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Schedule of Time and Resources
Schedule
development timeline
Create a schedule to help ensure that you meet your
development deadline. Below is a sample schedule. Start by making a
table (step A) which lists each step in your process, followed by the
number of working days each step will take to complete (step B).
Include user tests throughout the plan.
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Project start |
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Feb 2 |
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Make development schedule
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2 |
Feb 4 |
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Conduct audience and competitive
analysis |
8 |
Feb 16 |
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Create strategic plan
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3 |
Feb 19 |
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Approve budget (staff, equipment
and software |
3 |
Feb 24 |
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Assign staff |
1 |
Feb 25 |
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Write design brief, communicate
to staff |
1 |
Feb 26 |
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Writing: first draft complete
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10 |
Mar 12 |
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Writing: editorial review of
draft |
5 |
Mar 19 |
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Define navigation and site
structure |
4 |
Mar 4 |
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Complete sketches for graphic
elements and placement of media |
3 |
Mar 9 |
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Complete sketches for interface
design |
2 |
Mar 9 |
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Review sketches and site
structure |
1 |
Mar 10 |
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Create low-fidelity prototype of
interaction and navigation |
3 |
Mar 13 |
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Test prototype with users
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3 |
Mar 18 |
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Visual and media elements
complete (first iteration) |
5 |
Mar 25 |
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Writing: final draft complete
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4 |
Mar 25 |
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Create high-fidelity prototype
including content |
5 |
April 1 |
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Test high-fidelity prototype
with users |
5 |
Apr 8 |
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Incorporate results of testing
into final design |
3 |
Apr 13 |
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Content and design approved
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2 |
Apr 15 |
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Review and test for
accessibility |
1 |
Apr 16 |
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Performance test all pages on
various platforms and browsers |
1 |
Apr 22 |
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Transfer site to server
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3 |
Apr 22 |
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Conduct final test on all links
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1 |
Apr 23 |
Next (step C, below) work out each step into a
Gantt chart. You need to consider those steps that occur serially
versus those occurring in parallel, and a Gantt chart is a good format
for visualizing the relationship between these steps. Also consider
weekend and holiday dates which will be recognized by your team. In
order to control your schedule throughout the project, it is critical
to understand which steps of the project are affected if there is a
change in the completion date of any individual step.
![[sample Gantt chart]](images/gant2.gif)
Return to your table (top, step D) and list the
completion dates for each step, based on your Gantt chart. Of course,
you may also need to revise the number of days allotted to certain
steps (step B) in your table as well as in your Gantt chart in order
to accommodate your deadlines.
Plan for an
iterative development and design process
Development is characterized by a process
consisting of a series of stages. In successful development these
stages naturally occur in sequence, however it is inevitable that
discoveries made during one stage will cause you to revisit a previous
stage. For instance, you may begin making a prototype which you
believe is based on a good idea, but as you see the physical prototype
develop, you may realize you need to reconsider some aspect of that
original idea. You should not expect each stage of the process to go
perfectly the first time. The cyclical nature of the development
process is also known as "iterative design". Your plan should allow
time for more than one pass through each stage of the process.
Plan budget
Your resource budget needs to account for the
following:
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Personnel: technicians, designers, and editors to
maintain the server and the content |
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Hardware: production machines as well as a
hardware test environment for staging and testing the site |
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Server: either a server, domain name, and network
lines, or an ISP for hosting your site (Make sure the server you
will use is capable of handling the programs you want it to run,
such as Java, and the amount of traffic you expect it to receive)
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Software: search engines, authoring tools, visual
design tools, scripts to support feedback mechanisms, database
software |
Assign a team
Make certain you have the skills necessary to
complete a Web development project. Below is a list of skill areas and
the activities that must be completed within those areas. The exact
titles and number of people who fill these functions will vary
according to the size and goals of the project and the organization.
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Project Management
- Client contact
- Communication of project requirements
- Project scheduling
- Budget planning
- Resource allocation
- Assures copyright compliance
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Usability Engineering
- Users and task analysis
- Communication of user and functional requirements
- Management of user evaluation of design
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Media Design
- Information structure design
- Prototype design
- Design of communication concept and physical media
- Design of physical interface, navigation, interaction
- Style guide writing
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Content Management
- Provision of domain-specific knowledge
- Writing and editing
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Implementation
- Planning hardware and software requirements
- Programming and scripting
- Producing imagery, sound, and other content elements
- Performance testing (testing for speed, accuracy of link
connections)
- Accessibility testing (alt text on images, titles on frames and
pages, etc.)
- Site transfer to server
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Maintenance
- Maintenance on content and links
- Server maintenance, database support
- Creation of content updates (text, graphics, programming)
- Quality, performance, and accessibility testing of any new content
- Customer/user support and communications
- File administration |
Schedule user
involvement
 Scheduling
user involvement appropriately in various stages of the development
process will improve the effectiveness of your design. Remember to
allow time in your schedule to make the changes that testing indicates
are necessary. The best time to involve users is early in the planning
and designing stages, so that you will have time to make changes based
on their responses and still meet your deadline. The following types
of user input and feedback are particularly valuable:
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Gain input from users on the goal and content of
the site (See "User/Audience Analysis" in the "Planning" section)
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Gain input from users on the organization of the
content (See "Structure" in the "Design" section) |
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Gain feedback from users on the proposed site
visuals and/or site metaphor (See "Visual Layout and Elements" in
the "Design" section) |
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Gain feedback from users on site navigation (See
"Navigation" in the "Design" section) |
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Provide a way to get feedback from users once the
site is published (See "User Feedback" in the "Maintenance" section)
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Assign work to
content providers and experts
Identify which content is already available and
which content needs to be created. Determine who has the expertise
needed to provide each piece of content, and assign the work to the
appropriate people.
Communicate your
project plan with your team
Create a document that will guide and unify the
efforts of the team, and/or clarify your intentions for the client.
You may want to do your project plan on an intranet using HTML. This
experience would be particularly useful for any members of your team
who are unfamiliar with HTML. Your project plan should include the
following information:
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Goals definition |
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User/audience profile and evaluation |
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Results from task analysis |
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Competitive analysis |
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General strategy |
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Projection of recommended web development tools,
and how and why they may be used |
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Prioritization of content into that which is
necessary, and that which is merely desirable (consider whether
desirable content can be added in the future) |
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Team assignments and individual responsibilities
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Team communication mechanisms (meetings,
databases, minutes, distribution lists) |
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Activity tracking processes to manage who is
doing what |
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Problem and issue management processes |
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Schedule and publish date
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