The Agony of a Web Project: The Problem Isn’t You or Your Agency… It’s the Methodology
Developing a project from start to finish can be a headache if it’s not carried out properly. If the scope, objectives, deliverables, and a way to measure the project’s success that satisfies all stakeholders are not defined from the very beginning, it’s very common for both teams and clients to feel frustrated by the gap between expectations and the final product delivered.
In the specific case of developing websites and web applications some essential planning stages in the project lifecycle are often skipped, leading to endless rounds of changes because the work was not approached with a strategic vision from the start.
So how can we resolve these common and unpleasant issues to guarantee the best team performance, optimal resource management, and the delivery of promised results?
First, we rely on existing work methodologies. We know that for the execution of any project to be carried out in the best way, both linear and iterative methodologies have been developed in the field of project management.
Limitations of Linear Methodologies
Linear methodologies follow one step after another, with no changes to the plan defined at the beginning, until the expected result is reached. In the Mexican market, it is very common to request a project quote as a whole, which in many cases is unrealistic.
Following these methodologies, such as Waterfall, tends to work well in engineering, manufacturing, and construction projects. However, when applied to the development of a website or web application, they overlook the unexpected twists that almost always arise in projects of this nature. For example:
Different points of view from stakeholders, which generate endless rounds of changes.
The resources we have, based on the budgets approved at the beginning of the project, may not be able to address or implement new requirements once the work has started.
There is a single project delivery date, so the client has minimal involvement in the development process.
And most likely, only in the case of very simple applications or websites that don’t require scaling or updating in the near future, can they be carried out with a linear workflow that proceeds step by step, as shown in the following diagram.
There are many styles of Waterfall, but all of them are characterized by their waterfall or sequential structure—that is, two teams from different areas cannot work on tasks simultaneously. Instead, one activity must be completed before another can begin. For example, in web development, the design team would work before the development team, and there are no cyclical iterations that allow for client feedback at each stage. Put simply: what the client states as a requirement at the start of the project lifecycle is what they get—no adjustments are made along the way until the final delivery.
This methodology is the most traditional and sequential. It can be very useful for projects where immovable scopes are determined from the very first planning stage since, if changed later, they would generate significant costs for the organization.
Iterative Methodologies as a Solution
At Mints.Cloud, we use the Agile methodology in all our developments, as it has proven to be more effective. This work strategy involves iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve over time according to the project’s needs.
In this way, the work is carried out through the collaboration of organized teams working simultaneously, immersed in a shared process of short-term decision-making—repeated cyclically, as shown in the following diagram, until the project is delivered.
The Scrum methodology is a subtype of agile approaches characterized by incremental development and work blocks with defined timeframes called sprints, which prioritize what has the most value for the client. The team synchronizes daily, and as many adjustments as needed are made in each iteration.
Each iteration of the lifecycle includes: planning, requirements analysis, design, coding, testing, and documentation. The concept of "Done" is especially important here, since the goal of each iteration is not to add all the functionality needed to justify launching the product to market, but rather to incrementally build a functional product.
Some of the benefits of working with this methodology are:
Unlike a linear methodology, at Mints Cloud we’ve found that the best approach is to quote projects by hours worked… but don’t worry, this doesn’t mean operational teams take longer to complete tasks. While an estimated price is provided to the client at the start, this can vary depending on requirements that arise along the way. This provides absolute flexibility, as as many adjustments as needed can be made during development, while always aligning each planning stage with the assigned budget.
Team and stakeholder communication is frequent and complemented by documentation.
The focus of work meetings includes reviewers, documentation writers, support staff, iteration designers, and project managers.
Functional individual components are the first measure of progress.
This approach is flexible, allowing improvements to be incorporated during the project’s development itself.
It is customer-centered, as it facilitates optimizing the customer experience.
Different project areas work together on simultaneous tasks aimed at meeting the objectives of each sprint or work cycle.
It fosters autonomy within each work area, without losing sight of the client’s needs and the expected final product.
If you’ve suffered headaches when hiring agencies to develop websites or applications and didn’t get the expected results, do as we do—work with a strategic vision and the right methodologies, and you’ll notice the difference!