Web Design Magic Blog

32 Bit Thinking in a 64 Bit World

daren@webdesignmagic.com.au (Daren Hawes) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:02:47 GMT

Here at Web Design Magic we have literally spent years and years attempting to perfect the best methodology to invent software or create websites and systems. In the beginning, very much like any up and coming software house, we seemed to jump in and start building without to much thought into any processes either functional, legal or visual.

In the past 10 years as the industry evolved so did methodologies. Methodologies are rules (not set in concrete) that we have been told to follow in the attempt to create the perfect website on budget and on time. Anyone in this game knows how hard this is to achieve. Some methodologies suit some people and/or programming languages and others just don't suit at all.

We use multiple methodologies here; however our core is the MSF (Microsoft Solutions Framework). Even “out of the box” this framework is far too complicated for the average web design company as it is designed to be utilised by software developers, systems administrators or engineers. However, the basis of this methodology is strong and well supported in the community.

We have taken core elements from the MSF and applied it along with other concepts to create a methodology to develop websites that works for both ourselves and our customers.

The MSF is broken into five main parts or phases. Envisioning, Planning, Developing, Stabilising and Deployment. All these phases are required in any lengthy project or customisation. However, we typically do not worry about this amount of detail with small packages or standard CMS products.

It is how we utilise and manage these stages that make our methodology ours and outlined below is the basis to how we work.

Making Real Software

In the past we typically wrote strong and strict functional specification documents that we had to adhere to and this was how we gauged our success. Unfortunately, this made it unrealistic and time and time again we saw software being rushed to meet the document scope and deadlines. Although, we still feel it is VERY important to have a functional specification document, we also believe that we should loosen up on the nitty gritty in these documents and start writing real software.

Long gone are the days of writing software from scratch. People do not have the time or budget to do so; instead we find ourselves “customising” pre written software, like our CMS, Online Store and SharePoint products. The creators of these software solutions have made their products with this in mind and as developers we can really customise any part of these products to suit customer requirements for a lot less cost and in a much faster go to market time than the old school way.

Customers love to see things on screen. There is nothing worse that attempting to show a customer a concept on paper (written words) or try to explain to them your ideas. The best way is to show them what we feel this tool can do for their business problem and give them something to look and play with fast. They can then typically find ways around the product and see what customisations they really require, what can be completed in later stages and what can be completed with their current budget.

Below is a flow of how we typically handle a medium sized project.

Firstly, both our sales and development team discuss requirements with the customer and based on what we know about our products and the constraints we provide a “ball park” budget for the project. It is at this point the customer will have an idea on what “built in” features will be suitable and what customisations are required. We then proceed with formal agreements and install a “Vanilla” copy of the product. This has NO customisations and is set up to what we believe is as close to the customers initial requirements.

It is then the customers turn to “play” with the software. Customers love this part. It has only been a matter of weeks and they are using their new software. This is the real part. Real software, no confusing documents - just juicy features! The customers then typically have a bunch of questions and provide these in a report.

Our development team, who by now have a great understanding of the requirements, then provide a more concrete time estimate for customisations and they are documented and called a “Functional Specification”. It is this document that is our blueprint for the project and it is our mission to get the price as close as possible to the ballpark first issued - Assuming the customer has not changed his mind. When the customer decides on what customisations need to be present in the first version the developers get to work. Once completed the customer completes their UAT (User Acceptance Testing) and provides a report. Any changes are made and the site goes live.

As you can see it is not really that hard. The whole methodology is designed to be fair on both parties as well as stop re-invention. Nine times out of ten customers find a way around a problem with existing functionality and this is perfect as it reduces the total cost of the solution.

37 Signals – They are onto it!

A great read is a book from 37 Signals. Pavel, one of our developers here on the Gold Coast put me onto this book and it has changed the way we develop software. Microsoft is even adopting these methodologies in their products to increase the time to market and reduce software development budgets.

You can read more about 37 Signals here - http://gettingreal.37signals.com/
Or the inspiring book at - http://gettingreal.37signals.com/toc.php

Mixing Business with Pleasure

daren@webdesignmagic.com.au (Daren Hawes) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 04:58:25 GMT

I don’t know if you have noticed, but there seems to be a new way we are meant to catch up with friends, share small snippets of information and show off our photos – Social Networking. I have always said “I can never find the time to do all this sort of stuff. It’s for the younger generation.” Sort of ironic as I type my blog hey...

This got me thinking.... Should we use these sorts of sites or technologies in our business? In the short I think yes, but carefully.

A few of our team members who use these tools asked if they could represent Web Design Magic via these sorts of sites and proceeded to setup portals in the following websites;

http://www.facebook.com/pages/West-Burleigh-Australia/Web-Design-Magic-Pty-Ltd/57089734321
http://twitter.com/webdesignmagic

Being a sceptic that I am I was sure no one would be interested. You know what – I was wrong. I think these tools work, but you must ensure that you use them wisely. It is pointless to setup a site and abandon it after a month or two. You need to work on your social network regularly but also not to much to “annoy” people.

You must also moderate these sorts of sites. It is common on blogs to allow your readers to save comments. Probably a good idea to moderate these comments just in case you have enraged some not so friendly web surfer. This brings me to other tools for business that follow the model of social networking websites.

As you may be aware there is a product out there called SharePoint. It is a big part of this company and will be for some time. Really it is a collection of forums, collaboration tools, blogs, image sharing tools and document management tools. Sound familiar? In essence SharePoint is a Social Networking tool for business. If we go home and use these sorts of tools to communicate would it not make sense to do something similar at work? We must remember that a majority of our staff are from the generations where this is the norm to communicate. Instant Messaging, Twitter, Facebook.

So there we go. Have a look at our websites above and start building your own. These tools are good for small business who are NOT time poor and have the resources to set them up. And best of all you can do it yourself.

Here is a list of Social Networking sites and their member counts - Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites

And, yes I did just Twitter our followers and advised them of this post..

D

Forever - Impossible - Maybe a Weekend?

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:16:22 GMT

Yep. I love your work.. How about for a weekend or even a day? I am going to start up a group of people, advertise the fact in the middle of their community - FaceBook or You Tube - and see who will take up the challenge! I bet less than a third could fight their addiction... Even for a day. I'm onto it..

Uhm, Ok good idea

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:46:11 GMT

Ok so I'm addicted too. My addiction is so far gone that I believe the Internet is a complete duplicate of the whole Universe. The idea of a web existance is a derivative of everything being connected anyway. This is why it works so extremely well. What really is going on is connection by thought matter, not PC's. The Baby Boomers know this, this is why they designed the platform for the generations below to run with. Now they know where you live and how you spend and where you spend and the time spent looking at particular objects and so on. The Baby Boomers whom have been left behind are the ones who thought it was all a fad. There is only one thing man has done succesfully ever. "Technology" in any form or shape from a Boomerang to a Pocket PC. So this means technology only ever gets more, NOT less? The Baby Boomers invented mobile phones, video games and text chat to milk the disposible cash from the generations below. And all along we thought we had to keep in touch constantly because we were told so. It was a younger generations weapon against the elders. Hah. So you want to live in a world without Technology? How long can you last? Well start by flicking the Off switch on the power box outside your home. At the end of the day there is night time. No point to it unless you want be up early to milk cows. Except for one very interesting thing. It is very very quiet. Technology is noisy stuff. Want to try an exercise before you jump ship and start making cane baskets. Step.1 Make a web page somewhere and ask for something specific. it does not have to be directed to anyone because it is the web/universe you are talking to not a human. Also it does not have to make sense to anyone but you. Step.2 Wait. "D"

Keep you posted.

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:15:39 GMT

I will keep you posted. But I was thinking of asking other people if they wish to go cold turkey with their addiction! Ha. See how long we can all last...

Yup, I know what you mean...

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:34:46 GMT

I have it with gaming consoles!! What do you have in mind?

Seven Days Without Technology Makes One Weak!

daren@webdesignmagic.com.au (Daren Hawes) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:10:40 GMT

I have always loved technology. When the first computer came out I had to have one. I remember saving up hundreds of my hard earned dollars (or mum and dads) to purchase a Dick Smith VZ200 and then soon a Vic 20 and then we saw power with the Commodore 64, 128 and so on...

My technology habit now includes a house with a PC in each room, A TV that uses Microsoft Media Centre to drive it and a pocket PC in the corner of the lounge room to check my emails all day and night. I have to ask myself is this healthy? I really feel uncomfortable if I am not “connected” for more than a day!

As a business owner I must say I truly envy my fore fathers. I remember when I got my first job in the late 80’s my boss used to give me 20c to make a phone call to the office once per day if I was out on the road. Now days I receive up to 30 calls or emails day or night. How did they ever do business? - Slower.

You ask any Baby Boomer or older generation person. They simply cannot understand how we have grasped technology and live with it. SMS, Email, iPhones, Pocket Pc’s... Ahhh. It really freaks them out.

“When I was a kid, I remember hitting a round hoop with a long stick... None of these video games, mobile phones that make all the kids lazy...” We hear it all the time from our folks.

This got me to thinking. Technology is my heroin. I am addicted to it! What can I do about this? Well that’s when I decided I must not be the only person out there who has this same problem so I am going to do something about it. I am going to do an experiment.

Can I survive without technology? If so - how long? What constitutes technology? What will the impact be? Am I the only person addicted?

I plan to answer all these questions and more over the next few months. I have a plan – stay posted.

daren@webdesignmagic.com.au (Daren Hawes) — Fri, 29 May 2009 20:42:27 GMT