How We Work
Our process for exemplary IoT development.
Outside Source is headquartered in the Indiana IoT Lab. We seamlessly work with companies across the U.S. to design and build IoT applications.
We typically work with established mid to large-sized companies. However, we work with organizations of all shapes and sizes and welcome every opportunity to talk IoT.
We start engagements by getting to know you and your needs. We’ll proceed with requirements gathering and a rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate if we're a good match.
Our first engagement is Product Design, where we engage in discovery, analysis, solutions, UX, and UI activities. It is typically 4-10 weeks and $20,000 - $100,000.
Our second engagement is Development, Quality Assurance, and Launch services that commonly range from $50,000-$500,000+ and 2-10+ months.
Are we a good fit?
Outside Source is for those who seek a creative, highly technical team of IoT experts who know how to craft thoughtful experiences and code. We often work with…
Companies who want to connect a physical product to the internet
Product teams with an existing application that requires a UX/UI redesign or code updates
Product managers seeking counsel to expand their business strategy into IoT
Internal departments looking to augment their team with IoT specialists
Engineers who need help with code, user experience/user interface design, or both
Businesses that seek honest, outside perspectives from IoT experts
How We Work
Our process is custom but typically follows these steps:
Step 1: Get to Know
We start with a relaxed conversation where we get to know each other. We’ll learn about your business and goals and determine if we’re a good fit for your needs.
Step 2: Deeper Dive
We’ll spend time digging deeper into your needs. Our product, design, or engineering team leads may be present depending on project complexity. Your product owners and engineers are sometimes present.
Step 3: One-Page ROM
Based on our understanding and assumptions, we will provide a one-page ROM estimate for the budget and timeline. If there is alignment with the business needs of the project, we will proceed with a full proposal.
Step 4: The Proposal
We will create a proposal for review. Our proposals offer detailed insight into all project phases and serve as a blueprint and roadmap of what’s to come.
Step 5: The Work
Our proposal will be closely followed using a combination of waterfall and agile methodologies. Weekly touchpoints will keep you informed on progress and key milestones.
— PRODUCT DESIGN —
Solution Architecture
Set the foundation
Set the foundation with product roadmapping, story mapping, competitive analysis, technical specification, diagramming and more.
UX Design
Map the experience
UX research, information architecture, storyboarding, wireframe prototyping, usability research and testing.
UI Design
Make it beautiful
User interface visual design, high-fidelity interactive prototyping, usability research and testing.
— PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT —
Development
Make it work
Sprint planning, mobile, web, desktop, cloud, and smart assistant app development, integration, deployment, testing.
Quality Assurance
Test against standards
Regression, system integration, user acceptance, UI, and performance testing. Issue resolution, test reporting.
Launch & Support
Go to market
App deployment, smoke testing, spot testing, service desk issue triage, issue resolution, performance monitoring.
Let’s work together.
Want to know more? Contact us to discuss your next project.