Because we can often overlap portions of methodological phases concurrently within a project schedule, we avoid the phase-to-phase delay inefficiencies inherent in 'waterfall'-style, multi-stage methodologies.
Throughout a project, we meticulously plan, monitor, and communicate our progress. This helps ensure that results meet our clients' budget, schedule, design, and functional goals.
Our project methodology is as follows:
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
1. initiate - During this phase, we work with clients to lay the groundwork for the project. We develop a clear vision of what will be achieved, including high-level business requirements, anticipated benefits, and known risks.
We then identify the human, material, creative, and technical resources available to help drive the project.
Finally, we develop detailed plans, schedules, and budgets that will govern the execution of the project. This usually includes defining deliverables review/signoff processes, scope change processes, and test plans.
2. design and prototype - We now start developing detailed technical, functional, marketing, and operational requirements for the system. Then we produce detailed technical, operational, and creative 'blueprints' of deliverables.
These blueprints range from architectural models to creative design comps and use cases. Based on this work, we then iteratively assemble prototypes of the target system, which are often highly functional and even run on the anticipated destination platforms.
3. validate - Having developed detailed designs and functional prototypes, we need to ensure that our thinking and efforts are headed in the right direction. In order to do this, we validate our designs and progress through formal user testing of prototypes.
This allows us to identify and repair any flaws in the functional or creative design of our deliverables, before we move to full-scale engineering efforts.
4. develop - Our technical and creative staff iteratively develop the fully-functional target system. Individual iterations of technical and functional deliverables are repeatedly unit-tested to ensure that quality is maintained.
This phase typically includes software development, creative asset development, hardware provisioning, systems configuration, and systems integration. At the conclusion of this development phase, a final release candidate system is assembled and made ready for final testing, which occurs in the next phase.
5. test - Although we progressively test throughout the previous phase, this particular stage of our methodology is devoted to certification testing. In other words, the testing phase helps ensure that we do not launch applications, sites or systems that are incomplete, insecure, or otherwise flawed.
This typically includes user, unit, stress, load, and security testing. If we discover bugs in our work, we repair the bugs and thoroughly re-test the improved system. When we have met all previously agreed-upon testing certification criteria for the system, we are ready to launch.
6. launch - During the launch phase, we move all functioning applications from our staging environment to the production environment and 'go live'. This begins with the execution of a rigorous roll-out plan, which often includes migration of existing systems and training of employees to use the new system.
After launch, we carefully monitor usage, operations and performance of the new system over the course of a pre-determined burn-in period (typically 30-90 days). If necessary, we provide additional tuning or re-configuration, and we also quickly fix any previously undiscovered bugs in the system.
7. support - Following the launch phase, we provide a wide range of support services. In addition to conventional technical support and maintenance contracts, we provide end-user application-level helpdesk-style support. Finally, we provide user training and extensive documentation, including user's guides and operations run-books.
