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Zoe Black, NMK's Programme Director, outlines a process for the design of interactive products such as websites.
by Zoe BlackThis paper considers the design process for website development. Bearing in mind that the term ‘design’ refers to the design of the whole product and not simply the design of the interface. The design process incorporates all aspects of the lifecycle of the product from its inception, through to planning, information architecture, technical architecture, look and feel development, implementation, testing, fulfilment and maintenance.
There is no excuse for a lack of method in implementing an interactive product. There have been enough mistakes made in the new media industry to provide sufficient learnings for methodologies to be considered, and made readily available to development teams. The application of a methodology allows a team to operate within a framework which alleviates confusion, for deliverables to be agreed and achieved, for resource and workflow planning to be successful, to handle development obstacles and to maximise communications and learnings. In addition, selection and agreement of the right process will encourage creativity within the project team, and an increase in productivity. There will also be an improving effect on morale and purpose within the project team.
The cone of uncertainty The cone of uncertainty is an idea adapted from Steve McConnell’s “Software Project Survival Guide” and works on the assumption that phases of a development are dependent on decisions that are made in the previous phase. Therefore, the level of uncertainty will be greater at the beginning of a project. The team involved in the process will need to complete the decision making process for each phase before it can fully understand the implications of the next.
The pyramid of estimation As the cone of uncertainty indicates, decision-making is an essential part of the development process, and accurate estimation in the very early stages is virtually impossible, particularly for a complex development. In order to predict cost and time implications of development it is important to understand the ‘pyramid of estimation’ - a concept developed in the course of researching this paper. Cost, time and functionality are all intrinsically linked, and if time and cost are the essence of a project, then functionality is no longer a variable, rather it becomes defined; likewise if functionality is fixed, then cost and time will be determined.
For the benefit of agencies/interactive suppliers, the scoping phase is a phase that should be funded. If it is possible to make a broad estimate of cost based on the initial brief, then 15-25% of this budget should be allocated to scoping. Once the scoping phase has been completed and all stakeholders are satisfied then a more accurate cost estimate can be given. In the long run, being paid to scope before providing a final cost estimate and delivery schedule will provide a more stable and open relationship, and be less painful than having to revise estimates and schedules.
1.1 It all starts with a brief
It is important that a clear concise brief is the starting point for the development. The initial brief should clearly outline what the strategic objectives of the website are. It should also include any available background information on the organisation, its overall business objectives and how the website fits into these, its brand, its target markets, the culture of the organisation, what kind of infrastructure is in place to support the web site development, and other relevant information.
1.2 The devil is in the detail: planning and documentation
The planning stage should define the overall running order for the project. Roles and responsibilities within the process should be defined and communicated universally. Sign-off procedures are an essential part of this process and the sign-off procedure should be agreed by all stakeholders the project.
The output of the planning stage is the initial set of documentation. This should include:
1.3 How is it going to be used – walkthrough and prototype
Once the initial specifications have been agreed, it is important to draw a walk through. All members of the team should at this stage be encouraged to contribute potential problem areas and obstructions. The next stage is to build a prototype. A prototype is a minimised version of the product, which contains an indication of the functionality on a rough framework. Additionally the interface elements should be considered here.
1.4 Is it usable?
The final stage of scoping is usability, with the prototype tested using a select group of end users. This stage of scoping is invaluable – if end users find a particular piece of information difficult to locate or a task to fulfil, then something is wrong. At the end of usability testing it is important to review each of the steps before moving onto Phase 2. Problems that arise in prototying or usability testing should be considered and the documentation revised, or the problem should be noted with the discussions and considerations that arise as a result.
2.1 Get the detail right – revise the documents
The very first step of phase 2 is to ensure that all documentation has been revised, and approved. Although this may seem like a simplistic statement it can sometimes take weeks to get sign-off from the right individual.
Steve Mconnell suggests a Planning Check Point Review as part of his process, this is a review meeting which when applied at this stage works particularly well as a review of all of the items covered in Phase 1. The following review agenda is based on McConnell’s:
2.2 Do it damn it – development
Provided all the paperwork has been approved, budgets are cleared, the prototype is working, the user group testing has been successful, the next step is to get down and do the work. The key element here is the team, which needs to be communicating well, motivated, with clear direction and support. Some quick guides to development team motivation are:
2.3 Test it, test it, and test it – beta test
Web sites have traditionally been tested at the end of development as a discrete stage in isolation. Ideally, however, by the time the project reaches the beta test stage, each individual element of the development should have already been tested in isolation, leaving the beta test as the ‘dress rehearsal’ of the entire production. Where possible it is wise to test products with external agencies, or testing houses. It is important to fully document all issues that arise during testing, with a numbering system for logging issues and faults.
2.4 Fix it – bug fixes
All problems or defects that have been identified during testing need to be addressed. Using the Fault log, the team can address each item specifically, and choose to either fix the problem or not. It is important to document all changes that are made to the product at this stage.
Once bug fixing has taken place it is important to undergo a final test. It is often the case that the act of fixing bugs in the product can create new problems. Sometimes, problems are identified during the testing and fixing stages which, should they be addressed will take the schedule past the desired launch date. If this is the case a decision will need to be made as to whether to release on-time with defects or push back the launch date. Here, it is important to consider the following:
Once the decision has been made to go live with the product it is a good idea to implement a launch procedure plan. The plan should be a brief checklist such as the following:
In order to gain maximum learning from the project, and also to ensure that all relevant information for future developments is captured, a project debrief is essential. The debrief should be undertaken within 2-3 weeks of the launch. Following is a list of the items which should be identified and discussed in the debrief:
The Internet is a dynamic medium, and in order to establish a compelling web presence, attention needs to be paid to the ongoing maintenance and continual improvement of the site. To this end, a comprehensive plan for maintaining and updating the content of the site is essential. In addition, a programme for monitoring user behaviour and capturing useful user feedback should be complied. Feedback and statistics in combination with learnings from the development will enable constructive and accurate improvement objectives to be set.
When implementing a process it is crucial to consider the employees to whom the responsibilities of fulfilling the functions fall. Where possible employees should be included in the development, as well as the implementation of the process. Where possible reward schemes should be incorporated to encourage following procedures accurately, and for constructive recommendation for improving processes. It is important to remember that developments in technology and society will inevitably have an effect on organisations’ and their staff – therefore a constant drive to improve existing and develop new ways of doing things is necessary for both corporate and individual development.
The design process needs to facilitate and not hinder communication, and the communication needs to flow both throughout the team, and throughout the organisation. An essential component to both a successful communication and the success of the design project is good leadership; a project leader needs to be able to communicate throughout the whole team, and to balance corporate and team level objectives.
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