- 1. Michael SwartCOO, Cobb
[email protected]://twitter.com/Michael_Swarthttp://www.linkedin.com/pub/michael-swart/0/24a/a84
Cobb Solutions OverviewJune 28, 2012 2012 Cobb Solutions2710 Walsh
Tarlton LaneAustin, Texas 78746 (512)
306-8333www.cobbsolutions.comwww.Twitter/Cobb_Solutions
www.linkedin.com/company/cobb-solutions 1
2. Company Background We are a custom application development
and services firm that hasdelivered enterprise software solutions
for over 17 years to small,medium sized and Fortune 500 firms. Our
success is directly related to our business philosophy based
ontraditional business values:- developing long-term relationships-
providing exceptional customer service- creating products and
services that add meaningful valueto our customers businesses.2 3.
Business Services Portfolio Cobb Solutions Custom application
development and servicesWebfoot Taylor Agency Bell ResearchWeb
design & digital mktg. Strategic marketing & adv. Consumer
insights & CustomerSEO/SEM Satisfaction Reporting Channel Mgt.
Direct sales & affiliate mktg.We deliver innovative technology
and business solutions to maximize our clients competitive
effectiveness. 3 4. Business Services DescriptionCustom Software
Web Design Marketing &ResearchDevelopmentBrand Management .Net
application User-centered site design Brand strategy, dev. Product
and offer validationdevelopment Content management systems
Traditional marketing Quantitative and qualitative C++, C sharp,
SQL Server Brand management Digital marketingresearch to gain
business insights Dynamic E-commerce sites SEO/SEM management
Online affiliate programs Turn key customer survey management Data
warehouse systems Expert creative services Refer a friend programs
Customer satisfaction reporting Business intelligence and Social
media integration & Affiliate program management Executive
reports with monthly/quarterlydecision-support systemsmanaged
services Strategic advertising support in person presentations
Support services TV System integration Radio N-tier and
service-oriented Printsoftware Grass roots Web services File-server
and client-serverdatabases Dynamic pricing tools, End to End Web
design, Online affiliate and Referral programs, Partner payment
& reconciliationsystems, Consumer insights and Pricing/Offer
validation 4 5. Cobb Solutions Client Portfolio (partial listing)5
6. Core Team Approach
Program/ProductManagementProjectManagement/ReleaseBusiness
AnalysisManagementCommunicationSolution Architecture/ UXQuality
AssuranceDesignDevelopment6 7. Core Team Approach Cont. Program /
Product Management: Oversight and management of all projects to
ensure overall customerstrategic needs are met in an efficient and
purposeful way. Project management: Planning, organizing, securing
and managing resources to bring about thesuccessful completion of
specific project goals and objectives. Produce project plan and
timeline forimplementation. Business Analysis: Scope the system,
Interpret business needs, Translate technical needs, Spell
outproject details and requirements, Drive test, validation and
user acceptance. Solution Architecture: Organizes the development
effort of the systems solution. Responsible for thedevelopment of
the overall vision that underlies the projected solution and
transforms that visionthrough execution into the solution. Database
design, entity relationship diagramming, andnormalization. UX
Design: Application of user-centered design practices and a highly
contextual design mentality toproduce front end design for sites,
mobile devices and applications Development: Make technical
decisions that impact positively on adjacent systems and provide
usefulfeatures. Consults with program / product management to
determine needs, document best practicesand review code. Quality
Assurance: Work with business analyst to identify test strategy.
Generate and executecomprehensive test cases and track defects.
Release Management: Oversee the development, testing, deployment
and support of softwarereleases. Manage the content, location,
purpose and defect resolution for all releases.7 8. Software
Development Lifecycle We use a modified version of the Microsoft
Solutions Framework (MSF) todevelop the applications our customers
request.8 9. Cobb Approach to SDLC Envisioning Phase: In the
Envisioning Phase, the team identifies the vision and scope of the
project bypreparing a vision and scope document. During this phase,
goals for the project are formed and avision statement is created
that defines the entire project. This shared vision helps the team
to worktowards a common objective. The project team is assembled
and the team members are empoweredby having roles and
responsibilities assigned to them. Planning Phase: During this
phase, a master project plan is created that consists of all
sub-plans, such asthe test plan and development plan. Developing
Phase: During this phase, the application components are created
based on thedevelopment plans. The source code is built to create
the project deliverables. Stabilizing Phase: During this phase, all
the components are tested collectively to ensure that the
entiresolution operates properly. The testing criteria include
achieving the desired functionality, security, andperformance
requirements. The tested database and components form the
deliverables of this stage.Once testing is complete, the solution
must be stabilized to ensure that it meets defined quality levels.
Deploying Phase: In this phase, the team deploys the solution and
ensures that it is stable and can beused. The tested solution is
moved into production. The solution components are tuned in
theproduction environment. A solution signoff is obtained from all
stakeholders that confirms that theapplication meets the
requirements developed during the Envisioning and Planning Phases.9
10. Case Studies First Choice Power Dell TXU Energy 10 11. First
Choice Power Business goal and needs: o Leverage the Internet to
engage customers and extend brand o Compete with large players in
non-traditional ways via 3rd party and online channels o Automate
pricing and improve reporting for margin management o Automate
process to drive efficiencies and accuracy related to meeting PUCT
consumer protection requirements related to pricing offers. o
Automation for commercial broker recruitment and management.
Results: o Deployed dynamic ecommerce site to better represent the
brand, present relevant offers in the marketplace and allow for
easy content management. o Full integration of social media
throughout online platform. o Deployed channel infrastructure to
enable door to door sales, 3rd party telemarketing and online
affiliate programs with toolset that included sales management
reports and partner payment and reconciliation system. o Deployed
automated pricing tool that allowed management to easy create and
modify pricing in the marketplace across >450 unique offers with
changes reflected in 4 days, including full automation of EFL, TOSA
and welcome kit delivery. o Deployed broker onboarding toolset that
enabled frictionless management for broker recruitment, setup and
ongoing relationship management.11 12. Industry leading ecommerce
deployment12 13. Rules-based offer presentation 13 14. Fully
bilingual & dynamic site 14 15. Referral & Affinity Mktg.
Programs 15 16. Integrated blog & social media 16 17. Dell
Computer Business goal and needs: o Leverage the Internet to engage
commercial customers and drive efficiencies across sales operations
o Solution that would be scalable to meet worldwide segment and
organizational needs o Consumer marketing expansion via online
channels Results: o Developed customized intranet sites (Dell
Premier) that ultimately spanned 60K commercial customers worldwide
on a single database driven ecommerce system o Drove sales
operational efficiencies across the company o Created a unique
competitive advantage for a direct manufacturer by making
information available for asset management o Deployed online
affiliate and employee referral platform o Met goal of >50% Dell
revenue through ecommerce platform in 3 years17 18. Custom/Dynamic
Intranet Sites Worldwide Click to view: Harvard Business School
Case Study 199918 19. TXU Energy Business goal & needs: o
Leverage the Internet to engage consumers to both gain more
customers and better serve existing customers with online billing
support o Need for closed loop marketing campaigns o Infrastructure
required to support 3rd party marketing and sales channels Results:
o Deployed dynamic ecommerce site to better present relevant offers
in the marketplace in conjunction with a content management system
allowing for quick efficient changes to the site via marketing
personnel Industry leader with increased online adoption to greater
than 30% o Deployed closed loop campaign tracking tool allowing
call center agents to respond to customer specific promotional
pricing o Deployed channel infrastructure to enable door to door
sales, 3rd party telemarketing and online affiliate programs with
toolset that included sales management reports and partner payment
and reconciliation system19 20. TXU.com20 21. Online Referral &
Affiliate Platforms21 22. For more information please
contact:Michael SwartCOO, Cobb
[email protected]://twitter.com/Michael_Swarthttp://www.linkedin.com/pub/michael-swart/0/24a/a8422
