Endigit is absolutely committed to delivering quality software and systems. But we know that we are not perfect and issues may arise in the future that need to be resolved. We do not want to abandon any projects or customers that need our help, even if the contract has wrapped up. We have developed Endigit’s service plan to ensure problems will get fixed if they arise, and that Endigit can make the time to do so. Downtime is costly, and Endigit is committed to helping keep it to a minimum.
Proactive Support
Issue Resolution Reserve
The resolution reserve is a pre-allocated amount of Endigit’s engineering services to fix unforeseen issues. Only time that is used addressing a problem is subtracted from the reserve, and is based on the engineer’s hourly rate. The recommended starting reserve amount is 5% of the initial software cost. For example, if there were an issue that needed to be fixed, but was not urgent, we would schedule in time to address it as soon as we were made aware of the problem. Cost is subtracted from the Issue Resolution Reserve according to the engineer’s hourly rate.
Urgent Response Credits
Urgent response credits can be used for rapid response to problems. Within four hours of redeeming, Endigit will be working on the problem. When an Urgent Response Credit is redeemed, Endigit will wrap up their current work on any other project and be working on the issue within four hours. Effort is subtracted from the Issue Resolution Reserve according to the engineer’s hourly rate.
Obsolescence Avoidance Program
Software
Endigit’s Software Obsolescence Avoidance Program is designed to make sure software is kept up to date. This is important because obsolete software is much harder to maintain and add features to than software that is kept up to date. It is common for potential improvements to be discovered as software is used, and keeping that software current makes those features much easier to implement. Endigit has broken this plan into yearly tasks and tasks that happen with every software update.
Yearly Tasks
- Review LabVIEW and driver release notes
- Provide recommendation on upgrade
- Review project with latest release information
- Identify risks in SW
Per Update
- Install new software and driver versions
- Mass compile project
- Create new build
- Find any problems in new version
- Fix broken code
- Implement new best practices
- Document known issues and changes
Hardware
As hardware ages the risk of failure increases. Older hardware is also harder and more costly to repair. Obsolete hardware may even be impossible to repair or find replacements for. The Hardware Obsolescence Avoidance Program will prevent these unnecessary costs and risks. Below are the yearly and per update tasks we recommend to avoid major issues caused by obsolete hardware.
Yearly Tasks
- Review current lifecycle stage of hardware
- Identify hardware obsolescence risks
- Gather information on potential replacements
- Document design and update decisions
- Provide recommendations for hardware updates if appropriate
Per Update
- Procure new hardware
- Install new hardware into system
- Update software calls to new hardware if needed
- Update hardware drawings and documentation