How we work

Development Tools:

Ascending Integration uses the industry's very latest technologies to create all of our custom solutions. We specialize in developing upon Microsoft’s Visual Studio .Net 2005 platform as well as their SQL Server database. With these tools we are able to develop robust applications quickly while still maintaining our highest standard of quality.

The majority of the applications we develop are web based. These solutions offer many advantages: ease of deployment, centralized and secure data structure, and better mobility. There is a renaissance taking place, as you read this, in the way that people view and interact with information over the internet. Websites are no longer boring displays of pictures and text, they are dynamic, rich, data driven applications.

The latest technique receiving much attention is AJAX, which makes web applications behave more like their desktop application cousins. Both Microsoft and Google have been pioneering leaders in the development of AJAX techniques as a standard. At Ascending Integration we have made it a point to not be left behind the curve. All of our developers are continually learning about techniques such as AJAX to deliver the very best applications to our clients. Our showcase section demonstrates the type of web user interfaces that are possible using this new technique.

Another new technique of creating applications is called Smart Client Applications. Smart Client Applications are a form of windows application that feature many of the benefits afforded by web based applications. These apps communicate with a centralized server through the use of secure web services. They are also able to work in a disconnected environment where they would later sync up. Learn more...

Project management:

According to Standish Group’s CHAOS report done in 1994, roughly 50% of software development projects are completed past their deadline and over budget while another 31% of fail outright. These numbers have since improved, largely do to the fact that management techniques are progressing.

For the most part Ascending Integration suggests a project management methodology called Agile Development. This system starts by creating a list of what it is that the application will be required to do (the project backlog). We then take that and divide it into short (3-4 week) iterations that each result in pieces of usable functionality. This method is quickly becoming more popular than the standard structured development which uses strict project specifications and fixed bid pricing. We understand that almost always a project will evolve as it goes along and business needs change. This is why we believe that agile methods result in finished products that are more valuable to our clients.