My Notes on Rapid Web Site Development from 2001
December 16, 2007 – 4:26 am
The following are my notes about Rapid Site Development I jotted down during the dot-com bubble. I wrote upon reflection on how the dot-coms splurged their company budgets on expensive cars and furniture, while I worked on a shoestring budget.
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Rapid Site Development
Taking Advantage of Web Workshop Based Web Development
Why is Primezero web development so peculiar?
Primezero is not a dot-com company. Primezero is not a design boutique. It is a workshop. The only goal here is to innovate. This means making faster, smarter robots to help people live better lives. This means streamlining development processes to reduce cost of doing business. Primezero does not fit a mold. That is why it is peculiar.
The following is a brief discussion about how ideas at Primezero come to fruition.
- Start With An Idea
The idea is conceived by looking past the apparent causes of problems and investigating the real problems. Solving the real problems usually eliminates apparent problems. Time Duration: 1 to 2 seconds - Draft The Idea On Paper
Writing down the idea on paper. For this reason, always carry a notebook to jot down your ideas. There is a good chance that you will not be able to reproduce the idea completely from memory. In order to preserve the quality of the idea without relying on memory, the description is detailed, such that it can be completely recalled. Be sure to write the features you hope to see in a specification. Time Duration: 2 to 5 minutes - Build A Simple Wireframe Beta [What is a Beta?]
As soon as the idea is on paper, the technologies to be used are considered. If you already have an idea about which technology you want to use, you should start a ‘wireframe’ (simple) draft of the actual program. Building a wireframe actually provides you with a feel about what demands come from the project. If the demands of this project at this point are too high, halt development. Otherwise, move to enhancing your wireframe.Time Duration: 1 to 2 hours - Create An Enchanced Beta Program [What is a Beta?]
If you feel comfortable with the capabilities of your wireframe, you should start getting feedback from friends and most likely end users. Find users that will provide you positive and negative feedback. Positive feedback gives you motivation. Negative feedback provides you with opportunities to improve your project. If the feedback leads you to believe that this project will not be worthwhile, halt development. Otherwise, move to customizing the User Interface (UI), in a module or a standalone application.Time Duration: 1 week - Fabricate The Module or Standalone
When you program has achieved all your desired specifications, you need to think about whether or not it should be a module, a standalone application or available in both design modes. A module allows you to use a current UI and requires less work, while a standalone requires a new web page concept and considerably more work and collaboration. Time Duration: 3 days - Test For Economic Viability
Bottom line: can you make money from this? Your finished product should be able to make money either by advertising or direct sales. If you cannot, then halt development and make the program available for free. It is possible that venture capital firms may invest in your project, but it is not likely because most venture captial firms are owned and managed by people who no appreciation for technology. (In fact, if you are a venture capitalist, then you probably don’t understand the impact of web workshops.)Minimal documentation is only required for applications used by more than 250,000 user per month (for example, Google, Yahoo!).Notice that the test for economic viability is one of the final steps of the process. In a workshop, the focus is on rapid development instead of quarterly profits. Although the project may not make money, it may help many people which is why it may still be available for free.
Time Duration: 2 days of due diligence
- Discover New Ideas
Meaningful reflection on the design concepts, user feedback and the development process will likely result in the discovery of new ideas for projects or upgrades. Time Duration: Throughout Project
