Our Methodology: Implementation

Implementation is the actual build-out of the web site or application. If the application is fully understood, and the proper time and effort was put forth on the specification documents this phase is generally one of the easiest. The developers go into "heads down" development mode and we'll need fewer meetings since decisions for the site should have already been made.

Development

The building and coding of the system as defined and specified. At this stage the focus is on actual realization of your vision. Some of the most important tools used in this phase are source control management, iterative feature addition, and componentization.

Testing

Often referred to as Quality Assurance or QA this phase consists of formalized, detailed testing of the application. Defects are identified and fixed according to an assigned prioritization and risk assessment.

The final stages of testing include regression testing of all aspects of the site. Proper controls during the testing phase are critical to ensure that fixing one defect does not cause others. Performance testing and analysis are also important aspects of larger projects. This phase may also include beta testing with a known user base.

Although a fully tested site is the most obvious result of a well-executed testing phase there are other less obvious benefits. The test plans used for the site may be reused later and the performance testing is invaluable for determining hardware and bandwidth expansion strategies.

Deployment

Deployment is sometimes seen as "throwing the switch" that makes your site public and in many ways that analogy works quite well. Working with you we ensure that production servers are fully optimized, configured with your application, and ready to accept your traffic.

Deployment may include coordination with a marketing campaign or some other event. The example of the dot com company that releases a new web application to coincide with a Superbowl ad, then finds that the server architecture can't take the load is relevant here.

Depending upon the size of the application deployment can be a long, involved process with many levels of beta usage to increasingly larger numbers of customers or a simple snap of the fingers.