We are in the process of building a bespoke CRM type system for the Research Design Service (RDS) , which is a unit funded by the National Institute for Health Research to provide expertise and support in the design of research proposals. The RDS needs to track the support given to projects by recording the interactions between its specialist advisors and the project team, to record support activities against funding streams and to report across a range of cross-sections through the data to the National Institute.
The first phase has been delivered and the second phase is under development. Features include
- User-editable relationship between tracked organisations and engagements, organised by Types.
- Association of funding streams and grants with tracked organisations
- “Dashboard” interface for users
- Details of interactions between provided dates, grouped by tracked contact/organisation
- Flexible reporting including for example, breakdowns by kinds of grant.
Our bespoke approach to the RDS involved precisely analysing what was essential and what was optional to the project, given the required time frame. We met with the RDS team to jointly formulate the specification of priorities to inform the delivery schedule. Options given less priority were put on the backlog for consideration at a future time once the agreed essential had been delivered. The project demonstrates Data Architects capability to develop systems in partnership with our clients to achieve the best possible balance between requirements and time constraints.
The project demonstrates Data Architects capability to develop systems in partnership with our clients to achieve the best possible balance between requirements and time constraints.
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