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Which model is better for website.

Last post 12-03-2007 3:49 AM by David Harper. 3 replies.
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  • 11-22-2007 12:12 PM

    • cheklov
    • Top 150 Contributor
    • Joined on 05-26-2007
    • Russia
    • Posts 1

    Which model is better for website.

     Which life cycle model is best suited to the web site development. To use one of existing models or custom?

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  • 11-24-2007 7:04 PM In reply to

    Re: Which model is better for website.

    I would personally start with figuring out who you want on your development team and then have them figure out which model makes the most sense.

    At LiquidPlanner we've been working with (kind of) scrum for the better part of a year now and are pretty happy with it.  But our team decided which model they wanted to spend time using.  I'd say that it is not as important which model you use as it is that you use a single model and agree in advance how you will work.  That way your team doesn't have to spend time thinking about how their work will fit into the life cycle.  Instead they can spend their brain power on important things like designing and writing tight code.

    Get the principles nailed down first and make sure that they're shared across your whole team.  I talk a bit about shared principles in software development on my blog.  I really think that you can get a long way just by sitting down with your team and spending some time to talk over how you want to work.  Be sure to include things like source control, versioning, release schedules (i.e. do you want to release individual features as they're ready or batch them up into bigger releases), and of course who are your customers and what do they expect/require.  If you can get agreement from the team on these things up front, then a whole lot of problems kind of solve themselves.

    If you're interested in Scrum I recommend reading Agile Project Management with Scrum by Schwaber.  It has a good overview.  One word of caution, don't just read one or two chapters and then jump in and try to run an important project.  You'll want to read it cover to cover and then get your team to read it too.  That way you'll all be working from a shared understanding and vocabulary.

    Good luck!

    Bruce P. Henry

    LiquidPlanner
  • 11-26-2007 10:24 AM In reply to

    Re: Which model is better for website.

    I agree with Bruce to a point. A team working with a life cycle model they are comfortable with is important. I would also look at your problem domain as well. That is, how well do you really know what the problem is that your web service is solving? The less you know it, the more I would look to models that give you rapid feedback (incremental and iterative). As a web service, you are in a better position to get quick turnaround on bits of solution than other kinds of development.

    The technology (web) also gives you an advantage in that it is likely to have a big UI component. At that point, a life cycle that has a good place for prototyping may be helpful as well.

    Enjoy,
    Earl
  • 12-03-2007 3:49 AM In reply to

    Re: Which model is better for website.

     Well your requirements are too vague. Web site development is a pretty vague term! It could encompass one person developing a personal website to a hundred developers implementing a web shopping site!

    The only common thing is probably the ability to rapidly prototype and make changes.  If you have a simple website but want an SQL database backend then I would recommend Rails as a tool and some type of Agile method(s).

     

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