New technologies and methodologies usually carry a promise that if we use them, our web projects will run more smoothly, will cost less and go live more quickly.
Yet all too often, that promise is not fulfilled.
Are you using the right tools, adopting the right approach and getting the right advice? This article will give you just what you need to ensure your next web project is easier and smoother – with better results.
Tools for teams
Websites are built by people. This simple fact means the tools that help people to work better together, will also be the best ones for your web project.
At Design Industries, our tight-knit team of experts works smarter and faster because they’re able to collaborate, share, track and monitor progress using Jira and Confluence from Atlassian and they recommend these tools to their customers too.
Jira is a task tracker – a tool that can be used by teams to log, track, manage and report on project issues and their resolution.
Easy to set-up and configure, Jira makes it easy for the people responsible for building your website (in-house and vendor) to work quickly through issues, using a fast and intuitive web interface. Great keyboard shortcuts for quick data entry, powerful search and reporting for managing and keeping track of bugs and other issues are all features of Jira. And it’s great for Agile projects, which makes it perfect for the kind of web project approach that makes everybody’s life easier.
The difference between Confluence and other collaboration tools (yes, we know they are a dime a dozen) is that Confluence really works. An easy to use web interface enables sharing and communication from within the same office or remotely, eliminating bottlenecks. This keeps key project information out of people’s email inboxes and in a shared space. Information is most powerful when it’s available to everybody who needs it, which is why you need Confluence in your project toolkit.
Lose the excess – go lean and agile
Lean Startup for entrepreneurship and Agile for software and web development are two tried and tested methodologies for businesses – large and small. More than just the ‘keeping your project fit’ or ‘slimming down’ that their names suggest, Lean and Agile apply principles of cooperation, information sharing, feedback loop and regular reviews to enable great products to be delivered at a satisfying yet sustainable pace.
At their core Agile and Lean Startup methodologies allow projects and businesses to be responsive to new information and make better decisions as they develop their product. The methodologies sit on a foundation of adaptability and validation, based on feedback and communication with customers, development teams and users.
Both methodologies have simple-sounding statements that illustrate their philosophies. When it comes to the application of these approaches, a range of tools and techniques are available to trained and accredited experts such as the team of Design Industries.
The Agile Manifesto
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.
From the Agile Alliance website.
The Five Principles of Lean Startups
- Entrepreneurs are everywhere
- Entrepreneurship is management
- Validated learning
- Innovation accounting
- Build-Measure-Learn
From The Lean Startup website.
Work with experts
A common mistake made around these ideas of Lean and Agile is to half-apply the methodologies, or misunderstand how they work, inadvertently sabotaging projects with unsustainable approaches that don’t get results.
The best way to succeed is to work with a team of Lean Startup and Agile experts.
The journey from idea to execution is where your great ideas should be crystallised, refined, developed, tested and modified in response to feedback. Approaches with lengthy lead-times and locked-in roadmaps simply won’t build the websites, software and businesses that will succeed and thrive in the current climate of innovation and change.
Design Industries are experts in the principles of Agile and Lean Startup. They have been helping businesses build successful websites using these methodologies for years and they’ve seen what can be achieved.
DI’s Michael Dockery:
Traditional project management methods do not suit today’s rapidly changing environment. “Adapt or die”, sounds harsh, but might be true for your business. How do you instil adaptability into your businesses culture? Simple: get your head around these concepts and get the tools to make it easy to manage. It is very achievable.
