focus on values and cultural fit, not just job-related skills and experience
• Continuous assessment of performance and potential
• Grading against competency profiles of successful leaders
• Use of talent inventories for selection/succession
• Different talent pools (executive/specialist)

Training and development

• Leadership development is a top priority and deeply ingrained in culture
• Promotion-from-within policy
• 360 degree feedback.
• Individual development plans linked to succession planning process
• Job rotations and international transfers as career development tools
• Line manager involvement (coaching, mentoring, etc.)
• Use of open job posting system and internal talent marketplaces.

Retention management

• Continuous monitoring of attrition rates
• Highly competitive compensation
• Personalized career plans
• Senior management attention
• Flexible working arrangements
• Diversity programmes designed to develop, retain and promote diverse talent.

Key components of a highly effective talent management process include:

• A clear understanding of the organization’s current and future business strategies. Identification of the key gaps between the talent in place and the talent required to drive business success.
• A sound talent management plan that is designed to close talent gaps should also be integrated with strategic and business plans.
• Accurate hiring and promotion decisions.
• Connect individual and team goals to corporate goals, to  provide clear expectations and feedback for managing performance.
• Talent Development to enhance performance in current positions as well as readiness for transition to the next level.
• A focus not just on the talent strategy itself, but the elements required for successful execution.
• Business impact and workforce effectiveness measurement during and after implementation.

Talent management is not about finding the best and the brightest, it is about creating the right fit both for today and tomorrow. A rightly managed talent turns out to be inexhaustible and priceless; it will keep on adding value to the organization. Innominds is soon turning out to be a hub of talented people!

Predictability

Innominds believes predictability is the key for the success of the organization and aims to achieve at all the levels. Our constant endeavor is to provide high quality solutions at optimal costs.
We constantly focus on Implementing measurable, repeatable and predictable business processes that can build predictability into our business and transfer knowledge throughout the organization.
Innominds believes the best way to achieve predictable software development outcomes is to start early, learn constantly, commit late, and deliver fast.
Our regular project reviews, project meeting, metrics analysis helps us in minimizing inherent delays, rework, finance risks and wastage.

• Emphasis on start understanding the requirements early, regular interactions, using various communication channels, prototype helps in better understanding the requirements
• Establish excellent, detailed, bidirectional information flow among everyone on the development team
• Establish design and implementation standards that lead to software systems with predictable runtime quality
• Manage risks, issues and dependencies and regular reviews helps in minimize the sudden surprises
• Use automation to enforce standards, leading to systems that are predictable by construction