Forum Issue

Design, development & testing

	User requirements - what does the user want and need?
	Quality requirements (e.g. performance, reliability, safety and security)
	Prototype design - to clarify aspects with the user
	Functional specification - how will the system work (in detail)
	Development stages (probably adopting a modular approach)
	Testing: Testing each module independently (conducted by the developer) Testing the integrated system (conducted by the developer, perhaps in a simulation of the end user environment) Testing the system in a real user environment (e.g. beta testing) Follow-up customer support (e.g. bug fixing) Recording weaknesses in the design - in order to make an improved version next time round

Different industries use different terminology, but broadly speaking, each developer uses a significant number of the above steps - unless, of course, you are dealing with "Cowboys".

In the above formal elements there will also be aspects of design that consider ergonomics, usability, and look and feel (including artistic aspects).

A brief illustration of some design stages is provided below, using Web design as an example.

User requirements

In the case of a Web site though, there are two user types to bear in mind:

1. the business that will own the Web site; and
2. the Internet users that will visit the Web site and (hopefully) become customers of the business.

Related to this are quality requirements - an important and often overlooked aspect. Quality requirements specify performance and reliability aspects, e.g. how fast should a Web page download, and how reliable and up to date is the data presented on the Web site?

What will potential Web site visitors put up with? Well in terms of the speed of page downloads, there is a rule of thumb that says you have 10 seconds to make a good first impression - that means the page would have to be visible to the user within 10 seconds. Some Flash animation pages cannot achieve this download and display time, and that is why many have recommend that you do not use Flash, on your default home page at least.

10 seconds and counting . . .

Functional specification

Once a business approves the functional specification the Web developer can start on building the Web site. However, it is wise to have intermediate check points where the progress is reviewed to ensure that the developer and the business are still in agreement, in terms of how the specification is interpreted.

The functional specification should also consider the types of Web visitors expected and how they will navigate through the Web site, and profiling can be used to plan the structure of the Web site so that each user type is guided in a particular way through the Web site.

A good IT development project will also include quality requirements in the specification. These address the important aspects that many users typically forget to explicitly state such as the performance, security and reliability of the system.

Testing: Free use of tools

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