subject: Try A Successful Web Development Methodology [print this page] Its important to follow a standardized approach to Web development.
Dangerous Symptoms
The symptoms like projects going over-time and facing particular issues indicate that things are going wrong.
Adopt, Adapt or Build Your Own
There are three paths to choose from:
Adopt an existing methodology
Adapt from an existing methodology
Build our own methodology
Evaluation Criteria :
Decide on the criteria by which you would evaluate like:
Complexity: Must be easy to understand yet should offer sufficient depth for guiding developers for custom web development
Size: A 10-page summary is better compared to 100 page document
Cost: The less money it required, the better it is
Risk: The methodology must not go wrong
Pragmatic: The solution must work, should not be based on theory
Methodologies Evaluated
Rational Unified Process
It has problems like:
Large, complex and sophisticated
Comprehensive but confusing
High cost
Process Monitor: It was more compact than RUP. Its basically a Website with a series of steps, forms and templates that could be used to run a project.
In-House Methodologies: In-house methodologies borrowed from another organization, also dont work in custom wed development.
Traditional Methodologies: They involved longer time frames and failed to consider soft aspects of software development.
Agile Methodologies: Feature Driven Development (FDD) in agile methodology was well suited to Web development but requires some fine tuning.
An Overview of FDD
Process 1: Develop an Overall Model
Process 2: Build a Features List
Process 3: Planning
Process 4: Design by Feature
Process 5: Build by Feature
Why Apply FDD to Web Development?
The plus points of FDD were:
Excellent reporting and planning
Disciplined and clear
Customer-focused
Risk reduction
How to Manage the Transition?
Manage the transition by:Defining projects using features Planning development based on featuresImplementing new team structure, design and code reviewsConducting weekly project status meetingsFDD for Small TeamsThere are two main aspects of FDD for small projects:1. Defining the project in features2. Tracking the project by featuresFDD Overview for Web DevelopmentThe following is a high-level overview of FDD followed in web developed (India):Project OverviewOrganization PurposeProject PurposeProject ObjectivesProject Scope Target MarketContentInformation ArchitectureInformation DesignFunctionalityProject ManagementDaily WrapsProgress ReportsProject WebsiteConclusionFDD is good for Web development but does not have the complete answer. by: Holly Maxted
