How to Get the Most Value out of Web Development

Increasingly, clients wanting an application built on a tight budget are drawing up extravagant feature lists which are incompatible with the amount they are prepared to pay. This tension between the client's budget and needs can lead to dissatisfaction with the end product or conflict with the development team. However, it doesn't always have to end in deadlock.

One way to overcome the issue is by building and releasing the application in stages. This method suits clients with a limited cash flow and has the additional advantage of allowing you to get user feedback quickly. This information can then be used to help you decide which features you need to build next.

Yet sometimes there's simply no need to shell out for a fully bespoke system, particularly when there are viable off-the-shelf solutions available at a fraction of the cost. But what do you do if an off-the-shelf system doesn't quite fit your needs and a fully bespoke one is out of budget? I see three options:

Open Source
Customizing an existing open source application (if one is available) will cost considerably less than a bespoke system, as you only need to pay for the new features.

API Extensions / Plug-ins / Widgets
It is possible to build bespoke applications which use third party APIs, a good compromise which not only saves on development time but also provides the client with a more feature-complete solution. For example, MailChimp can be added for email marketing, Intense Debate or Disqus for commenting, and Get Satisfaction or Zendesk for support and help-desk functionality.

Application Platforms
If you use an existing paid application platform, it may sometimes be possible to extend it with existing plug-ins or develop your own one to suit your needs. For example, Shopify allows users to customize their e-commerce sites with a range of additional apps, as well as giving option for developers to build custom features.

People beginning online business ventures rarely have money to spare, so there is no point in pushing the boat out on bespoke applications when the same results can be achieved for much less. The existence of open source applications, plug-ins and API extensions on the internet is a gift to clients on a tight budget, and it should be exploited accordingly.

 

Bit Zesty - Ruby on Rails app development London

What are the Advantages of Scrum for the Client?

Scrum clearly provides many benefits for the developers, but what are its advantages for the client and other stakeholders? This is a question I faced recently in a client meeting, and to answer it I first need to define Scrum itself. In layman terms, it is a project management technique that is used with agile development projects. It aims to make projects more effective by defining the roles of team members and by providing a specific way of organising the workload over a series of short development cycles (sprints).

Benefits for the client:

Scrum's main advantage is the way it facilitates changing customer requirements. It does this by providing a flexible framework wherein new features can be added and re-prioritizations can take place without negatively affecting the project flow and team's morale.

Secondly, the system of sprints encourages regular feedback, as each sprint is followed by a review. These reviews provide opportunities for the entire team to reflect on the previous sprint and discuss improvements for the next.

Thirdly, by defining roles for team members it promotes collaboration as well as clear and open lines of communication between the developers, the client and other stakeholders.

Finally, Scrum provides a framework for work estimation, where features are estimated in units of points: each point represents a relative amount of effort required. This technique is flexible enough to allow for changes in requirements as well as changes in the development team's velocity.

However, Scrum is not suitable for all projects and has certain limitations:

It does not work with traditional software development methodologies such as Waterfall.

It cannot be fully adopted if a team is too small or too big - an ideal team would consist of 4 to 6 developers.

It cannot work effectively unless it has have full management/client support.

It requires a Scrum Master who understands the Scrum practices and is able to apply them.

 

Bit Zesty uses scrum and agile for Ruby on Rails application development

Agile Web Development Process

Feature Planning Workshop

A feature planning workshop is essentially a brainstorming session. At a bare minimum, the group will consist of the developer's team manager and the person leading the project from within your own organization. the presence of other developers, software users and other stakeholders could also add value. During the workshop the identified requirements are captured in the form of user stories and prioritized.

Estimate and Schedule

After the feature planning workshop, the developers estimate how long each user story will take to implement. Work is divided into one or two week cycles (iterations) and resources are allocated accordingly.  You should then receive an estimate and an iteration schedule.

Weekly/Fortnightly Demonstration and Planning Meetings

Once the project is given the go-ahead, you may want to meet developers again to plan the first iteration cycle - that is, to define goals for the iteration and to clarify, detail and re-prioritize features. The development team will then go away and write the code and tests while all the time collaborating with you to make sure they are building what you want.

At the end of the iteration, developers should demonstrate the completed features for that iteration. Then you can provide feedback and proceed to plan the second iteration in more detail. The process should keep repeating itself until the application is complete.

Completion
Once all the iterations are completed and you are happy with the result, the developers should deploy the final version of the application to your server. But the relationship should not end here - make sure they are there to support you if needed.

For more information on how to make sure your project runs smoothly, read 5 Ways To Keep a Web Project on The Rails.

Bit Zesty - Ruby on Rails Development

5 Ways To Keep a Web Project on The Rails

It is amazing how many things can go wrong during the course of a web project. Here, we focus on five problems which any project can encounter and explore how they can be avoided or solved.

1. Poor Communication

It is vital to establish a good line of communication between yourself and the developmentteam as soon as possible.  Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings and slow the progress of your web project considerably.

SOLUTION:  Try to ensure that there is an assigned project manager within the development team you work. You should also appoint a dedicated person within your own company as a point of contact for the development team.

2. Requirements Not Met

At the end of a project, it is all too common for clients to be presented with a product which is very different from what they had envisioned at the beginning.

SOLUTION:  Have regular meetings with your development team and request demonstrations of the progress they have made as you move forward with the web project.

3. Undefined Priorities

When priorities become muddled, projects can drag on for long after the target deadline, with no end in sight. This confusion is often caused by the introduction of more and more requirements to the brief as the project progresses.

SOLUTION:  Be clear about your priorities. It is far more efficient to launch the product and then tailor further adjustments to specific user feedback than to delay the launch date indefinitely while making changes based on guesswork.

4. Inadequate Testing

Testing is usually the first corner to be cut when the budget is tight. However, it is a risky step which rarely pays off: inadequate testing can leave the web project vulnerable to many bugs, which in turn will slow down the project and result in greater costs in the long run.

SOLUTION:  Ask for automated testing as part of the development process, especially if the web project is complex. It is also good to have someone within your company testing the project throughout the duration, helping to identify bugs as early as possible.

5. Warning Signs

If you think that something might be wrong, the likelihood is that you're right. Trust your instincts!

SOLUTION:  As soon as you notice warning signs such as slow progress or poor quality work, get to work addressing the issues so that they don’t end up snowballing.

The best way to keep your project going along the right tracks is to fix problems as soon as they start to occur. Read on Agile Web Development Process.