"Before iRise, requirements details were often lost in translation leading to significant development rework or expensive systems that did not meet business needs. iRise became a vehicle to quickly paint pictures for all stakeholders, resulting in an application that actually increased customer satisfaction."

– VP of Applications, Trucking, ATM and Global Shipping Division

Background
This customer is the global leader in business and security services, operating 650 branches in 50 countries on six continents. One of its subsidiaries generates 85% of the company's $2.8B annual revenue, providing a range of secure logistics solutions for banks and retailers. The customer has distinguished itself with an intense commitment to technological innovation, resulting in an impressive track record of groundbreaking solutions that have redefined the industry.

Challenge
In 2005, this customer's internal applications team was tasked with developing for its armored transport business a new and innovative Web-based security system to improve incident tracking and claims processing. Because time to market was a strategic objective, tight deadline constraints were introduced. In order to deliver to expectations, IT was challenged to improve requirements communications, eliminate development rework, improve project execution and communication with the external development organization. Rather than build coded prototypes, the customer used iRise, which enabled business analysts to create an accurate, high-definition simulation of the new system without involving developers or writing a single line of code. Business analysts then presented the interactive simulation to stakeholders in highly engaging review meetings and via WebEx, speeding the feedback process.

Initial feedback to the new system's user interface was immediate and visceral, which came as welcome news to the simulation authors, who immediately addressed stakeholder concerns. A greatly improved second version of the simulation was green-lighted for development, avoiding extensive and costly rework.

Result
Had UI feedback been elicited from a coded prototype, modifications would have involved developers and resulted in two months of rework. Instead, BAs revised the iRise simulation in two weeks, avoiding product development rework costs by at least $75,000. In addition to the quantifiable cost savings, the new Web-based security system was delivered to market six weeks faster as a direct result of having the simulations available for review during the definition phase of the project.