Approach:

We at Arctos understand that in order for a web site or a strategy to succeed it needs to solve real business problems and provide real value to the users and customers. That is why we have chosen to put User-Centered Design techniques in the center of our project approach. From day one we spend the time to understand the business and its customers, and then deliver web solutions that satisfy these diverse audiences.

Over a course of many projects we were able to synthesize an effective project approach that draws upon our combined software development, web development, and web marketing experience. Our approach is flexible enough to handle projects with a varied scope, complexity, requirements precision, and volatility. We can manage projects from a 5 page web brochure to a full e-commerce solutions with a comprehensive marketing strategy and enterprise backend integration.

Tools

All project briefs, documents, and other artifacts are stored securely online in Zoho productivity tools to allow easy virtual collaboration and communication. All work items from requirements to design specs to bugs are tracked in our Bugzilla issue tracking system to allow complete effort transparency and collaborative management. All code and source graphic files are managed by the Subversion repository system.

Our development tool suite is based on Eclipse platform and includes the following:

Zend Studio for Eclipse Integrated Development Environment

Subversive plugin to handle integration with Subversion repository.

Mylyn plugin for integration with the Bugzilla issue tracking system.

Methodology

We at Arctos recognize that the business and customer needs are constantly changing in response to the changes in the business environment. That is why we do not "freeze" project requirements, but instead encourage you to submit changes as soon as they become needed. We use our experience with the best practices in project management and agile software development methodologies and tools to manage continuous change and deliver solutions that are relevant and timely.

From the start we work closely with the client to review existing site and content, capture the client's thinking and ideas for the project, and review competitive landscape in order to understand the domain and the project. Then based on this research we document requirements and constraints for the project. However unlike the traditional methods that require comprehensive documentation and rigid process we use online tools to capture requirements as actionable items that can be reviewed and modified at any time in our online issue tracking system.

We use the same system to create, manage, and track design specifications, development tasks, tests, bugs, and change requests. Storing all project documents and artifacts in a central online system allows the team and the client to review, provide feedback, and make adjustments very quickly thus streamlining communications and speeding up the project. It also improves quality since all discussions, decisions, and changes are stored together with the latest version of the documents, which ensures that the everybody is working on the latest versions in the common context of the project.

The system also helps us to track the relationships between the requirements and relevant design specifications, and development tasks. This allows us to easily see what will be affected by a proposed change in requirements and to quickly estimate the implications on the time line and budget. We never "freeze" the project. Instead we capture all change requests, ideas, and suggestions and then work closely with the client to review and prioritize all new items. The important ones get included in the project scope, the others are either postponed for later phases or rejected. This is a continuous process that results in the project satisfying most of the client's needs being delivered on time and within budget.

Arctos Project Methodology Map

Our methodology is based on the User Centered Design techniques and Agile Development methods adapted by our experience and tools.

Not all steps and artifacts are used for every project. The team adjusts to meet each client's unique requirements and constraints.

Project Lifecycle can consist of a single iteration for small projects or several iterations for longer and more complex engagements.

Download full map (pdf 90KB)