3ge Development

About 3ge

3ge Development is a software consultancy specializing in the application of object-oriented, web-based and distributed technologies. The company was formed as a concept in early 1997 based on the shared experiences and ideas of three people: Kelly Graves, Royce Howland and James St. Clair. While pursuing other work, and after examining a number of ideas and opportunities, the group elected to take the next step, and established 3ge (pronounced "three gee ee") as an Alberta corporation in June, 1997. The company is based in Calgary, a major economic center of Western Canada, not far from Banff and the fabulous Canadian Rockies.

Kelly and James have since spun off to pursue other career goals. (Kelly founded Ideas First, while James now directs development for FreeRealTime.com.) Royce continues to direct 3ge. The group remains in contact.

3ge Background

This capsule review provides a brief look at the company's background, partners, and major customers and projects. It also describes our view of some of the roles we can fulfill, the skills we bring and the technologies we employ. Some of the information predates the formation of 3ge as a distinct company, but all of it has contributed to the shaping of the company, its people and their approaches to delivering solutions. (An MS Word 97 version of the 3ge corporate background is also available, for printing.)

Mission

3ge and associates bring a variety of skills to the business of 3ge. The company's mission for its participants has often been (somewhat humourously) summed up as:

"Have fun, make a difference, and earn a living -- not necessarily in that order"

What this translates to for 3ge customers is harnessing the artistic and scientific aspects of software development to bring superior, innovative solutions to bear on business information technology opportunities. 3ge succeeds when we enable our customers to succeed.

Principles

We recognize that 3ge exists in a fast-moving, challenging and competitive marketplace. Our value proposition is not composed simply of the tools we use or the methodology we follow, but their application by excellent people who are directed by core principles.

Value Independent of Context

3ge proposes to create value for its customers that can withstand as much change in context as possible. Too often a shift in business priorities, a change in fortunes for a technology vendor, or skill turn-over in human resources can cripple the return on investment of costly development projects. While it is impossible to insulate against all change, 3ge works to plan for change and deliver results that can retain much of their value despite inevitable changes in context.

Value and Success Through Delivery

A thumb-nail outline of our work habits at 3ge is: envision, innovate, plan, deliver, evaluate. While each of these is important, the one usually most important to the customer is delivery. Too often projects, especially ones at the "bleeding edge", get hung up over visions, innovations, plans and evaluations, and not enough value gets delivered to ensure success. At 3ge, delivery is what matters, made superior wherever possible through the influence of the other activities.