Blog

Ramp Group and Microsoft are Hosting a Windows 8 Event

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 21:14:07 GMT

Ramp is co-hosting an event with Microsoft on using Windows 8 to extend existing applications into the field via Windows Phone and tablet devices.

It will be held in the Microsoft Civica Building in downtown Bellevue (108^th Ave and 2^nd Ave).

You can register using the link below:

www.rampgroup.com/register

Agenda brief for Wednesday, 27 February 2013:

8 am Why Windows Phone and Surface make sense for business.

10 am Designing Windows 8 apps for high usability

12 noon Lunch - Sponsored by Ramp Technology Group

1 pm Microsoft Customer Stories and Demos

1:30 pm Interactive Design Session for your business scenarios

3 pm Extend Networking at Sea Star Restaurant

Everyone is welcome for any or all of the agenda. And if you have some scenarios you’ve envisioned enabling with mobile or tablet solutions bring your ideas and we will see where they can go. Some of the best ideas might be developed as proof of concepts.

Ramp Group Demos Bing Maps Integration at Sharepoint Conference in Vegas

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 07:55:32 GMT

The Ramp Group unveiled an application they developed for the Indian Forensics Science Institute at SPC12 in Vegas. The Crime Analysis Solution Ecosystem-CASE is a Bing Maps framework for SharePoint which helps local, state and federal investigators track and manage criminal investigation information in a most efficient way. The solution leverages out-of-the-box SharePoint capabilities for document management, workflow and calendaring to speed investigators while also utilizing integration with Bing Maps to display key investigation information graphically. The solution also provides ways to view criminal case locations by type identifying high crime areas and on Bing Maps.

"This solution demonstrates the power of Bing maps integration with Sharepoint in providing new and intuitive ways to display data", says Sridhar.Seshadri, Ramp’s Technology evangelist (Sridhar.Seshadri@rampgroup.com). "The conference was a big success and our ability to be part of the event by demonstrating this application along with a new Sharepoint App on Surface in the Microsoft booth was a great opportunity for us".

For more information on the event and to view the keynote go to:

http://www.mssharepointconference.com/Pages/SPCTV.aspx

Ramp Designed Website Honored by the Center for Digital Government

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 20:43:34 GMT

e.Republic’s Center for Digital Government has announced the 2012 winners of its annual Best of the Web and Digital Government Achievement Awards and the State of Washington Employment Security Department website that Ramp helped redesign and rebuild was a winner.

In its 17th year, Best of the Web (BOW) recognizes outstanding government portals and websites based on innovation, functionality and efficiency. Ramp tested the usability of the old site and identifiedthe priority needs of the site's key users--job-seekers, employers and researchers. Then we redesigned the site wrapped around their needs. This user-centered design approach achieved the highest score of any Employment and Economic Information site in the country, pulling down the Honorable Mention award in the prestigious Government-to-Business category.

“Digital technology has fundamentally changed the way people interact with their government and we are seeing it demonstrated through everything from full service portals to special purpose mobile apps,” said Todd Sander, executive director of the Center for Digital Government. “We’re excited about the opportunities governments are creating to make new things possible and to do the old things faster and more efficiently. The Center thanks them for their continuing innovation and congratulates them on their achievements!”

Ramp to Join Delegation to India

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 20:41:58 GMT

Ramp will join a delegation of Washington businesses accompaning Washington's governor Christine Gregoire on a trade mission to India. Gregoire will leave the state on Sunday, Sept. 30th, arriving in Hyderabad, India on Tuesday, Oct. 2nd where she will kick off the 10-day trade mission, followed by stops in Delhi and Mumbai. While in India, Gregoire will establish an official relationship with the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, an area rich in high-tech opportunities with a large Microsoft presence.

“I will be the first governor to lead a trade mission to India, where the opportunities are significant,” Gregoire said. “As India’s economy thrives, we know that consumers there are seeking more imported products from the United States. This is our opportunity to get out in front, and make sure that consumers and businesses in India are aware of the quality items produced in Washington state. I’m confident our efforts will lead to business expansions and new jobs for Washingtonians.”

Ramp Makes Inc. Magazine's 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 20:40:37 GMT

Ramp Group again has been named to the list of Inc. Magazine's 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America, announced Bob Duffy, a partner in the firm.

"We have a unique place in our market," said Duffy. "We combine sound business intelligence, sophisticated software development and high-level usability expertise. Our growth comes directly from our ability to help our clients accomplish strategic, sustainable growth through technology. As they succeed, so do we."

"Achieving revenue is certainly one of our measurements of success," explained Duffy. "It is equally important to us to continue to achieve exemplary client and employee satisfaction, which is why it is tremendously gratifying that we gain this acknowledgement again from Inc. Magazine shortly after being named again to Washington CEO's Best Places to Work and achieving the Washington Technology Industry Association's recognition as Service Provider of the Year."

Ramp's clients range from emerging technology companies to Fortune 100 companies. The firm is a Microsoft Preferred Vendor.

CareOregon case study

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 20:35:46 GMT

CareOregon's new website was designed to improve the level of user engagement and efficiency for Care Oregon members. In addition, they wanted to rebrand the site with a bright, healthy and hopeful style. The UX process included user surveys, usability tests, creating user personas, brand exploration, editorial, photography selection, sitemap and wireframing, and design. The resulting site has acheived CareOregon's goals of generating more traffic and has received rave reviews from both internal and external users.

Ramp Group Launches New Website

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 12:07:27 GMT

We at Ramp Group are excited to announce the launch of our new website. In order to provide our customers with the most innovative tools and offerings we are continually applying these tools in everything we do. Our new website is a direct example of our unique formula of “Business Analysis + UX + Development.”

Our hope is to provide a site that demonstrates our distinctive combination of left and right brain thinking; a synthesis of the analytic plus the creative. Our experienced staff provides a balanced perspective. We pride ourselves on communicating technical expertise without heavy technical jargon and expressing creative capabilities that are grounded in real solutions that will meet real business objectives.

“This new site represents who we are and what we bring to each and every engagement”, states Bob Duffy, Ramp’s Managing Partner – User Experience and Technology. “It emphasizes our unique value proposition that brings world-class creative design together with enterprise-class software engineering”.

Ramp services represented on the site in service descriptions and case studies cross the software development life-cycle, from inception to go-live. The process is revealed starting with user research and defining information architecture; right through technical architecture, development, and test. This is what has set Ramp apart from the beginning and has led to where we are, and who we are, 12 years later.

Our new site also seeks to keep our customers, employees and potential employees informed via our integrated Blog, LinkedIn, and Twitter. We hope you will enjoy our new user experience and look forward to your feedback.

GreenLight Music Goes Live

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:21:52 GMT

Perfect Pixels provided the initial persona research and information architecture to the recently launched GreenLight Music service. A Corbis subsidiary, the service launched with more than a million-song catalog as a solution to the often frustrating and convoluted offline process of licensing music for commercial use.

The offering makes it feasible for a corporation to use a song for a corporate presentation, video or any other commercial need, by obtaining a license. Typically, getting a license from music labels and publishers can be difficult and frustrating. GreenLight Music simplifies the process by providing a one-stop shop to license songs for common commercial uses, such as videos, presentations, campaigns, and more. It can get your music clearances quickly, easily, and at competitive prices.

The deliverables included Personas, UX Strategy, Sitemap, Wireframes and Userflows. The solution required solving for allowing users to name their price for the song they want. Once you find a song, GreenLight will help guide you to submit a competitive offer to the music companies. When you make an offer, GreenLight goes to work securing the necessary approval from song owners.

The logic behind the UI was to streamline as much as possible the number of steps involved and to hide from the user the possible confusion of multiple scenario variations that normally would arrive in an offline experience. The result was to focus on a solution that was quick and intuitive.

Case Study for the Employement Security Department

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:21:06 GMT

The deliverables included Personas, UX Strategy, Sitemap, Wireframes and Userflows. The solution required solving for allowing users to name their price for the song they want. Once you find a song, GreenLight will help guide you to submit a competitive offer to the music companies. When you make an offer, GreenLight goes to work securing the necessary approval from song owners.

The logic behind the UI was to streamline as much as possible the number of steps involved and to hide from the user the possible confusion of multiple scenario variations that normally would arrive in an offline experience. The result was to focus on a solution that was quick and intuitive.

Video Produced for Cobalt Group

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:21:40 GMT

We just completed an animated video promoting Cobalt's new ad service. Cobalt is a web hosting and online advertising service for car dealerships. They wanted an innovative and fun video to send to their customers to introduce their new service offering without being boring while saying it. So the challenge was to take on a complicated concept and explain it in 2 minutes or less without putting to sleep the viewers.

PPMG concepted an idea using a rainmaker machine as the metaphor of how the service could create customer traffic. Our process was to break each element into its own separate deliverable.

First, we provided three summary concepts. Then after a concept was selected we made rough storyboard and attached narrative copy to it. We then provided three illustration styles to choose from as well as voice over talent selections. Once each was approved, we just stitched it all together and dropped it in Flash! You can see the preliminary sketches and the illustrations below: