SDLC vs. Interactive (part 2 of 3)

In thinking about this post I realized that there are so many directions to go in, such as methodology comparisons, stakeholder dynamics, the role of creative subjectivity in requirements definition and testing, etc. I do want to stay focused, however on the basic question of comparing software development to interactive development.

I met with a team yesterday in the midst of a website redesign project who was looking for a PM to replace a last-minute drop out. During the course of the discussion, the QA lead (coming from a software dev background) asked if I thought they should follow standard SDLC practice when building the site.

I asked back which part of the cycle would they consider NOT using…planning? analysis? testing? Once again, OF COURSE a system design framework can be applied to interactive technology development as it is technology development. It could also be used, and is used in relatable paradigms, to manage marketing and communication initiatives.  The trick is integrating the parallel management systems that these disparate  business functions use to implement their strategies. One example of where the rubbers meets the cement, IMHO is the relationship between front end and back-end development as the final and true implementation of interactive productivity, the place where  requirements validation is more than a set of technical protocols. How much work and re-work is logged becaue of disconnects there? In my experience, quite a bit.

A significant, and obvious, obstacle in implementing one single methodology to encompass all interactive (eg. website) production and development is communication. The words used and the concepts they conjure are different for front end and back-end team members, let alone their supervisors and senior stakeholders.

So what to do???

But it’s still just a guess, right?

I present the chart summarizing the numbers for the pitch – hours by milestone and associated costs, to design and produce a large digital media project.

Boss says with a slight sense of unease, “where did these numbers come from…what’s our back-up?”

I whip out sheet #2 – a breakdown of hours by department / function for each of the milestones. I explain that many of the numbers were discussed with relevant team members. I also state that I checked historicals of similar projects, but most of the examples were aberational in some way so there was no absolute direct comparison, but…

“But it’s still just a guess, right?” she interupts with a manifest glimmer of panic.

“Yes,” I say. “What else is an estimate supposed to be?”