Solution48/Bigfish

Notes from Solution48/Bigfish meeting 12.11.09
Joe Pizzimenti (owner), Brian Kevitt, and James Palazzolo (Drupal expert)
Phil Munroe, Eileen Archibald, Kurt Chambers, Scott Morken

480-355-2550
7898 E. Acoma Drive, Suite 207
Scottsdale, AZ  85260

Discovery:
They had good questions regarding the past work we have done in usability studies, analytics, etc.

Creativity:
Looking at the web work they did for Scottsdale Healthcare, Sage Software, Humana (micro site), and some other big players, they have a skilled creative team and good design concepts.  Their experience extends outside of websites, and encompasses print design, sales & marketing, and "the bigger picture". This could prove useful in other respects.

Programming/Development:
Their skill in coding can be difficult to determine based solely on viewing a website, but some information can and should be garnished by viewing work they have done. Need to review their experience in PHP and Drupal. It seems they are a full-service shop.  Should review web practices to for implementation of progressive techniques such as image replacement and use of CSS.

They have proven the ability or proof of concept of their ability to integrate PeopleSoft with a local website.

Social Media site they developed for ASU and other universities. BETA Digidorm.com

General:
They seem like a cross-trained, diverse group, because they do consulting, creative work, programming and implementation.

Programming skills in PHP and .NET platforms. The CMS's they recommended for Mesa/Scottsdale were Sitefinity and Drupal, which are .NET and PHP, respectively.  Their recommendation also reflects their desire to develop on a platform that is progressive, SEO friendly, and somewhat easy to develop on.

James has experience with Drupal, including his experience with ASU, which uses Drupal extensively. James' title is Public/Media Relations, Social Media.  For example, how many websites have they built in Drupal. How long have they been working with Drupal. How many other PHP systems have they worked with?

They will send examples of the educational sites they have completed.