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Photo: Lunch stop at the Lake, Ward's Island, looking back at the city across the lake, July 1 2015 |
Project Development Overview
Use this project management worksheet to plan and keep your web projects on track. These essential steps and tasks are applicable to most projects.
Project Name:
Strategy - user needs and site objectives identified:
- The Goal of this project
- Intended audiences
- Scope of the information to be included
- Staffing and resources requirements
- Approximate time lines
- Hardware and software requirements
- Plans for implementation and maintenance.
Stage 1 - Planning
SITE SCOPE
- Requirements Gathering
- Project Creative Brief - Information gathering template
- Content Requirements - Overview
- Functional Specifications - description of feature set
- Content Outline - Guidelines
- Information Architecture - create Site Map
- Establish Client Zone - presentation of work in progress.
Stage 2 - Prototype Design
SITE SKELETON
- Creative outsourcing. Who will do the work: design, write, produce, test, sell
- Information analysis
- Design studies. - Design tasklist and activities
- brainstorming, design language alternatives
- grids, navigation studies
- sketches for look and feel, placement of key elements.
SITE STRUCTURE
- Information Design
- Navigation design
- Interface Design
- Update client zone - presentation of work in progress
- Client review and input
- Develop to incorporate feedback
- Content Management System - content development and administration Content plan - schedule includes client milestones.
SITE SURFACE
- Initial visual design
- comps look and feel, navigation and user interface
- Update client zone
- Prototype Review. Client review and input to proceed
- Review work based of feedback
- Design Specification - create first draft document for team reference
- Content development
- Design development. Final Comps:
- all graphic elements and treatments identified
- multimedia development - audio, video components
- behaviour and functional design
- Initiate StyleGuide to document development decisions.
- Content first draft - all pages identified
- Initial information layout
- Update client zone - present work in progress
- Team review
- Client review and approval to proceed based on design specifications and established requirements.
Stage 3 - Prototype Development
- Establish internal development area
- Final content
- Create working HTML prototype
- Update site presentation area
- Conduct internal usability review - see Usability Principles and Checklist
- Test on identifed browsers and platforms
- Design revisions based on feedback
- Client review and input
- Revisions based on feedback.
Stage 4 - Project Development
- Develop by completing:
- templates for all pages
- code integration
- graphics and visual elements design
- final content presentation
- Conduct quality assurance review - see Guidelines and checklist
- Conduct User testing - external team as defined by Scope
- Make revisions based on feedback
- Document development decisions. Update style guide.
- Update site presentation area
- Team review
Stage 5 - Implementation
- Prep project for technical integration
- Stage to Q A site for internal team review
- Maintain communication, support, collaboration with cross-functional team
Stage 6 - Maintenance
includes Next Phase Planning
- Site Administration User Guide
- Post Mortem
- Site Content Annual Launch Plan
- Update documentation and presentation area
- Update documentation and site presentation area
- User Experience Review
- Content Update
- Functionality Update
- Update to incorporate current website standards
- Document recommendations/milestones for next development cycle
- Considerations for social media and promotion.
PHOTO: Lake Ontario, Toronto view from Ward's Island, July 1 2015