While there are many similarities between firms, every firm is different. From a technology perspective, one size and one solution does not fit all. Kraft Kennedy’s design approach takes these facts into consideration. We divide the design process into five steps:
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Data Collection
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Assimilation and Research
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Conceptual/Functional Design
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Detailed Design and Specifications
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Review and Validation
Data Collection – The information needed to design a technology solution that meets the needs of your firm comes from a variety of places. Understanding the needs of your end users, their frustrations, the business processes, and finally the environment, is all part of our Needs Analysis. Few firms have the opportunity to start with a clean slate. Reviewing your current infrastructure, understanding the specifications and capabilities of your current hardware, and finally taking a detailed inventory of all of your applications are the basic elements of our Technology Audit. The last pieces of the equation are the firm’s technology objectives, time, and budget constraints.
Assimilation and Research – Technical competency and industry knowledge are gained through research and experience. Having the benefit of providing technology solutions to many different law firms has honed our technical competency and has created a wealth of best practices knowledge within Kraft Kennedy on the effective use of technology for law firms. But, technology is constantly changing. So, before we embark on any major design, we always ask the question whether there are any new announcements that may impact our recommendations. We do not want our clients to become test labs for vendors, but we do want them to benefit from the latest appropriate technology.
Conceptual Design – What problem are we trying to solve? What changes does the firm anticipate in the next two to three years that might impact our design – growth, relocation, and new offices are all factored into the design. Does the conceptual design address what we learned from the Needs Analysis? Can the conceptual design be implemented given what we learned in the Technology Audit? Are there other options that should be considered? Finally, based on our previous experience, will it work? The conceptual design is the outline and framework for the next phase of detailed design and specifications.
Detailed Design and Specifications – What is needed to bring the conceptual design to reality? During this phase every hardware and software component is identified. Availability, compatibility, pricing, licensing, and maintenance options are all researched before we give a recommendation to a client. While not a perfect science given the rapid rate of technology changes, we attempt to minimize major problems before they occur.
Review and Validation – Before we complete a network design for a client, we always like to have another pair of eyes review our recommendations. Within Kraft Kennedy we have a peer review process to validation the design and ensure that nothing has been overlooked. Now the ultimate test is the review and validation with you, the client.