Delivering digital projects isn’t easy. Particularly when it comes to mobile, web & app builds. Happily, we’ve got great people who are adept at doing it. But there’s always room for improvement. So that’s why we’ve formed a new team within the agency – and I think it’s going to work a treat.
To explain, let’s consider what a perfect digital project looks like…
Great consumer insight. Great strategy. Brilliant creative. Built & delivered, on-time & on-budget.
It’s often that last bit that’s tricky. On-time & on-budget.
Of course, these two things rely on knowing what it is we’re delivering. In detail. Digital build projects can be complex – there are lots of different things to consider: bespoke functionality, javascript & css framework compatibility, browser compatibility, server-side components, performance, data interfaces, security, development & hosting environments…and…and…and.
All this complexity means things can get missed, if you’re not careful.
The key to on-time & on-budget is: definition
The better the definition of the project (ie knowing up front what we need to deliver), the more accurately we can plan it and the more likely it is that we’ll deliver it on-time & on-budget.
Often in agencies, the definition of the project is handled by many different parties, working in different departments, in different locations in a linear fashion. This approach, however, leaves a certain amount of room for Chinese whispers – with different departments producing different definition documentation, leaving room for inconsistencies. So the final product that’s tested is sometimes slightly different from what was wanted in the first place – resulting in last-minute tweaks & changes either to the deliverable, the definition documentation or both.
We’re taking a different approach
Enter the Digital Experience team, whose mission is…
Note the focus on both the business and the user. The best outcomes occur when both parties’ needs are met, not just one at the expense of the other.
Our tightly-knit Digital Experience team brings together 3 key skills to digital projects:
- requirements definition
- user experience (including information architecture, user research & usability testing)
- quality assurance
Why is this such a good thing?
By bringing these three skillsets together in a single team:
- Project definition is tighter, with testing built in from the start.
- There is less room for Chinese whispers due to closer communication within a single team from the start to the end.
- We can combine requirements documentation & wireframes into one ‘Requireframes’ document. So our design & development teams work from a single definition of the deliverables – reducing the margin for misinterpretation & re-work.
- Producing a single ‘Requireframes’ definition document is more efficient than multiple wireframes & requirements specifications – so it’s quicker to create.
- And because the people testing the deliverables at the end of the project are working right next to the people defining them at the start, testing is more efficient too – fewer discrepancies, less re-work.
With a love for innovation, in all forms, we’re always looking for new & better ways to do things. This is just one example that I believe will have a real positive impact on the digital delivery experience for our clients.
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