Death To The Waterfall [Webdesign]

May 9

Written By 1980k

Most developers/designers adapt to the waterfall process, because it’s an industry standard. It’s in every job post, “Must be able to handle 1000’s of projects at once.” Hmm, no thanks.

This process can have adverse effects on the whole organization. Delayed projects effect other projects by tying up valuable resources. Making it very hard to allocate team members because everyone is multi-tasking.

This process does not create teams it creates assembly lines. It divides teams into silos that don’t communicate until it’s time to hand off deliverables. This causes confusion because most of the communication is misinterpreted, or lost between team members.

This process is both duplicative and inefficient.

I’ve always had a problem with the standard agency waterfall process. It sucks. And to tell you the truth, its not even worth fixing. The problem lies within the structure itself, so patching it won’t help.

We need a new process.

In order to change our process we must change the way we think. Every team member must contribute to a project’s strategy from day one. Instead of one team that handles multiple projects lets create smaller teams with 100% committed resources to one project. Let’s explore further.

“Process is often shaped by how teams are organized. Small tactical teams can accomplish more are capable of executing multiple rounds of planning, design, and code quickly.” - Trent Walton

Smaller teams inspire communication and collaboration among its members. They also invoke skill overlap & peer learning as they are expected to perform their jobs as well as any others if needed. When a team member finishes their tasks, they shift to support the other members in any way possible.

A small team should include a project manager, a designer and a developer at the least. The members should dedicate all of their time to one project and set a goal for a specific iteration. An iteration can be 1 to 6 weeks depending on the scope of the project. The point is that all members take part of strategy, planning & execution.

“Everyone is just as important on a project. Some play larger roles, some only share a single idea, but all voices need to be heard and understood.” - Daniel Mall

We need a new process based on smaller teams that are fluid and always changing, just like the technology we build with.

We need a responsive process.

PLAN

Identify team members and establish project roles.
Conduct a kickoff meeting with the client, gather requirements & project goals.
Gather and audit content.
Define the project strategy and scope.
Compile communications brief and send to the client.
Create a site diagram from content and communications brief.
Send site diagram to client for feedback.
Revise site diagram based on client feedback.

DESIGN / DEVELOP

Sketch UX layouts from site diagram and content.
Code a responsive HTML Prototype from sketches, site diagram and content.
Send the HTML Prototype to the client for feedback.
Revise HTML Prototype based on client feedback. Create style guide in Photoshop during feedback phase.
Send the style guide to the client for feedback.
Revise style guide based on client feedback. Create mock-up in photoshop during feedback phase.
Send mock-ups to the client for feedback.
Revise mock-ups based on client feedback. Code beta website from html prototype & mock-up during feedback phase.
Send the beta website to the client for feedback.

LAUNCH

Test responsive site across browsers and multiple devices.
Establish a maintenance plan & schedule training.
Launch website!
Conduct a follow up meeting with team members and client to address overall process and ways to improve.
Learn from team mistakes and refine process.

BENEFITS

Testing starts in the prototype phase which allows more time to identify & fix bugs.
Design mock-ups based on a live responsive prototype as apposed to a static wire-frame.
Prototype code becomes the framework for the final site.
Save time by designing in the browser instead of designing static wire-frames.
Client gets to preview and make changes in their native browser. Priceless!

Special thanks to Trent Walton, Ben Callahan, Daniel Mall and Steve Fisher for inspiring me to write this article.

Now lets get out there and build the web!