S5 Methodology Program

Module 1: Sound Preparation

Topic 1: Current employment

What you can, cannot, should and must do if you are currently employed.

03:40

Topic 2: Market research

How to research the market you are planning to enter so you are better placed to start your market fit.

03:50

Topic 3: Competitive analysis

How to find out about your potential competitors to help make business and product decisions.

06:20

Topic 4: SWOT analysis

Succinct instructions and a worksheet for identifying and using your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

02:15

Topic 5: Partners

Should you go it alone or work with one or more partners? This topic discusses this important decision in depth

06:40

Topic 6: Investment

Do you need investment (or other form of funding)? This topic helps you decide and shows you how to get started with this.

06:15

Topic 7: Elevator pitch

An elevator pitch is so important to get right yet so many don't. This topic shows you the formula for creating a great pitch.

02:45

Topic 8: Business basics

There's a lot to do setting up your business. This topic takes you through the main steps, showing you what, why and how.

16:30

Topic 9: Getting legal advice

You will most likely need legal advice for various things. This topic explains this and how to prepare for getting that advice.

05:30

Topic 10: Plan of action

Creating a plan of action is so important yet rarely done. Use the template to create yours so you can stay on top of everything you need to do.

01:30

Module 2: Structured Documentation

Topic 1: Brain dump

Have fun creating a brain dump of all your thoughts, ideas and questions. Then use this to start structuring your business and software documentation.

03:15

Topic 2: Document register

You will create many documents which maximise your chances of success - as well as keeping costs down. Keep track of these with a document register.

02:25

Topic 3: Question register

There will be a lot of unanswered questions and unmade decisions initially. That's OK - especially if you track them properly with a question register.

03:50

Topic 4: Solution overview

Although easy to write, this is a very important document, used for many purposes to communicate your idea with investors, customers, partners, developers and more.

03:20

Topic 5: Users & organisations

Your software will almost certainly have users and may have the concept of organisations. Lay firm foundations by defining these properly.

09:00

Topic 6: Concepts document

Not often written, this document gives you a glossary and explains all the concepts of your product, saving on miscommunications and inefficiencies that will arise without it.

04:55

Topic 7: User stories

A really easy way of defining what your software needs to do. This topic shows you how to do this properly so your software contains everything you need.

02:20

Topic 8: Milestones

There will be more than one version of your software as it evolves. Keep track of these and communicate properly with all stakeholders.

02:45

Topic 9: Platforms

Web-only? Mobile-only? Both? It is critical to decide where you will start and the details of this. This important topic shows you how.

06:50

Topic 10: Notifications

Learn how to specify exactly what notifications you want in your software. Get this often missed step right from the start.

10:00

Topic 11: Requirements

This is the culmination of all the work done up to now to create your comprehensive functional requirements document using the extensive templates provided.

37:00

Topic 12: Wireframes

Learn how to create your own draft wireframes and convert these into a draft prototype. No design skills needed.

04:58

Topic 13: User specifications

Learn how to describe the behaviour of your wireframes. From the information shown to the page flow and handing events, doing this will mean you end up with the behaviour you want.

05:14

Module 3: Select Development Provider

Topic 1: In-house, outsource or hybrid?

Decide on the best development team strategy for you by understanding what's involved and the pros and cons of each option.

06:54

Topic 2: Development provider criteria

Understand your criteria to ensure that you end up with the best development provider for you.

10:28

Topic 3: Making a shortlist

Learn how to find development providers and filter the list down to the ones that are right for you.

09:15

Topic 4: Initial contact

This is a delicate operation as you are starting a relationship. You will need to ask lots of questions and may need to negotiate.

09:11

Topic 5: Check development provider documents

There are lots of things to check for so it's critical that you get this right.

13:33

Topic 6: Interview development providers

You will have lots of questions to be answered and requirements to be met. This topic covers everything you need to consider in this difficult task.

06:53

Topic 7: Final decision & engagement

This topic ensures that you get this exciting stage of your startup right without leaving anything out.

04:19

Topic 8: In-house team

If you decide to build an in-house team, this topic takes you through the process step by step.

06:33

Module 4: Successful Design & Build

Topic 1: UI/UX

Manage the user interface and user experience design process starting with your wireframes and user specifications and ending up with complete designs.

03:52

Topic 2: Technical specification

Once your development team creates the technical specification document, learn how to check that this meets all your requirements before proceeding with development.

09:25

Topic 3: Preparing for development

Before development can begin properly, there are some setup steps that need to take place. Learn about these and how to manage them.

03:42

Topic 4: Software development

The process of developing your software is underway and you need to know how to keep track of progress and be informed of issues.

08:41

Topic 5: Testing

Make sure that your software is tested properly and that you see the results of these tests as they progress.

05:11

Topic 6: User acceptance testing

This is the critical step where you need to check that the complated software matches your expectations before signing off.

03:37

Topic 7: Handover

When everything is complete, you need to ensure that you receive all intellectual property, including source code, assets and documentation. You will also be taken through each process so you can see them working and have a record of them.

13:21

Module 5: Seamless Go-Live

Topic 1: Product readiness

Create and document the process and checklist to ensure your product is ready for launch both the first time and subsequently.

05:19

Topic 2: Business readiness

Make sure that your business is ready for go-live, creating a repeatable process and checklist.

04:09

Topic 3: Operational readiness

You need to be operationally ready. This topic covers the preparation for the monitoring of your software and handling any issues.

02:05

Topic 4: Launch plan

Create a launch plan. This will ensure that your launch goes seamlessly every time.