125 University Avenue Ste 205
Palo Alto, CA 94301
(650) 323-3800
contact@dragil.com
125 University Avenue Ste 205
Palo Alto, CA 94301
(650) 323-3800
contact@dragil.com
The prerequisite for a successful project – regardless whether it is for constructing a house, shooting a film, or building a website – is to know precisely what the finished project will look like. Understanding what your website will do before any designs are created, before any code is written and before any marketing campaigns are started is absolutely critical.
What a prototype or wireframe is to a website project, is akin to what a blueprint is to a house or what a script is to a movie. Literally every single detail about the website must be defined beforehand and intimately understood to the main two stakeholders in the project – the client and the project manager. Meetings between the client and project manager are by nature designed to ensure everyone is on the “same page”. Often, the most important tools we incorporate during these meetings are the tried-and-true method of pen and paper. Seeing the outline in writing can reveal much about the project and eliminate misunderstandings. The changes made here take mere minutes. The web design and web development are then “just” the efficient execution of what was defined before.
From a cost perspective, it is lethal to attempt any of the planning work while the web design or web development is being performed. It is lethal because it guarantees the explosion of project costs since work is repeated and shareholders risk losing oversight and control of the project in its entirety. At all times, the project manager and the client must understand the next step of the execution while at no time interrupting the pipeline of information.
In order to ensure the success of any of our projects, our project managers incorporate software tools that allow their teams to create prototypes of the websites being built while allowing changes and modifications to be made to prevent cost-intensive and time-consuming changes during the construction of these prototypes.
Creating the prototypes allows the stakeholders to articulate their ideas while considering various options on how to implement certain features. The goal, of course, is to define that one option that makes most sense to all of the stakeholders. Ultimately, the quality of a website is defined by how many different aspects were taken into account when the layout, flow and usability of the website were being planned. Simply put, the less time and thought invested during this process increases the chances the final product will not meet the requirements and the goals falling short. Investing time with the prototype and keeping communication channels open between the client who brings his industry specific expertise to the table and the project manager who brings his own Internet expertise allows all aspects and requirements revealed and guarantees solutions are found.
It is important to realize a perfect plan or prototype that covers all requirements necessary for a perfect website is nearly impossible to create at this stage. It does, however, limit flaws and mistakes; and the fewer problems, the easier they become to iron out, add or delete as they emerge during the execution phase. The goal is to keep these flaws and mistakes to a minimum while catching them prior to the actual site construction when it becomes costly and time consuming to repair. A good analogy would be the carpenter’s rule: measure twice, cut once.
Once the features and requirements are specified and given extensive thought during this leading phase, the team can then focus on how to realize it and then execute the implementation at the lowest cost. This then leads us to the “launch strategy”.
