Building the optimal end-to-end software solution for your unique organization

Whether your business requires new technology to solve a specific problem or launch a project, or you’re ready to undertake a comprehensive digital transformation, the process of developing and implementing a software solution for your organization’s unique demands begins with solution design.

Software is a program or application that performs particular tasks, the term software solution encompasses how that software will interact with existing systems and technologies, and how it will solve specific problems. Though it may include from-scratch development, configuration of purchased software, or assembly of various types of software products, a software solution is customized to meet a company’s particular needs.

Solution design is the first step toward the creation and implementation of a custom software solution. Initiated during the discovery phase of a project, it becomes the blueprint for the entire project, a comprehensive roadmap and powerful measure-twice-cut-once formula for setting up a project for success from the outset.

Solution design begins with a holistic analysis of your organization’s objectives, needs, and pain points—from overarching (big business goals, project expectations) to brass tacks (necessary features and functions, user interface (UI)/user experience (UX) considerations, and so forth). 

It includes:

• Helping the organization to define, refine, and document business goals and outline necessary change, both technical and architectural; 
• Understanding the company’s current ecosystem of enterprise technology to identify impacts on existing interconnected systems and process flows to ensure seamless integration of new programs and tools; 
• Facilitating communication with stakeholders to get input, gain buy-in, and ensure accessibility;
• Proposing technologies that are sustainable, scalable, agile, and easy to monitor, whether commercial off-the-shelf software, custom “bespoke” products, or a combination;
• Optimizing timeframe and cost;
• Culminates in producing a visual prototype—formats may include flow or bar charts, diagrams, interactive visualizations, timelines, or a combination of these and more; 
• Later, used to verify the design is deployed correctly during implementation phase. 

It’s useful to think of solution design like a puzzle or problem-solving game, in which you have at your fingertips—and this is what makes it exciting!—a practically infinite number of choices in potential building blocks, plus all the possible permutations of ways to combine and assemble them. The blocks are not all the same—for example, they vary in function and cost. Your objective is to build a system that performs target functions and meets very specific criteria. But you also have certain constraints: for example, time and cost considerations help determine the number of total blocks you can ultimately use.

Solution design is about solving a business problem, fulfilling a need, and delivering concrete value to the organization. The solution must ultimately achieve high quality in both business aspects (ex: UI/UX, ROI, progress toward goals) and technological attributes (reliability, security, agility, scalability, etc.), as well as offer cost-effectiveness on a satisfactory predetermined time frame. 

An effective solution designer or solution design team brings a potent combination of deep and broad business knowledge and experience, enormous imagination, and strong technical and functional skill sets. They work directly with stakeholders to make sure that solution design decisions are data-driven, human-centered, and business goal-oriented.

At Lukasa, we’re experts at the intersection of business and technology. As specialists in multiple industries, we have a complete crew at the ready and will scale a team to meet your initiative’s precise demands. 

We take a partnership approach to every project—working side-by-side with enterprise leadership and key stakeholders to gain a 360º understanding of your goals, needs, pain points, and the way you work. With a modern lens and a focus on your highest aims, we deliver optimal end-to-end solution design and see your project through to success.

About Lukasa - lukasa.com
Lukasa empowers small-to-medium-sized businesses by designing and implementing custom business and technology solutions that drive efficiency, productivity, and innovation, enabling them to stay ahead in today’s rapidly-changing competitive landscape.