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North Square completes an evaluation of Tandridge Borough Council. We have now worked for over 50 local authorities in the United Kingdom. View major clients, testimonials, and request references in our Client Portfolio.
(January 2010)
13 May 2009
At North Square we speak to companies at various stages of their website development cycle. Some organisations have just produced a website, whilst others are planning to undertake development, or have already begun development. We are asked when the best time to receive a report is, and this article seeks to address the issue.
The argument we put forward in this article is based on continual feedback from our clients. Take the following quote we received from a reference letter from Ryanair, for example:
"We were extremely pleased that we ordered the report early on. We had planned development work early next year; however, this report provided us with advice that made us re-think some of those ideas. Should we have had this report after the development work, we would have had to go back and re-work those changes..."
We always recommend to clients that they should receive a report prior to development, if possible. The following paragraphs explain why in more detail.
A pre-development report will allow a web team or an agency to take advantage of our continual research into best practice and will aid project planning and scoping.
Web teams and agencies can create a single, homogeneous and coherent development plan using our report. A post-development report will create a second, unconnected, consecutive development plan. The first development plan will be 'blind' to the second, thus requiring work to be re-visited, increasing project costs and time.
Companies often believe that a report will be redundant if it is applied to a website that is changing. Our reports contain descriptions of over 300 best practice principals described in depth. The advice we provide is universally applicable and therefore we urge companies to receive the report upfront.
Before selecting an agency, organisations can use the report to gain incite into best practice, helping them to decide which agency is the most capable.
There are five distinct stages of website development: website planning, design, build, website prototyping and testing. We can provide companies with reports at any of these stages.
Companies who are building a new website from scratch (i.e. new content and structural hierarchy) would be more suited to receive a report at the prototyping stage. This will allow developers to make urgent changes prior to launch, and schedule minor changes for after launch.
Websites undergoing an iterative development phase (i.e. an improvement to the existing website) should receive a report as early as possible - ideally before planning. Even if work has begun it is still an advantage to receive the report prior to launch.
The W3C state the following about pre-development website accessibility evaluation on their website (although their opinion is relevant for any type of development).
"Evaluation during the development process is essential. It can sometimes be difficult, as both in-house and subcontracted Web developers sometimes prefer to establish the site design and demonstrate their progress before getting feedback. However, accessibility issues identified early are easier to correct and avoid. Effective evaluation during the design period can include:
- Establishing clear requirements for the expected accessibility conformance level
- Involvement in initial planning meetings for the site
- Agreeing on a review schedule during the development process
- Providing information on evaluation approaches so that the developers can at least do preliminary reviews on their own"
by David Miller
Website Analyst,
North Square Interactive
North Square Interactive is an online consultancy that delivers cost effective, best practice, Website Evaluation reports, Usability Testing, Website Competitor Analysis, Accessibility Audits, Browser Testing, and more. For further information about all of our services, please visit our Online Consultancy Index.
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