Capgemini has launched a Rapid Design and Visualization Lab (RDV), a center that can help companies cut software development costs by up to 50 percent. Built by technologists and behaviorists, the RDV Lab was unveiled in Chicago following a 12-month beta period during which four clients used the lab to do ERP application development. The RDV Lab continues to expand Capgemini’s work in the field of simulation by using a methodology that combines the latest simulation and communication tools with new research on how people create complex software.

Capgemini added the RDV Lab, after two years of experience in this field, to continue to help companies apply simulation to software development. Capgemini estimates that 60 percent of such programs – including ERP, Web 2.0 and SOA initiatives – need to be re-worked following misunderstandings between project managers who write the specifications, and the engineers who build the programs. The RDV is designed to help all parties get the software right the first time.

In their inaugural trials during the beta period, these projects resulted in a 50 percent reduction in development costs and a 20 percent reduction in total project time in several cases. The technology and methodology used in the RDV will be made available through all eight of Capgemini’s Accelerated Solution Environments (ASEs) nationwide.