Who would retain knowledge between separate projects?
A lead developer continued full-time under an ODC engagement and retained responsibility for understanding the client’s projects.
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Case study · Self-Storage
Building a Self-Storage Customer Centre with Continuous Technical Ownership
A US self-storage operator needed customer-centre systems for PC and mobile users. Shinetech combined a continuing lead-developer role with fixed-price project teams to preserve knowledge as workloads changed.
- Client
- US self-storage operator
- Recorded footprint
- 1,632 locations across 36 states
- Initial team
- 8 developers
- Engagement
- ODC plus Fixed Price
The situation
The business need and starting point
The client needed a self-storage customer centre to support business development and internal management. The original case describes a Nasdaq-listed operator based in New York, with 1,632 locations across 36 states at the time of that report. These figures are historical, not current operating statistics.
Workload varied between projects. Keeping a large dedicated team at all times was difficult, but rebuilding a team for every assignment risked losing business knowledge and producing less reliable estimates.
The project questions
Key Questions
How would additional projects get started?
The lead assessed requirements and estimates, selected suitable resources, trained the team and coordinated its progress.
Who would support a project after its team dispersed?
The continuing lead remained available for bug fixes and knowledge transfer when new requirements arose.
The solution
What the implementation covered
The customer-centre systems supported PC and mobile access. Delivered functions included unit booking, rentals, multiple payment methods, account management and enquiries about unit status.
The source identifies Microsoft Azure, ASP.NET/MVC, WPF, Kendo UI/Telerik, JavaScript/jQuery and SQL Server within the technical context.
The operating model separated continuing technical ownership from additional project capacity. A lead developer remained available on a monthly ODC basis; additional resources worked on fixed-price projects and dispersed when each assignment was complete.
How the work unfolded
From requirements to delivery and support
01 · Initial collaboration
Work closely with the client’s IT team
An initial eight-developer team used Agile methods and worked with the client’s IT department and project manager. Short daily meetings covered status, questions, schedules and arrangements.
02 · Continuing ownership
Keep a full-time lead across projects
The lead handled assigned ODC work and maintained knowledge of the business requirements. When a separate project arose, one to two hours a day of ODC time could be used for its coordination.
03 · Project delivery
Add resources around a known technical lead
The lead researched requirements, estimated work, selected suitable team members, provided training and knowledge transfer, assigned tasks and tracked progress and quality. Other resources worked on a fixed-price basis.
04 · Support
Retain knowledge after a project closes
When the project team dispersed, the continuing lead remained available for bug fixing and for transferring knowledge to future resources.
Technology and delivery context
The tools and working practices used in this project
Microsoft AzureASP.NET/MVCWPFKendo UI/TelerikJavaScript/jQuerySQL Server
The result
What changed for the client
PC and mobile customer services
The team developed customer-centre systems covering bookings, rentals, payments, accounts and unit-status enquiries.
A retained technical contact
The engagement preserved a continuing lead-developer role between separate fixed-price projects.
Flexible project capacity
Additional project teams could be assembled around existing knowledge rather than starting without a familiar lead.
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