Application Development Process
LISTEN (Interviews)
We view every new project as the beginning of a new client relationship. The first step in that relationship is to find out who needs what through interviews with people throughout the organization. Depending on the size and scope of a project, this interview process may take one to two days, as we try to speak to many individuals who may be involved or could benefit from the project at hand. This may include groups that may not seem obvious, such as representatives from Sales, Marketing, and Accounting departments. While at first, our interviews may seem strange or unnecessary to new clients, we have yet to meet a client who didn't love the results.
PROPOSE (Visual Specification)
Using our notes or initial sketches (called ‘graffles’) we develop several short proposals for discussion and review. Based on the feedback to ideas discussed, we outline the next steps.
DEFINE SUCCESS (Milestones & Measurables)
If the requirements are understood and proposals have been well received, we begin to work on what we consider the most important part of a project: defining success. While this may sound like a marketing phrase, it’s anything but. This step is all about measurable goals. Breaking down these goals into work packages, milestones, and time frames enables our client to see first-hand whether concrete tasks are being accomplished.
BUILD (Prototype)
On paper things may look good, but without the ability to try and test ideas it's easy to build software that misses intended goals. Building a prototype — a mock system — serves as the reality check of our measurable goals. Can we meet them? Was something forgotten? Can we reduce production workflows? We build a quick prototype that provides valuable answers to these questions. This prototype allows us to make major modifications to things like Database models, before a system goes live - when these changes become much more difficult to implement.
REVIEW
After a few days of playing with a prototype, we reconvene with our client to review assumptions and discuss whether anything went wrong.
REFACTOR OR COMPLETE
Depending on the scope of necessary changes, we ‘refactor’ - strip out, add or refine software. In a best-case-scenario where all specifications were met, we complete the software in this phase. Additionally, in this phase we are happy to help with Load Balancing/Systems configuration and management.
LAUNCH
There is only one kind of launch we work towards - the anticlimactic kind, in which a switch is flicked and the new system runs without missing a beat. Literally. Upon reaching this goal, it’s time for a beer or a glass of wine to celebrate. Using state of the art open-source and commercial offerings, we build and operate smooth systems for some of the world’s largest publications and corporations, with traffic running into millions of page impressions and unique visitors a day.
REVIEW
What? Another review? Definitely. Components to review include detailed data now provided by the various statistical tools we’ve set up to monitor system performance, as well as anything new we’ve learned after the launch.
ENHANCE AND GROW
We’ve been a good partner, having fullfilled and likely gone beyond any contractual promises made. Now, what does the future look like? We are here to augment and enhance your team by helping transfer knowledge, document code and systems, and ensure that any systems built continue to run smoothly. True to our name, we can provide ideas and share industry-based best practices to help you grow. We’re on call to help whenever you need us.