FAQs	Back to StartWise

We have attempted to answer most questions that Startups ask us in this "Frequently Asked Questions" section. Please feel free to call us for more details and information.

Does Trigent have the requisite skills and experience to deal with entrepreneurs? We need our partner to understand technology; does Trigent take responsibility for all technical aspects?

Trigent has 12 years of experience in this field working with various types of startups. Ask us for project profiles, and talk to our developers about their experiences. Trigent helps business users navigate through confusing technical aspect of projects. We ask that clients engage with Trigent to explain the business rules and domain.

Who owns the product, the source code after Trigent develops it for us? How will I protect my IP? How is data and information secure in the hands of employees?

All work done by Trigent is Work-for-Hire. The code and IP remains with the client. Any third party tools, Open Source tools or code used is examined for licensing and distribution rights and all issues are discussed with the client before incorporation into the product development.

Trigent has a secure facility with clear access control policies. Ask Trigent for more details. Employees of Trigent adhere to confidentiality agreements and Trigent also signs Mutual Confidentiality Agreements and NDAs with clients. Specific individual based NDAs can also be discussed.

Does your offshore team have communication skills in English?

Yes, our offshore team speaks English well and they are trained to work with global clientele. You may request for a discussion with the team before your project commences.

How do we start working with you? What do your contracts look like?

For smaller engagements a simple Statement of Work (SOW) will suffice. Trigent can help you draw up an SOW.

For larger and longer engagements we use a combination of a Master Services Agreement and an SOW. Usually, we need 2-3 weeks for putting your Trigent StartWise team together. Ask us for sample formats of these documents.

What is your pricing model? Do you provide fixed bids? Or do you work solely with Time and Material contracts?

Trigent offers a mix of pricing models to suit each client needs and specific situations. Models include fixed costs and time and material work. Visit this page for more details.

Can we undertake a sample project to see how this works? What are the terms?

Yes, Trigent can execute a sample project as a "pilot". This is done to "test the waters" and usually is a precursor to other larger projects.A pilot project would have a clear scope of work, deliverables, short timeframe - say 4-6 weeks, costs and clear test and acceptance criteria. Once this project is successfully completed, your project team can dive into larger projects.

Our product plans are still fluid and evolving; will you work with me to complete them?

Yes, Trigent often works with entrepreneurs in this situation. Each phase of StartWise services is designed specifically to navigate through the Idea Generation, Solution Formulation and Requirements Definition stages for your product. Services provided by Trigent consultants during the Business Requirements Definition Phase specifically help you complete and freeze your requirements as much as possible.

Why is documenting and finalizing Business Requirements so important to our relationship?

It is critical that Trigent works with you to develop your Business Requirements in their entirety during the beginning stages of the project. Costs of correcting and redrafting business requirements increase exponentially once work has started on the project.

Structured, well-drafted business requirements are an important input for a Software Functional Requirements document (SFS) as well as a Software Requirements Document. These documents are critical for successful software development.

The time and money spent in this exercise will yield a better-designed product for you.

We have an outline specification; can you not just prepare a fixed price proposal for the whole project and start right away?

It is often a challenge to quote a fixed price or estimate with an outline specification. What appears clear and complete from your standpoint may not appear clear and complete to a development team. This is because each page, button and the navigation - flow of information from each user input to the desired output is only specified in a SRS or in the Software Requirement Specification.

Trigent helps you develop this SRS. An SRS yields a fairly clear effort estimate and this leads to a clear cost estimate.

What tangible deliverables do we get after the Business Requirements Discovery Phase?

You get an Functional Specification Document containing Use Cases, a high level data model, a Wireframe or a SiteMap with outline of each page, and an SRS document. Along with these deliverables, you also get a Project Plan and Effort Estimate.

Ask Trigent for a sample of these documents.

Can your team put together a technology plan for our product and business? Do your have employees with the techno-commercial skills to do that?

Trigent StartWise business consultants and architects are trained to help you do just that- put together technology plans. They can provide you a well-documented technology plan with platform options, build or buy alternatives, development methodologies, resources needed, skills and budgets, and timelines. Risk Management plans are also part of this plan.

What technology does your company prefer to work with - Microsoft, Java or Open Source? What works best? Can you advise us?

Trigent is technology agnostic. Unlike product vendors, we do not recommend specific technologies. Depending on each client situation, product and available choices, Trigent will suggest the best option for your budgets and timelines.

Will Trigent provide hosting and ISP services too along with development services on a turnkey basis?

Trigent will partner with a network of vendors it has experience and relationships with, to provide you hosting and ISP services on a turnkey basis.

We do not want to deal with load / performance related issues, server crashes, database corruption etc; will Trigent take care of hardware and software infrastructure also?

Trigent works with its ISP partner to provide support and relieve you of the burden of dealing with these issues.

Would you help us with our test / beta release due in a few months while working on the final product?

Trigent works within an iterative and collaborative methodology. We can develop a plan for a string of releases that meets your needs for demos, beta customers or roadshows. The feedback from these releases can be used for improving the feature list for subsequent releases.

Does Trigent offer testing services?

Yes, Trigent has a well established Testing Practice. Trigent can offer standalone testing services (visit http://www.trigent.com/services/testing/software-testing-services.htm ) as well as integrated test service. We also offer product maintenance services.

Will the product that Trigent delivers be tested, free of bugs and have a warranty for bugs that come up after deployment?

Trigent tests products for release to its clients using a well established QMS process. Visit http://stage.trigent.com/company/cmm-certified-company.htm for details. However no software product is guaranteed to be free of bugs or defects. These are guaranteed to be within specified industry standard metrics. We do operate with a trial-acceptance period during which our customers test our results, and we fix bugs at no cost. Warranty clauses would also apply and Trigent would fix bugs and defects that come up during the warranty period.

How do we know Trigent is a viable organization with established operations? We want to work with someone over the long term since our customers' businesses depend on our product.

For the past 12 years, Trigent has been operating in both Boston, US and Bangalore, India, working with startups, medium sized businesses and Fortune 100 customers throughout the world. We are a running, viable business supporting mission critical applications running in US. We are ISO 9000 compliant and CMM Level 4 assessed by KPMG. We are here for the long term.

Trigent could sign up long term development, maintenance and support contracts with a specified business plan and resource commitment from both sides.

Do you provide maintenance and support services after deployment? How does the contract work?

Trigent provides long term maintenance and support for your product after deployment. Visit http://stage.trigent.com/startwise/deployment-and-operations.htm for more details. Most customers depend on Trigent for development, maintenance, customer support and technical support and have been working with us for 4-6 years outsourcing all these activities to Trigent.

What does your Services Agreement and Statement of Work look like?

Ask Trigent for samples of these documents.

If we sign up for a price for a resource, how long is it valid?

In most cases, prices for Professional Fees are valid for 6 months from the date of contract.

Do you have Non - Disclosure Agreements in place with clients?

Yes, Trigent has NDAs in place with most clients.

Can we hire Trigent engineers whom we like?

No, Trigent consultants who work with clients are not available for hire.