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Web Development Process

This section describes the proposed implementation methodology to execute the project for the
re-design of the website. Having a defined project implementation methodology helps us
coordinate our myriad activities and allows us to make real improvements over time.

The proposed project implementation methodology is a hybrid process based upon the
traditional software development processes as well as agile practices.

We strongly believe that a well-defined development cycle with simple, yet rigorous processes
will allow us to deliver the websites on time andwithin budget

The underlying principles of this methodology are

Professional ethics
Responsibility: We follow through on our promises
Cooperation: We work with stakeholders for the benefit of the overall organization.
Quality: We build software that we are proud of and willing to support
Manageability: Our process and status are transparent ad we take direction well.
Productivity: We produce software with reasonable cost and schedule.
Innovation
Staff development: We are dedicated to our staffs professional development

The core Phases in proposed methodology include:

Envisioning phase

Envisioning Phase
Our process model begins with the envisioning phase. During the envisioning phase, the
program management team identifies the tasks and deliverables that address the requirements
and goals of the project. This phase culminates in a vision/scope approved milestone. This
milestone indicates that the customer and the team agree about the purpose and direction of
the project.

Envisioning process
The team performs the following key tasks during the envisioning phase:

Setting up the team.

Defining the project structure

Assessing the current situation.

Creating a vision statement and defining the scope of the project

Defining requirements and user profiles.

Developing a solution concept.

Assessing risk. Identification and assessment of the risks to the project, and creation of a
risk mitigation plan.

Closing the envisioning phase. End of the envisioning phase. Accomplished when the
vision/scope document is formally approved by all stakeholders and the project team.

Milestones of the envisioning phase:


Core team organized.

Vision/scope created.

Deliverables
Vision/scope

o Problem statements and business objectives

o A broad definition of user requirements

o User profiles identifying who will benefit from the solution

o A vision statement and scope definition

o The solution concept outlining the approach the team will take to plan the
project
Project structure

o A description of all team roles and a list of corresponding team members

o A project structure and process standards for the team to follow

Risk assessment

o A preliminary risk assessment

o A list of the primary identified risks

o Plans for mitigating or eliminating the identified risks

Planning Phase
During the planning phase, the team determines what to develop and plans how to create the
solution. The team prepares the functional specification, creates a design of the solution, and
prepares work plans, cost estimates, and schedules for the various deliverables.

The planning phase involves the analysis of requirements. These requirements can be
categorized as business requirements, user requirements, operational requirements, and
system requirements. These requirements are used to design the solution and its features and
to validate the correctness of the design.

After gathering and analyzing the requirements, the team creates the design of the solution.
The team creates user profiles that specify the various users of the solution and their roles and
responsibilities. The team then creates a series of usage scenarios. A usage scenario specifies
the activity performed by a particular type of user. Therefore, the team needs to create usage
scenarios for all user profiles. After creating usage scenarios, the team creates use cases for the
usage scenarios. A use case specifies the sequence of steps that a user will perform in a usage

Design stages
The three design stages are:

Conceptual design, in which you view the problem from the perspective of the users and
business requirements and define the problem and solution in terms of usage scenarios.

Logical design, in which you view the solution from the perspective of the project team
and define the solution as a set of services.
Physical design, in which you view the solution from the perspective of the developers
and define the technologies, component interfaces, and services of the solution.

We document the solution design in the functional specification. The functional specification
defines the behavior and appearance of each feature of the solution. It also defines the
architecture and the design for all features.

Milestones of the Planning phase:


Technology validation complete.
Functional specification complete.
Master plan complete.
Master project schedule complete.
Development and test environments set up.
Deliverables
Functional specification
Risk management plan
Master project plan and master project schedule
Development Phase
During this phase, the team deploys the solution technology and site components, stabilizes the
deployment, transfers the project to operations and support, and obtains final customer
approval of the project. After deployment, the team conducts a project review and a customer
satisfaction survey. The deploying phase culminates in the deployment complete milestone.
Development process
Starting the development cycle.

Creating a prototype application. Verification of the concepts of the solution design in an


environment that resembles the environment to which the solution will be eventually
deployed.

Developing the solution components.

Building the solution. A series of daily or frequent builds that culminate with major
internal builds that signify points when the development team is delivering key features
of the solution.
Closing the developing phase. Completion of all features, and delivery of code and
documentation. The solution is considered complete, and the team enters a milestone
approval process.

Milestones of the Development phase:


Core components deployed.

Site deployments complete.

Deployment stable. At this milestone, the customer and team agree that the sites are
operating satisfactorily. Some issues might arise with the various site deployments.
These issues can be tracked and resolved.

Deliverables
Source code and executable files

Installation scripts and configuration settings for deployment

Finalized functional specification

Performance support elements

Test specifications and test cases

Stabilizing Phase
The team performs the following key tasks during the stabilizing phase:

Testing the solution. Implementation of test plans to validate the solution. Once the
solution is considered stable, a pilot is conducted in a test environment. A rigorous test
includes:

o Component testing

o Database testing

o Infrastructure testing

o Security testing

o Integration testing

o User acceptance and usability testing


o Stress, capacity, and performance testing

o Regression testing

o Recording the number of bugs

Conducting the pilot. Deployment of the solution in a staging area and testing of the
solution with actual users and real usage scenarios.

Milestones of the Stabilizing phase:


Bug convergence.

Zero-bug release.

Release candidates.

Golden release. A milestone of the stabilizing phase that is identified by the combination
of zero-defect and success criteria metrics.

Deliverables
Final release

Release notes

Performance support elements

Test results and testing tools

Source code and executable files

Project documents

Milestone review

Deployment Phase
During this phase, the team deploys the solution technology and site components, stabilizes the
deployment, transfers the project to operations and support, and obtains final customer
approval of the project. After deployment, the team conducts a project review and a customer
satisfaction survey. The deploying phase culminates in the deployment complete milestone.
Deployment process
The team performs the following key tasks during the deploying phase:

Completion of deployment and operations procedures. Formal documentation of


deployment and operational procedures to outline how the project team intends to
perform deployment and transition tasks.

Deployment and stabilization. Completion of the actual component and site


deployments.

Project review. Completion of post-project reviews with the customer and project team.

Training of end users and administrators

Milestones of the Deployment phase:


Core components deployed.

Site deployments complete.

Deployment stable. At this milestone, the customer and team agree that the sites are
operating satisfactorily.

Usability Standards

Usability standards shall be abstracted from the guidelines provided at


http://guidelines.usability.gov/based on the target users that Hos Media Limited identifies. The
core objectives of the website usability standards will be to guide the development of website
so that presentation of information and choices in a clear and concise way, a lack of ambiguity
and the placement of important items in appropriate areas

Testing Methodology

The testing methodologies that shall be applied shall consist of a combination of manual and
automated processes.
The testing process has been incorporated into our development process. For functionality that
we develop, our developers use a test-driven approach for software development.
In addition to this, the methodology and tools we use are used to perform the following tests

Functionality Testing
Usability testing
Performance testing
Security testing
Compatibility testing
Interface testing
Functionality Testing

Functionality testing incorporate testing for all the links in web pages, database connection,
forms used in the web pages for submitting or getting information from user, Cookie testing.

Link tests include:

Tests the outgoing links from all the pages from specific domain under test.
Tests all internal links.
Tests links jumping on the same pages.
Tests links used to send the email to admin or other users from web pages.
Tests to check if there are any orphan pages.
In link checking, check for broken links in all above-mentioned links.

The following tests will be performed for forms on the websites.


Check all the validations on each field.
Check for the default values of fields.
Wrong inputs to the fields in the forms.
Options to create forms if any, form delete, view or modify the forms.

Cookie testing shall include:


Test the application by enabling or disabling the cookies in your browser options.
Test if the cookies are encrypted before writing to user machine.
Check for login sessions and user stats after session end.
Check effect on application security by deleting the cookies.

Validate your HTML/CSS:


The website shall be optimized for Search engines so HTML/CSS validation will be conducted.
Mainly the site will be validated for HTML syntax errors. The site will be checked to see if it is
crawlable to different search engines.

Database testing:
Data consistency is very important in web application. We will test for data integrity and errors
while you edit, delete, modify the forms or do any DB related functionality.
Additional we shall test if all the database queries are executing correctly, data is retrieved
correctly and also updated correctly. More on database testing could be load on DB, we will
address this in web load or performance testing below.

Usability testing

Tests for navigation will include:

Instructions should be provided clearly.


Web site should be easy to use.
Test to check if the provided instructions are correct means whether they satisfy
purpose.
Tests to ensure that a main menu should be provided on each page and that it is
consistent.

Content checking shall include:


Content should be logical and easy to understand.
Check for spelling errors.
Use of dark colors annoys users and should not be used in site theme.
Content should be meaningful.
All the anchor text links should be working properly.
Images should be placed properly with proper sizes.
Performance Testing

Web performance testing should include:


Web Load Testing
Web Stress Testing
Security testing

Some test cases for web security testing include:

Internal URL passing


Passing of non-conventional user name password
Management of invalid inputs.
Web directories or files should not be accessible directly unless given download option.
Tests for the CAPTCHA for automates scripts logins.
Tests for SSL is used for security measures.
Logging of all transactions, error messages, security breach attempts

Compatibility testing

Compatibility tests shall include:


Browser compatibility
Operating system compatibility
Mobile browsing
Printing options

Interface testing

Interface testing shall include:


Tests to check if all the interactions between these servers are executed properly.
Tests to check that errors are handled properly.
Tests to check if database or web server returns any error message for any query by
application server then application server should catch and display these error messages
appropriately to users.
Tests to check user interrupted transaction
Tests to check what happens if connection to web server is reset intermittently
Part 3: Management Volume
Proposed Project Organizational Structure
The proposed organization structure for the project shall consist of
A steering committee from Hos Media Printing and Publishing Co Ltd.
A website management team from Hos Media Printing and Publishing Co Ltd.
A team from Hostalite
The steering committee shall consist of the individuals who ensure that the development effort

of the Website Implementation Project team fulfill the ultimate goals and objectives for which
the Hos Media Limited has chosen to invest in this project. The Steering committee shall review
and sign off the project deliverables with the Product Manager from Hos Media Limited and
Project Manager from Hostalite.

The Website Implementation Project Team shall consist of team members from Hos Media
Printing & Publishing Co. and Hostalite Ltd.

Below is a list of proposed team role that will be filled by staff members from the Hos Media
Printing & Publishing Co. Ltd
Role Description
Product Owner The product ownerrepresents the stakeholders. This is the one person
responsible on a team who is responsible for the prioritized product
backlog list, for making decisions in a timely manner, and for
providing information in a timely manner.
Reviews and signs off work efforts and deliverables on behalf of
Vision Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd.
Project Administrator Organizes and schedules meetings, requirements gathering meetings
and general administrative tasks for the project.
Technical Lead The Technical Lead shall represent the Vision Printing and Publishing
Co. Ltd interests with core information technology related activities.
The core role of the Technical Lead is to review technical aspects of
the development effort and to provide clarity on the existing
platform.
Content Strategist Domain specialist on content. Helps the Product Owner defining and
articulating Vision Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd vision around
content. The Social Media Specialist shall also avail and manage
content related activates
Social Media Specialist Domain specialist on social media. Helps the Product Owner defining
and articulating Vision Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd vision around
Social Media. The Social Media Specialist shall also avail and manage
social media content related activates
End User Representative Staff member who has experience from an end users perspective and
can clearly articulate end users experience. This staff member

The proposed structure is illustrated below:


The Hostalite team shall consist of team members who shall fulfill the following roles:
Role Description
Project Manager The Project Manager is responsible for facilitating the team,
obtaining resources for it, planning and scheduling, activities and
protecting the project from risks. The Project Manager shall
interact with the Steering committee when at allocated
milestones and signoff project deliverables for Hostalite.
Technical Lead Manages the technical analysis stages of the project. Designs,
and develops high quality software solutions for the disparate
software system being implemented. Analyzes software
requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and
cost constraints.Consults with technical staff team to evaluate
both the integration between the disparate software system and
the operational and performance requirements of finalwebsites.
Develops and directs software system technical design
procedures, programming, technical testing and documentation.
Digital Strategist The Digital Strategist will initial work to identify unmet
opportunities, needs and goals in the web and social media
space. The Digital Strategist shall state specific initiatives around
UX, analytics and content creation that meet the defined
requirements and work a plan that delivers these initiatives. The
Digital strategist is the focal point of strategy around service
optimization, innovation and governance in the advertising
space.
Lead Developer Work alongside other developers and be responsible for leading
code development, testing. Contribute to defining solution
architecture. Ensuring best practice are being followed within
the team. Define and monitor performance matrices.
Web Developer (4) Setup the testing, development and production environments.
Utilize various technologies such as JavaScript, jQuery, AJAX, CSS
3.0, HTML5, PHP, XML to implement the designed solution.
Implement caching and optimization techniques. Implement the
Maintenance strategy. Migrate old data to new system.
Participate in hand holding. Web developers shall to allocated
specific areas to focus i.e UI, EZ, Openx, Integration
Graphics Designer (2) Communicate design recommendations using wireframes,
flowcharts, high-fidelity design comps, interactive prototypes
and the occasional cocktail napkin.Define the layout, font color,
font type, logos, pictures and other visual and verbal aspects of
the websites. Create production-ready assets (icons, applications
themes,sales and marketing digital collateral materials,digital
Ads, social media graphics, online banner graphics, digital
marketing campaign graphics, etc.) using, Photoshop, Illustrator
and Sketch. Organize and update digital image library.
Content Specialist (2) The Content Specialist is responsible for planning how content
shall be organized, edited, published, updated and archived. The
Content Specialist shall work with the Hos Medias Content
Strategist to ensure that all content required in current and
available. The Content Specialist shall define key aspects of the
information architecture and create Content Management
Strategy. The Content Specialist together with the Content
Strategist is reasonable for managing the content migration
process
Training Specialist Assess training requirements , creating training plan, creating
course content, delivering training, monitoring and evaluating
course participant competency during hand holding

Lines of Reporting

While the web implementation team shall function as one cohesive entity allowing for cross
communication and interaction between sub-teams, the lines of reporting shall be as follows
Team members within the proposed Hos Media Limited organization structure shall
report to the Product Owner
Team members within the Hostalite team structure shall report to the Project Manager
The Product Owner and Project Manager shall report to the steering committee.
The steering committee on making decisions shall communicate back to the Product
Owner and the Project Manager.

Communication

The major driving factor for communication shall be to ensure that all project stakeholders have
a clear understanding of the overall goals and objectives of the project and individual work
efforts that are being executed towards achieving these goals and objectives.
As we have outlined in our proposed project implementation methodology, a milestone driven
approach has been advocated for the implementation of this project. As such from project
inception to completion, communication shall be focused around meeting individual milestones.
While the project shall involve a lot of informal communication, actions upon which the project
team must act shall be considered formal and must be documented. Formal communication
shall consist of the following
A. Meeting
Across the course of the project several meeting shall be held. These include, project
inception meeting, weekly/bi-weekly progress meetings amongst the project
implementation team, stand-up meetings for the development team, scheduled
meetings with the steering committee.
The formal input for a meeting shall a call for the meeting as well as an agenda for the
meeting that shall be delivered to meeting participants prior to having the meeting. The
formal output for a meeting shall be minutes of meeting that communicate the key
talking points as well as the actionable items around these.
B. Documentation
Our proposed project implementation methodology is milestone driven. Milestone
indicate that Hos Media Limited and Hostalite agree on the output from a specific work
effort. The specifics of this work effort shall be documented by Hostalite and provided to
the Hos Media Limited for review and signoff.
In addition to documentation based on milestones, communication shall be captured in
living documents that are used to track activities on an ongoing basis. Details within
these documents change based on the output of specific activates. Examples of such
documents include the project plan document and the product backlog
Project management of Organizational tools for Team Management
The below lists the key tools that shall be used in aiding the project team to function effectively

Tools Purpose
Microsoft Project Task scheduling, resource allocation, task
allocation. Overall project
Rescue time Development team time tracking for time spend
on specific development tools
Microsoft Office Excel, Word, PowerPoint Documentation of work endeavors

Proposed Training and Knowledge Transfer Plan

Hostalite views the need for training and knowledge transfer as a major factor contributing
towards the successful adoption of any software system by its users and as such the overall
project. It is as such that we have provided a skeleton of the Training and Knowledge Transfer
plan as part of this proposal. A comprehensive training plan shall a core deliverable of the
Planning phase of the proposed implementation lifecycle.

Hostalites approach to training and knowledge transfer is focused on ensuring that our clients
attain a keen understanding of the underlying principles of working with the websites and
associated technology platforms as well as hands on skills required to work with the websites
and associated technology platforms.

Our approach to training begins with identifying individuals who shall be the recipients of the
training after which an assessments of trainee skills is conducted to establish skills gaps. On the
basis of the findings from the assessments as well as communicated information, training needs
requirements are defined. Assessments are typically conducted during the early stages of the
project. Customized training content for trainees is then created. An initial phase of in-depth
training is conducted in a classroom based environment. At the end of the training, an
assessment is conducted with the intension of assess the extent to which training participants
have absorbed the training content. Course participants shall also be given an opportunity to
provide feedback on the training
During the Maintenance phase of the project, Hostalite shall to monitor and evaluate how Hos
Media staff members work with the website. This shall be done through hand holding and pair
working which shall give Hostalite an opportunity to observe how Hos Media Limited staff are
using the system.
Hostalite shall give you a report on the findings from the monitor and evaluation process while
the objective of assessing the necessity for an additional training phase.

Proposed Maintenance Plan

Hostalite shall provide maintenance of the defined websites of Hos Media Limited as well as
additional technology platforms that we shall implement for a period of six (6) months as part
of this project.
Website maintenance activities shall be conducted regularly on a planned schedule as well as
when the need arises.
Maintenance of the websites and the supported technology platform shall be divided into two
distinct but related categories:
A. Technical Maintenance
B. Content Focused Maintenance
Technical Maintenance

Technical website maintenance shall be conducted to ensure that websites continue to be up


and running and function in accordance to predefined standards.
Technical website maintenance activities shall be conducted by the Hostalite project team
during the six (6) months maintenance period.
Technical maintenance activities shall be supported by a System Maintenance Strategy which
shall categorize key maintenance activities that must be performed, the time frame in which
they should be performed and who is responsible for performing these activities. The System
Maintenance Strategy shall also define how to recover the system from major and minor
failures.
Activities that shall be conducted as part of technical maintenance include application server
backup, database backup, compliance with performance matrices and security audits
Content Focused Maintenance

Content focused maintenance will be supported by a Content Management Strategy. The goal of
the Content Focused Maintenance strategy is to provide a formal aid to ensuring that
information content remains accurate, is accessible as has been planned and is consistently
available.
Content focused maintenance is designed to be executed by non-technical staff from Hos Media
Limited. These staff members shall take on the role of Content Publishers. For the duration of
the maintenance phase of the project, the Hostalite Ltd. project team shall engage in a hand
holding process with the Content Publishers to aid them in mastering usage of the platform. The
interactivity of the hand holding shall gradually reduce until Content Publishers can work on
their own.

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