IMS5401 Web-based Systems Development Topic 3: Development for the web 3(f) Implications of issues in web site design

2 Agenda 1.The context for development 2.Responsibilities of the developer 3.Web development teams and processes

The context for development Development as an abstract topic can only be addressed in the broadest of terms (hence the vagueness of some of what we have discussed as design guidelines/rules) ALL development aims to achieve certain objectives – whatever works best IS best, no matter what design rules/guidelines may say Therefore we may commodify design principles, but we cannot commodify design

4 The context for development (1) Web Application (purposes) Design features User(s)

5 The context for development (2) Design Process Design standards Technology constraints Design aesthetics Functional requirements Design Outcomes

Responsibilities of the developer To know what is important (and why) for the site being developed To be able to identify and call upon the appropriate design skills as required To identify the compromises needed and direct the design accordingly To liaise with technical staff responsible for implementation

7 What matters (and how much)? What is the relative importance of: Information content design? Page structure and layout? Architecture and navigation? Content maintenance and management? How do these needs reinforce or conflict with one another? What compromises are needed and how should they be implemented in the design?

8 Who should do it (and why)? To what standards (ie quality) must each aspect of site design be developed? What are the key skills required in getting the design to the appropriate quality? What specialists need to be employed to provide these skills? Graphic designers Photographers Content developers Information architects etc

9 Where do IS/IT professionals fit in (and how)? What sorts of skills can IS/IT professionals provide in the development process? How relevant are they to the needs of the site? How do they establish their credentials for providing relevant specialist skills? What do they need to do to learn (or improve) their skills to suit different types of sites?

10 An analogy with the past Computer systems development before IS professionals The evolving role of the IS professional Systems analyst? Business analyst? Technical analyst? Application specialist? Are we about to see this pattern repeated (or is it all just a continuation of the same pattern)?

Web site development teams and processes ‘Traditional’ IS development team Business analysts Systems analysts Programmers Specialists (database, application software,testing, etc) Web development team? …?? Note: Lack of certainty over roles Diversity of specialist backgrounds Lack of established norms for collaboration

12 Development processes ‘Traditional’ IS processes Waterfall SDLC Prototyping/RAD/JAD/iterative/etc Structured methodologies Web development processes …?? Note: Lack of clearly-defined processes Diversity of process models Lack of established norms/structures for development process

13 Developing development teams and processes Prevalence of ad hoc approaches Problems and increasing need for professionalism The development of norms for practice The current state-of-play. Refer: Taylor et al Barry & Lang Lee et al

14 The future Commodification of applications Identification and commodification of ‘best practice’ processes and techniques Evolution of specialised skills Commodification of technologies; impact on skill requirements Organizational recognition of needs Development of specialised development processes