For most projects we draw up a specification outlining the functions and facilities required for the use and administration of the proposed web site.

We have ready built “modules” which cover most of the facilities usually required for business web sites and these can either be used without modification or be modified to suit a the site's requirements.
These include Content management (CMS), User mangement, e-commerce, forums, feedback etc…

For larger projects we generally carry out the following steps, at each key stage we liaise with the customer to ensure that the process is meeting the customer’s requirements.

• Initial overview of requirements. This is similar to the specification used for smaller projects.
• Analysis of the basic data objects involved in the overall process.
• Produce a schema for the relationships between these objects.
• Produce process flow descriptions or diagrams for the processes involved in the project.
• Define the business logic used in the process flow.
• Define the base styles and layouts for the project. Establish a “palette” to define the corporate style of the web site.
• Provide mock-ups for the main staging points of the process flow.

Unless any changes are requested we are ready ready to start developing.

For all projects we adhere to a strict naming convention and methodology for coding.

Our coding-rules have been developed over many years and have proved their worth time and time again.

This rigorous approach results in robust solutions with lower maintenance and easier expansion.
It might seem unnecessarily laborious but, given the experiences we have had when developing with less rigorous developers, we know the value of sound methodologies.

There are some basic rules which even some of the apparently highly qualified practitioners fail to understand. We have even named them!

In any choice of validation routine (such as checking the validity of a Credit Card), at the point when all the checks have been made and failed the default action should also be a failure. To do otherwise is known as a "Chadism".

Naming of objects (database tables, variables etc...) is very important for code legibility, ease of maintenance and error minimization. We had an experience where a programmer was told to make sure he spell-checked all names he used. Sadly his grasp of the English language was not high and as a result instead of "CompaniesInQueue" he wrote "CompaniesInQueer". This is known as a Vadism.