Before web development, I worked in Systems Engineering designing embedded and application level systems (that's my fancy way of saying I designed computer programs). Our customers required full documentation of how a system would work before we wrote a single line of code.
To ensure that we designed a system that met their needs we would spend months reviewing their requirements, designing the system, and then documenting the design in sequence diagrams, flowcharts, class diagrams, etc before we ever wrote a single line of code. We then crafted detailed test cases and spend significant time ensuring that each test step passed as expected. What I realized is that our clients were not paying for reams of paper telling them how their product would work, but for assurance that it would work.
Assurance that we were building the product they wanted.
Assurance that their new product worked as designed.
Though we recognize that you probably don't have months to spend architecting a requirements document or or test procedures, we do believe that our clients deserve these assurances.
How we do it
- Discovery. We have a meeting with the client to sit down and ask questions to understand what you want the website to accomplish and why you want it to accomplish that. This gives us the ability to create a workflow document detailing how the website will work.
- Architecture. This workflow document helps us to create wireframes of webpage templates for your site to get a preliminary look and feel of the outline.
- Development. Now we get into the meat of the project. Our developers build your site with each feature, custom or otherwise, to get your site functional.
- Front-End. In this stage, we put the "face" on your website. Now you get to see how it reflects your company. During this phase, we work on customized features like a search bar or other tool you want your users to have.
- Quality Assurance. We let you run crazy on the website to make sure everything works as we intended and communicated to you. You get to test each action and piece of functionality.
- Training. We show you how to utilize each piece of your website. You can learn to use it with ease and confidence that it will accomplish what you wanted.
As a process-based web development company, we believe that assurances of a quality product should not be limited only to those multi-year timelines. Being process-based might cause us to bid higher than some companies, but we believe the peace of mind is worth it.
Interested? Give us a call or pass this along to someone who you think needs to know this.