Process & Methodology.
Typically, I begin all projects with a discovery period - a kickoff phase that lets me learn more about your current site, any issues that you may have with your current site, the needs and ideas driving you to redesign the site, and how you envision the site working not only a few months from now, but a few years from now. I'll also use this time to talk with you to learn about who your site's users are, what they want to accomplish on the site, and how to best accommodate them.
During the discovery period we'll also discuss the budget for the project (both for the design/migration phase, and for maintenance), and we'll be able to tailor an approach that will satisfy both the budget and needs of the project.
At the end of this phase I'll produce a short brief detailing the budget for the project, the scope of work, my deliverables (what I'll be handing off to you as a finished project, and how I'll hand it off), your deliverables (any media, copy, or information assets that I may need during the process of the redesign, and how you'll provide them), and a general timeline including project milestones at which we will review progress, and at which points you'll have the opportunity to 'sign-off' or approve the work that's being done. The brief is typically fairly short, but really serves as the roadmap for the project. Once I deliver the brief to you, and you agree to the contents (your first sign-off), the project can begin in earnest.
The discovery process is generally quite quick, and really helps to clarify expectations and establish the understanding that I need to enter the IA and Design processes effectively.
Armed with the brief, we'll start planning out both the site-structure (the hierarchy and organization of the individual pages that make up the site), the navigation scheme (largely inferred by the site-structure, but not always), and the page-structure of the individual pages (or page 'classes', if we're creating a number of templates). During the IA process I create a number of site-structure diagrams and page 'wireframes': simple page diagrams that serve as the blueprint for the visual design of the pages.
The IA process is extremely useful, as it allows us to rapidly structure information into pages, find logical bugs in the site organization, and explore information design solutions much more quickly than we would be able to in Photoshop. The wireframing step very often illuminates key usability issues before visual design begins, and ensures that time-consuming visual design tasks can concentrate on the presentation layer of the site, rather than getting mired down in costly iterations and revisions to the underlying organization. During the IA process we'll determine in detail exactly how all functionality on the site should behave, including navigation, media playback, photo galleries, menus, etcetera.
Throughout the IA process, I'll send you frequent updates to the wireframes for review and revisions, and we'll work collaboratively to arrive at a completed 'IA Deck' - a finished set of wireframes, and site diagrams, accompanied by detailed documentation for all user functionality in each page.
Once the IA deck is signed off, we'll proceed to the Visual Design phase.
Using the IA documentation as a basis, I'll begin the design exploration, and concentrate on designing a Photoshop comp of the homepage. Typically arriving at a final design direction takes a significant amount of collaborative revision, and sometimes the exploration of a number of different design solutions. This can be the most time consuming portion of the project, as it is the most aesthetically and emotionally subjective, and it can take some time to refine a visual approach that will satisfy the creative, strategic, and usability requirements for the site.
Once the design of the homepage comp is finalized and approved by you, design can proceed on the 'inside' pages (all pages further down the hierarchy). Typically, at this stage, we'll tie delivery dates to individual page designs so that we can keep the iteration and approval process rolling.
If desired, a visual styleguide detailing the visual specifications for the site may created. A styleguide documents all of the visual standards established during the design process, and includes details and examples of typography, color palette, layout grids, spacing, logo usage, etcetera. A styleguide is not necessary in some cases, but can be very useful if there will be other individuals creating visual assets for the site in the future, ensuring that the visual language and design of the site remains consistent.
Once all of the page comps are finalized and approved, the development process can begin.
At this stage, all elements of the site should be fully planned and represented in both a functional wireframe, and a design comp. Development of the site can proceed, and involves the translation of the comps into fully-coded webpages. In this instance the site will be static, so development will primarily be in xhtml and css. Additional functionality (ie. media components such as photo galleries & media players, etc.) will also be developed, implemented, and tested during this period.
As each page is completed, I will submit it to you for testing and approval (using the comps and functional documentation as a target reference). This part of the process is quite collaborative, and usually entails a handful of testing iterations and bug fixes.
Once at least one instance of each template has been built and tested, we will begin populating the site content, which will be followed by a second round of testing and quality checking.
A non-public test site will be created for the Development and QA phase.
Once the site has been thoroughly tested and reviewed, we'll determine a date for the launch of the site, and perpare to launch it. Typically, for smaller sites, this is a painless process which simply involves moving the site data to the appropriate web location, but the process varies greatly depending on the complexity of the site.
After the site data has been successfully migrated to the appropriate location, and the site is 'live', a final round of QA must take place, and all functionality and navigation must be tested to ensure that nothing has been broken during the migration, and to ensure the timely resolution of any problems that arise.