Sites are developed as 'cookie cutter' sites and then customized. The
system has been developed as a 'System Development Life Cycle' system that accounts for
major stages in development:
- System Requirements
- Planning
- Design
- Development
- Testing
- Use and Maintenance
- System Retirement
During the System Requirements phase of the cycle we identify what the focus of the
site will be, what type of visitors it will see, traffic volume, infrastructure
requirements, volume and type of material the site will contain and the extent to which it
depends on other sites.
We get some 'economies of scale' by using off the shelf designs and components to
narrow system requirements. Some requirements will be out of scope for this type of site.
By knowing in advance what we are able to do, we can reduce the costs associated with
attempting inappropriate projects.
Planning is similarly constrained by what we have the tools to do. This reduces the
cost of examining inappropriate alternatives and creates a much narrower target for the
design. During the planning stage we will identify promising domain names, do name
searches and attempt to come up with a good domain name that meets requirements for the
type of site. At this point, we prep the target server and register the domain name.
Design principally involves the particular placement of graphics, choice of color
schemes, navigation and content. Most common tasks are already provided by off the shelf
components. We aim for a simple, consistent look and feel that is in line with the domain
name, the type of business and the expected visitors. In the design phase we
identify and design components that will have to be developed specifically for the site.
We also refine the 'branding' for the site name and it's domain name to bring them in line
to present a coherent and polished image for the site.
Development. consists of the following things:
- Server setup.
- Selection and publication of components for the site.
- Creation of graphical content and placement on the server
- 'Branding' the site with graphics and text for top, left and bottom borders.
- Navigation prep bars are placed and configured.
- Content generation and placement
- Customer Care provisioning
- Site user setup -- generic and specific users are setup in e-mail, FTP and (if required)
Front Page for the generation of related websites.
- Development testing
Testing -- Once the site has been developed and unit tested, the over-all system is
tested to make certain that navigation is correct, no content has been missed, that the
overall look is correct and that forms used in the site all target the appropriate files
and mail boxes. Generic user accounts are tested to ensure that they behave appropriately
and that they recieve information from the site as per design. Accounts are also tested to
make certain they operate as required and can get to administration facilities, etc.
Use and maintenance. We have an underlying HushCare package that includes maintenance
interfaces for the particular server and provides for first and second line support in the
event there are system failures or problems during use. Regular maintenance cycles depend
upon the extent to which the site is used. Very low volume, static sites can be on an
annual maintenance schedule for clean-up of system logs, re-registration of domain names
and other maintenance activities. High traffic sites may require daily maintenance. The
sites are designed to minimize required maintenance and the extent of training needed by
maintenance personnel. Infrastructure maintenance (server backups, etc) is done by
HushServer 'behind the scenes' and does not require any input from our clients. Additions
and updates to the site can be done by HushWebs, but can also be done by third parties or
internal staff.
System retirement -- We hope that sites will remain online permanently. That is why we
have a low-cost hosting and maintenance model. However, even permanent sites will
eventually require changes similar to retirement (such as moving the domain to another
server). Our sites are designed to allow a graceful transition to low activity, movement
to other servers or retirement altogether. In the event that the site will go off the
internet altogether (such as in the case of a one-time promotional site) relevant parties
are notified, the domain is parked or discarded and the site is deleted from our servers.
Backups are usually kept, but they can be disposed of if required. Secure erasure can be
done iif required as well. |
