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Deyo's Project Methodology
Posted by Phil Martin
There a LOT of project methodologies out there. Spiral , Scrum, Waterfall, XP, Agile, JAD , etc., etc. A whole bunch of smart people with millennia of collective experience took the time to write down the best of their thoughts and experiences. Yet, when it comes right down to it, every company has its own personality, its own strengths and weaknesses, and its own unique needs. And successful companies will select (or create) the best methodology that works for them, and stick to it. Oh – but that last part, the ‘stick to it’ part – that’s where so many intelligent, capable and otherwise bright companies break down, resulting in repeated dismal failures when they should have experienced success after success.
Having worked for everything from dot com startups to Fortune 50 companies, I have learned what works well for each type of company. And believe me when I say it is never exactly the same thing. Deyo is a smaller company, which means two things:
1.We need to carefully optimize our resources
2.We can move FAST
Therefore, the methodology that Deyo employs minimizes wasteful down-time (read: resource-intensive, never-ending meetings) while taking advantage of the fact that when it comes time, Deyo can execute and deliver quickly.
So, as a Deyo customer, you can expect the steps below while working with us, both before and after delivery of your new site. Each step results in a deliverable which must be agreed upon by all parties before continuing with the next step. While Deyo will guide the process, it is not always necessary to have a Deyo representative at every meeting. All documents are generated and finalized by Deyo based upon the input collected at each step.
The following is a summary of our project methodology. For more details, click here.
Note: While we use this process for all projects, large or small, some steps for smaller projects may be measured in terms of hours (sometimes even minutes!), not days. It all depends on the complexity and scope of the project. But - each step must be visited and have consensus before continuing. That 'stick-to-it' thing is important.
A. Introduction and Role Assignment
As the first official meeting for the project, all parties must attend. Introductions are made, and each party states their respective strengths as well as their expectations of their role in the project. This methodology is reviewed and any modifications are discussed and applied. Roles are agreed upon (the number of roles and parties/participants vary by project).
B. Business Requirements
The appropriate parties discuss and agree upon the following items:
• The purpose of the site
• Who the audience is
• What content the site will contain
• How often the content will need to be updated
• Who will update the content
• How secure the content needs to be
• Specific metrics/maximum such as named users, simultaneous users, number of pages, and hits per day
• Custom features (photo galleries, streaming media, blogs, forums, storefront, etc.); each custom feature should have all general questions above answered for that specific feature as well (i.e. the purpose of the feature, who the audience of the feature is, etc.)
C. Site Navigation and Appearance
This step allows all relevant parties to design and agree on the high-level user experience. The overall navigation flow, as well as the appearance of the first and second –level pages are identified and presented in a final composition layout, or ‘comp’. A comp reflects exactly how the site will look visually, while the navigation flows represent the manner in which the user will move between pages. It can be assumed that the finished site will very closely resemble the comp as presented in this step. This is the time to ‘nit-pick’ how the site will look, feel, and behave. All pages past the second level will be assumed to have the secondary visual appearance.
D. Site Flow
The Site Flow step results in every possible page being identified and laid out at a functional level, including the pages already listed in the NAD. ‘Functional’ in this case refers to navigation, viewable content and user controls. Inter-page navigation and flow is also represented so that the viewer may gain a complete feel of the user experience. Deyo is responsible for generating this document based upon the BRD and NAD, and will usually be completed using Microsoft Visio. The resulting document will not represent the final look/feel, but will only represent the user experience at a functional level.
E. High-Level Technical Requirements Document
This step is internal to Deyo.
F. Low-Level Technical Requirements Document
Again, this step is internal to Deyo.
G. Alpha Coding
An Alpha version of the web site externally accessible through a temporary link is published for you to review. You (the customer) have a chance to ensure that the site meets your understanding of the BRD and SFD.
H .Beta-1 Coding
This serves the same function as the Alpha Coding step, but produces a site that is functionally complete while possibly missing some visual elements. It should be assumed that it will contain a number of defects (bugs).
I. Beta-2 Coding
This step is implemented only if the Beta-1 step encountered issues that resulted in an update of the BRD or SFD.
J. User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
During this step, the final version of the website is delivered and should be 100% complete with minimal issues. Your user acceptance testing team will sign-off when it is satisfied. A limited warranty period begins wherein Deyo will address all outstanding defects.
K. Production/Warranty
At this stage in the project, the site has been completed and is in a full production state.
Obviously, there are times when the methodology must be adjusted to accomodate unique requirements. We have no problem adjusting as needed provided the changes are agreed upon and documented in the very first step.
Be sure to click on the attachment link near the beginning of this article for more details for each step.
We look forward to working with you!
Posted October 22, 2008 2:16 PM | Post a Comment
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