The Pyramid Difference

Credentials. Capability. Corporate Culture.

Credentials
Pyramid is committed to obtaining and maintaining the credentials that are critical to our ability to deliver solutions that last to our customers. Our differentiation in the IT consulting and solutions delivery market is based in a large part on the credentials that separate us from our competition. We have invested heavily in obtaining the following credentials and continue to invest heavily in order to apply them to all Pyramid engagements, in a manner which adds value for our customers. Our accumulated set of credentials is a visible demonstration of our commitment to the IT consulting and solutions market and our ongoing commitment to the efficient and effective delivery of solutions to our customers. By applying our credentials to the day-to-day conduct of our engagements and projects, we are able to reduce cost, increase efficiency, eliminate defects, and allow our customers to have the highest level of visibility in our progress.

• CMMI Maturity Level 3 Rating. Pyramid was certified as a CMMI Maturity Level 3 rated organization in 2008, and we use proven, documented, and standardized methodologies to ensure the quality of our systems engineering and maintenance and operations activities. Our methodologies and practices are housed in our Pyramid Process Asset Library, which is a SharePoint based information repository and collaboration environment used by our engagement teams.
• Federally Certified ANSI-Compliant Earned Value Management System (EVMS). Pyramid uses a certified EVMS and earned value management principles to support our engagements and to provide our clients with meaningful real-time information on the status of our work. Based on our EVM system and management approach, we are positioned to provide our clients with maximum visibility into our projects and any variances with regard to cost and schedule.
• SBA 8(a) Graduate of the Year in 2008 for the Washington Metropolitan Area. Pyramid was named by the SBA as their 8(a) Graduate of the Year for our region, which is an independent validation of our organizational maturity and overall capability to meet and exceed the needs of our government clients.
• ARCHIBUS Certified Business Partner/VAR and ESRI Consulting Partner. In support of our computer aided facilities management practice, we maintain certified business partner status with the #1 company in the automated facilities management and integrated workplace management solutions market (ARCHIBUS) and the leading provider of geospatial and geographic information technology (ESRI).

Capability
Pyramid is a market leader in four business segments: 1) Software Solutions, 2) Computer Aided Facilities Management Solutions, 3) Business Support Services, and 4) IT Consulting & Advisory Services. Since inception of the business, we have invested in building the capabilities, tools, processes, and human capital resources necessary to deliver solutions that last for our customers.

The graphics below show our Core Competencies and Technical Capabilities. With regard to technical capability, our approach has been to build capability in areas that are most meaningful and relevant to our core customers while exploring emerging technologies that may be of relevance to our customers in the future (such as SOA and software as a service). Although we have small business designation, we bring to our customer engagements the technical depth and breadth of much larger companies. We employ technical and management personnel offering a broad range of skill sets, certifications, product knowledge, and proven work experience, positioning us to respond effectively to customer requirements regardless of the technical environment or platform.

Capability highlights include:

• An Iterative Solutions Development Methodology that is based on Agile/RAD and related methods. Pyramid is a highly experienced full lifecycle software engineering organization, and we have adopted industry best practices to guide our activities. Our preferred software engineering approach is based on Iterative/Agile development, in which we cycle through the standard waterfall steps in rapid fashion, present visual prototypes and iterative builds to our customers, capture feedback, and cycle through the process once again. This process has been proven to reduce development costs, enable early detection of defects, involve customers in the development process in a highly collaborative manner, and accelerate the final delivery of the solution. Our Iterative Solutions Development Methodology is fully documented in our Pyramid Process Asset Library, which is a centralized online repository of artifacts, templates, guidance documents, and other materials relevant to our engagement teams.
• Proven and documented methodologies for software maintenance and operational support. Pyramid is a leading provider of application maintenance and operational support services to government customers, from the operation of Tier 1 Help Desks, to system troubleshooting, to corrective/adaptive/perfective maintenance. For every customer project, we establish service level standards which drive our activity and we report on our performance against these standards. Government customers have been contracting with Pyramid for system maintenance and operational support for over ten years, and we offer an incredible depth of experience. Lessons learned over the years have been converted into best practices which now drive how we manage our engagements and ensure customer satisfaction.
• Best practices based methodologies for application migration and re-engineering. Pyramid has a rich track record of working with our customers to migrate and re-engineer their systems to conform to new enterprise architecture requirements, adapt to technology change, and drive higher system performance. We have demonstrated our ability to effectively and efficiently move systems from one language/platform to another without disruption to customer operations. System migration and re-engineering efforts are conducted in accordance with PMI PMBOK principles, best practices, and proven project plan templates.
• Demonstrated excellence in the computer aided facilities management (CAFM) market. Customers with complex facilities and infrastructure management requirements have contracted with Pyramid to deliver customized ARCHIBUS-based solutions. Within the federal government market, we are among the leaders in providing ARCHIBUS development, integration, and support services. Pyramid specializes in configuring/customizing ARCHIBUS technology to meet the exact needs of our customers. Our CAFM practice employs professionals with specialization in infrastructure and asset management automation and subject matter expertise in the areas that are of highest concern to facilities management professionals. Our ESRI expertise enables us to deliver geospatial extensions to the ARCHIBUS platform, which allow customers to visualize their infrastructure and asset base and make more informed decisions.
• Consulting expertise in the areas of business process re-engineering/automation and quality management. Pyramid consulting engagements tend to focus on one of two areas: business process optimization and quality management. Our business process consulting offerings include business process mapping, gap analysis, process realignment, and business process automation. Our consulting teams bring together management consultants, business analysts, and technical professionals. Professionals assigned to our quality management consulting practice work with customers to prepare for CMMI assessments, implement best practices based quality tools and techniques into existing software engineering practices, improve internal testing processes, and provide an objective review of quality practices and identify areas for improvement. We are quickly establishing ourselves as a market leader in offering CMMI readiness services to government contractors.
• Business process outsourcing excellence. Pyramid operates customer contact centers, clearinghouses, mailrooms, and document processing centers for our customers. Customers work with Pyramid because we offer proven models for the operation of outsourced functions, a rigorous “command and control” environment to ensure timeliness and quality, and sophisticated systems for reporting on our activities and performance to our customers. With any outsourced operation, our customers have full visibility into our activities, our interactions with customers, and our performance levels versus established standards.
• An independent internal Quality organization which supports our engagement teams in delivering high-quality solutions on time. The Quality organization is responsible for conducting independent quality assurance activities (such as deliverable reviews) and for performing independent software testing (from unit testing to regression testing and performance testing). The Quality organization also works with our engagement team to ensure quality-related activities, as defined by our solutions development methodology, are being performed by all members of the project team.

Corporate Culture
We our proud of the corporate culture we have built at Pyramid. Our culture supports two objectives which are critical to the further development of the company: 1) retention of personnel, and 2) customer satisfaction.

As shown in our company Mission Statement below, we place heavy emphasis on collaborative problem solving, whether within our engagement teams or with our customers. Smart people working together can produce outcomes that would be impossible for any one individual, and we thoroughly embrace this idea.

Other key core values include:

• A focus on creating value for the customer in everything we do, resulting in meeting or exceeding customer expectations
• Methodology and process driven approach to our engagements, resulting in predictable outcomes and on-budget/on-time performance
• Involvement in the communities where we are based