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Innovation Isn't Linear

Technology Thrives in the Struggle Between Successes

Services & Solutions

Translating Goals into Achievements

Technical Consulting

We enjoy sharing our passion for technology with our clients. Let us help you translate your ideas into actionable requirements and assist you in identifying a sensible application of technology to your challenges. Darkharp combines analytical and quantitative skills, Technical knowledge, experience and excellent communciation skills to support our clients and resolve their technical challenges. We provide technical evaluations, process analysis, requirements analysis, application development, auser focus groups and proposal development resources.

Process Engineering

Darkharp provides human and technical process analysis and business insights, facilitates team and user focus groups, identifies quality metrics, and provides gap analyses helpful to strategic planners. We have assisted clients in creating quality plans, identifying quality metrics, and instituting quality initiatives. We continuously evaluate business processes using quality control and quality assurance standards; collaborating with clients in identifying opportunities for reengineering and implementation of recommended process improvements.

Technical Writing

Content development and proposal writing support is one of Darkharp's most requested services. We provide technical proposal solutions for contractors bidding work in agencies throughout the federal government, coordinating the input of technical subject matter experts, and providing strategic advice regarding level of effort and team composition. Curriculum development, instructional design, and computer-based assessment items are our second most requested service and bridge our content development and application development capabilities.

Front End Development

Darkharp serves as a subject matter expert to support our clients in defining requirements and crafting workable designs that fit into their overall architecture and meet their objectives. We create ASP.NET/MS SQL applications, assessment items and user interfaces that accurately reflect clients' needs. We assist clients in developing metrics for development, design and user acceptance testing and deployment. We ensure that each development iteration (sprint) meets functional and user acceptance test criteria before being deployed to the production environment.

Project Management

Darkharp cultivates the collaboration essential for successfully directing projects and achieving our clients' goals. Our management approach is based on Project Management Institute Standards (PMI) standards and is tailored to meet specific project requirements. Darkharp ensures we perform the necessary process steps, documentation, and review activities required to guarantee performance objectives are met. We are highly committed to ensuring that we remain fully responsive to the needs and desires of our clients.

Disaster Recovery

Darkharp provides assistance with data backup and business continuity planning, and we develop and maintain documentation for Continuity of Operations as a requested service. Our experience managing server space for web clients has evolved with the emergence of highly available Cloud resources. We tailor recommendations for the use of Azure Site Recovery and georedundant storage to support off site backup/recovery capability accessible to small business clients based on Develop Recovery Time Objectives [RTO] and Develop Recovery Point Objectives [RPO].

How We Help

Darkharp Customers' Recently Requested Services

We provide requirements analysis, strategic planning input, project planning, identification of project metrics and AQLs, SWOT analyses, research and literature reviews, and management consulting services.

Content development and proposal writing support is one of Darkharp's most requested services. We provide curriculum development support, instructional design, and computer-based assessment items as well as planning documents, project documentation, and marketing materials.

Darkharp's management approach is based on Project Management Institute Standards (PMI) standards and is tailored to assure performance objectives are met. We are highly committed to ensuring that we are fully responsive to the needs and desires of our clients.

Darkharp provides fine arts photography, graphic images, logo design, promotional and marketing materials, user interfaces and front end applications.

Technical Consulting
80%
60% Complete
Project Management
20%
60% Complete
Application Development
30%
60% Complete
Technical Writing & Proposal Development
70%
60% Complete
Graphic Design
20%
60% Complete

Factors & Facets

Collaborations are a Combustion of Ideas and Qualities

Expert Knowledge

Darkharp is driven to stay current with emerging tech and to benefit from the experience of our colleagues. Darkharp believes in blending education, theory, and experience to build durable solutions.

Strategic Focus

Darkharp blends attention to detail with the ability to consider problems holistically in a broad context. We consider both the immediate objective and how to position to meet long term goals.

Experienced

Life long learning and diverse career experiences throughout 35 years of worklife spanning the private sector, the military, not-for-profit, government, municipal, and public service sectors.

Character

Darkharp Designs believes the best interest of the client always comes first. Our collaborations with clients are founded in integrity and clear communications. We offer plain spoken recommendations because we care about our clients.

Community Minded

Community participation and volunteerism are obligations of good citizenship. Darkharp's founder serves as an EMT and Firefighter in her local community. Darkharp's grant writing experience has enabled local public safety organizations to purchase needed equipment.

Problem Driven

Identifying clients' root problem and purpose rather than imposing a top down solution is crucial to addressing the real goals and motivations of our clients. Darkharp champions bottom up project planning as more durable and effective long term for our clients.

Factoids

Darkharp Designs for Inquiring Minds
17
Years in Business
6
Years 100% Solar Powered
9
Years Based in Rural Maine

How We Do It

Working together to achieve great results

Assessment & Analysis

Darkharp Designs will review and validate: existing project artifacts, preliminary plans, inventories, strategic planning documents, goals statements, and emerging requirements. Our team will interview key stakeholders regarding their vision and unmet technology needs to gather a 360-degree perspective on the work.

Research & Design

When considering the impact of new functionality, we use three guiding principles: the sufficiency of the existing information, the sustainability of the methodology/technology used to collect organizational data, and how well the current process provides information to decision makers. We design data collection instruments to investigate the current state, obtain data and map processes, and identify gaps in capability.

Define & Plan

Our project plans map requirements to structured goals, consider and articulate goal states, envision required metrics, identify required resources, identify obstacles, gather sequencing data for precursors. Our needs assessments and SWOT analyses focus on IT asset management practices, regulatory requirements, procurement, data security and storage practices, archiving, disaster recovery, and IT security training processes.

Devise & Develop

Whether producing organizational roadmaps for infrastructure revisions or creating a new application, Darkharp proceeds from draft or prototypes through to fully functional completed works. Our process includes frequent client check-ins, iterative development/production cycles, and adherence to planned quality metrics determined during requirements development.

Implement & Execute

Darkharp will provide resources and support for implementing the work in final form. Whether the project is a simple logo, a suite of marketing materials, an organizational evaluation, or the implementation of a new application; Darkharp Designs can support your vision. We can also conduct change management activities, user community communications outreach, testing and focus groups or support any necessary training activities.

Measure & Evaluate

Evaluation and metrics are key to intelligent decision making for our clients in both the private sector and in government. Using cost factors alone often fails to meaningfully capture the value of project activities or developed applications in terms of their value to the client and the organization. Darkharp Designs ties planned metrics into all projects that are helpful in tracking improved performance and increased productivity. We assist clients in determining what level of evaluation a particular program requires. For instructional development projects, Darkharp employs the Kirkpatrick/Phillips levels of training evaluation.



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Previous Projects

Client Collaborations and Creative Content

All About Us

Darkharp Designs Technical Consulting

Experienced

Darkharp Designs is founded on sixteen years of consulting experiences for government, small business, the military, and non profit organizations by our principal consultant in the areas of: research, process engineering, application development, data analysis, and system design. We also provide proposal and grant writing support for commercial and non-profit clients.

Creative

Diverse experiences across many sectors has allowed Darkharp to provide unique insights into business challenges and innovative solutions to clients' dilemmas. Tenacity, perseverance, and a stubborn belief in the possible...is who we are.

Darkharp Medalion Logo

Passionate

Darkharp Designs has been energized by the experiences and projects that clients have entrusted to us, by the passion of our lead consultant, and through a growing understanding of how our work influences our communities and world. Our goal is to foster the synergy between client requirements, team skills, and project resources.

Customer Focused

Our clients are our greatest teachers as we focus on transforming requirements into reality. Darkharp Designs takes the time to listen and learn about our clients' objectives and we are invested in the success of their mission.

Darkharp

Meet our Founder
Stephanie Itchkawich
Stephanie Itchkawich
Lead Consultant

Contacts & Connections

We enjoy hearing from our Clients
Office Address
32 Park Street
Springfield, Maine - 04487
United States
Studio Address
1 Harper Lane
Carroll Plt., Maine - 04487
United States
Contact Information
Local: 1.207.738.2060
Mobile: 1.207.951.0296
 info@darkharp.com
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