LightSky uses a modified version of the Agile method of software development giving us flexibility to work in a variety of different types of projects and environments. This allows us to reduce costs to our partners and provide a very flexible product for them as their project progresses. Essentially Agile ensures that we don’t get a whole project complete and then find out that it isn’t the way you want it to be. We really break our projects into four phases, here is how we do it.
Planning
Planning for us is the most important part of the process, and involves us learning more about how you want your project to work, how you see the functionality working, and most importantly how you want your users to experience your site. We also include design into the planning phases as we have found that they go very well together. During the planning phase we look in depth at each feature of your project, carefully examine how each need fits within your budget and timeline. We work to develop a plan to make sure that your project comes on time and on budget, and at the same time begin to create a beautiful and stunning design for your site. During this phase you will be in regular communication with your project manager, and meetings will be scheduled based on the results of the previous meeting.
We offer several levels of planning based on the project size and planning can include user testing, heat mapping, analytics and SEO evaluation, user story generation, and a variety of other tools. We will work with you as we start to determine how much planning that we should do to get the best result. We have seen a huge correlation between good planning and meeting project budget and expectation and we typically take as much time as necessary during the planning stages.
Development
After we have thoroughly determined what your project should look like and have a design in hand, we begin moving towards the development phase. In this phase of the project we will be actively building each aspect of your site. Starting typically with applying the design to the site, and gradually adding in more and more of the individual functionality. During this phase your project will be broken down into small pieces, called sprints or iterations, that usually last around a week. While your project manager will be in communication with you during each of these sprints, you will have a regularly scheduled meetings at the conclusion of each sprint where you will be presented all the work completed and given the opportunity to approve it or make recommended changes to it. In this meeting you will also help plan the next weeks goals.
The development stage also includes training, which depending on what you have selected can include on site, and teleconference training. We also provide a go to person for you during content entry so that if something from your training didn’t quite sink in you can get through any roadblocks you encounter.
Launch and Warranty
After you are happy with your site and are ready to see it go live we begin planning to launch it. This includes setting up production servers and domains so that your launch and long term site health remain smooth. Our staff has a vast knowledge of server configuration and workflow management, which helps make your launch smooth. After your site is launched though we aren’t done, all of our new sites come with a warranty and during that period we can help by fixing bugs that appear and making functionality adjustments that are within the scope of the project.
Maintenance and Service
After your site is launched and is running smoothly we are here to help as well. Whether you want us to regularly apply updates, monitor your site for SEO practices, help with content entry, or even add a new feature we are here. While our goal is that you can be completely self sufficient after launch we understand that you will have questions and we will always be here to answer them.
Our process has been proven time and time again. We’d love to make you our next success story.