The first phase of any project is to gather requirements and plan the sites Information Architecture. Information Architecture is the process of designing the purpose of the project, what information is to be delivered, what you want the user of the project to do. Examples include purchase an item, sign up for something, or simply learn something. Many companies simply skip this process without realizing that a difficult to use website that does not properly engage the user which means you will likely never deliver the message or achieve the sales, the site was intended for.
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The technical design phase of the project is where we develop a firm plan on how your project will be built within the technology of your choice that best suits your needs. Here we will develop class diagrams which provide an illustrated view into how your application will be built. We also develop a Technical Specs document which explains how your site will be built so that engineering matches the intended use of each item identified in the first phase on your wireframes. This stage will also cover any prototyping or research items, in the event your project involves a new technology. Prototyping helps lower overall projecct risk and helps sets expectations in the early stages of the project.
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The creative design phase is likely one of the most exicting phases of the project. In this stage our creative resources and partners will provide a series of design options for review. These designs, known as comps, are the foundation for the look and feel of your website. These comps are just images, designed in a tool such as Photoshop that will eventually be converted by our staff into HTML, Flash, CSS, or other graphical asset.
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The build and integration phase is simply that, building your project from the Technical Specifications, Wireframes, and Creative Comps designed in the earlier phases. This phase brings all of those pieces together. Although this phase is not as hands on for many of our clients as the other phases, it quite simply the meat of the project. Clients will be kept up to date with regular statuses and the use of Project Plans to indicate the work performed, to be performed, and an estimated time frame.
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The deployment and support phase is generally compromised of two pieces. The first is the QA/UAT phase. This is the phase where development is complete, but the project is reviewed, both internally by our staff as well as by you. This phase allows us to review the entire, completed site in functioning order to catch any bugs, defects, display flaws. This is also a common time for any minor last minute tweaks and adjustments. Finally, once the project has been through our internal testing you and your team will have the opportunity to work with the nearly finished project, identify any corrections that need to be made prior to being released for production. Finally, post launch support is handled through our team to ensure any issues that arise following the launch of the project are handled in a timely manner.
