We have three values at Velentium: Honorable, Results ++, and Humble Charisma. They might come across as pithy little sayings, but they mean a lot to us, so I try to talk about them frequently to make sure that they are fully understood. So, what does it mean when we say we are Results ++?
I'm going to explain what we mean by Results ++ by telling you about my dog. No, we have nothing whatsoever to do with dogs at Velentium, but I think you'll see the connection to my personal experience.
We recently acquired a dog, an 8-week old Labradoodle puppy. I was really nervous about getting a dog; in fact I held out as long as I possibly could without inciting riots from my family members. I'm a dog person, but my reluctance came from two sources: first, we have four small children, ranging in ages from 9 to 4. To say the least, Julie and I can get overwhelmed by their needs.
Secondly, though, and more significantly, I unfortunately had a bad dog experience that was influencing my opinion. Right out of college, thinking myself mature and responsible now, I got a puppy. A German shepherd puppy. Without any thought whatsoever about her breeding, her temperament, what it would mean to try to raise a puppy when I was spending most of every day at the office, etc. The result was, unfortunately, a very neurotic full-grown German shepherd that was really difficult to handle. We tried so many interventions to try to train her without success. But she was our dog (Julie willingly took her on as part of our family when we were married), and we stuck with her until old age and bad health took over....but she was a HANDFUL! So, given that bad dog experience, I was extra reluctant to get a dog in the midst of raising four kids; we didn't have the capacity to add a difficult canine to our life!
When I finally gave in (I didn't want to be "that" dad who never let their kids have a dog), I wanted to be very, very careful about choosing the RIGHT dog. So, I did my research. I decided everything that was important to us (good temperament with kids, non-shedding, less than 20 pounds since we travel frequently and want to take the dog with us, healthy) and then set out to try to find that dog. I called a lot of breeders. I asked a lot of questions. Some of my conversants were more patient with me than others. When I determined I couldn't find a dog that met my specifications within easy driving distance of where we live, I opened up the search nationwide (if you're going to have to fly to get the dog, it doesn't really matter how far...)
What I was trying to figure out in my search, without necessarily realizing it myself, was which breeder was going to be Results ++. They could all provide me a dog, since providing dogs was what they did. But were there any that would go beyond "dog delivery" and meet all of my hopes and expectations in adding another living being to our family?
I did in fact find one breeder who stood out. We had to fly to Portland from Houston, which has resulted in many a raised eyebrow from friends and family, but the distance and cost were worth it to me because of their "above and beyond" service. They have a multi-generational line of labradoodles (resulting in non-shedding) with a proven track record of gentle temperaments (good with kids) and had a litter of "minis" due in the time frame that I was looking to get a dog. But beyond this, they also provided extensive testing results on their dogs (good health), a guarantee based on those testing results, and the dog came already microchipped, spayed, and with its first shots. In addition, the couple runs a bed and breakfast and we were given a complimentary night there when we came to pick up the dog. They sent us away with lots of advice, information, goodwill, and even the puppy's favorite homemade treats. I could have gotten a dog much easier. But this was too important to me to risk not getting it right. I needed a Results ++ breeder.
So in this dog example, "dog delivery" is the bare minimum requirement. But that's how I went about getting my first dog, and I found out that it wasn't enough.
The same is true with custom software and systems integration. The bare minimum is "functioning system" or "software program". In the end, you need a system or medical device that works. But in promising to be Results ++, we strive to provide much more than the bare minimum. We don't just want "customer satisfaction", but raving fans who are thrilled to use our systems or devices because they go above minimum requirements.
We strive to achieve Results ++ in various ways, including constant communication throughout the project, excellent project management, guiding requirments capture, and a commitment to delivering a quality system-- sticking with it until it is RIGHT and everyone is happy. We have allotted resources to making sure that we are knowledgable and compliant with medical device standards, such as ISO 13485, ISO 14971, etc., so that our software systems can be seamlessly integrated into a manufacturer's own quality requirments. In short, at Velentium, we are not happy until you are happy with a system that exceeds your expectations.