Why so important is documentation before implementation?
25.01.2013
Angelika Siczek
People thinking about setting up online store very often star from choosing Agency. It’s a bit like starting building a house form choosing construction team. When we building house we have no idea how it’s look like. Person who would like building house hire architect. The same we should make before we start setting up online store. Construction team can’s start working without project. When people start making e-commerce system very often they ignore this logical step and developer make valuation, estimates and even sign a contract without project.
So why should you make project (functional model) before implementation?
- Project is making for identification of customer needs. This is a form of analysis help client to form his expectations and present them in a clear way.
- Project is the best basic to choose developer. You can ask ten company about cost of eCommerce implementation and every of them otherwise estimate the work because every different imagine their scope. That’s very simple client write in one sentence “Coupon system”. One company take ready Open Source module, second made this sometimes ago and third only guess what’s going on to the customer. Every formulate valuation on different basic. In practice it may be that system have to generate coupon both in the form of a link and for printing the code – then implementation costs are rising twice.
- The cost implementation IT product rising with the advancement of the work. This growth is exponential. You must remember that changing on documentation level are ten to hundred times cheaper than on implementation level. Making documentation is great opportunity to verify the whole concept.
- Functional model allow to test usability of system. In simply way you can verify that in the conception aren’t any errors or mistakes.
- Documentation let’s in easy way design layout. Graphics can focus on colors, font and style. He don’t have to think about system and usability. He doing what do best – layout.
- Documentation as attachment to agreement let to track progress and control. This allows to anticipate potencial delays and counteract them by conscious modify the scope of work.
