The Design & Development Process

Every project is unique and requires a customized approach to project management. Key steps in the development process are:

  1. Discovery
  2. Research
  3. Design
  4. Develop
  5. Deploy
  6. Nurture

A detailed project plan helps to facilitate this process and ensures objectives become outcomes.

Discovery

Define what needs to be communicated and how. Collect any existing materials. Identify colors and icons that are part of an organizations culture. Identify primary, secondary etc. audiences and determine the kind of relationship the organization wants to establish with them. Define where media will be distributed and when. Identify areas that need to be researched and determine any other criteria and limits inherent to the project.

Research

Research identity, audience, and subject matter. By reviewing the existing materials of an organization, a better understanding of how to approach design problems can be acquired. Knowing the subject matter of a project informs design. Knowing the audience is also crucial and can significantly affect design.

Design

Creating a Sitemap that illustrates the information architecture
of the project is one of the first steps in the design process. Preliminary designs are also created to help communicate ideas. Designs are then refined and finalized. Multimedia and animated graphics that incorporate Flash animation and video are created. Finally, variations of the designs are generated for different purposes and distribution
media.

Develop

HTML/CSS coding, JavaScript, server-side scripting and database creation are all part of the process of developing the technologies that
support the delivery of web pages on the Web. The creation of pages that display complex interactivity and dynamic content are created and integrated with the finalized design.

Deploy

Publishing a website requires the configuration of files and databases on a webserver that supports the technologies being used.

Nurture

Search engine submission and placement are critical to the successful promotion of most websites. Continued success depends on the periodic updating of information and website monitoring.