 | ||||
|
|
|
||
|
• Long Tail • Ajax Deployment • Active X • Project Management |
|
||
|
||||
|
||||
Once you are finished coding, remember to check your work with any number of tools that are just a download away. "Fortunately, there are many validation and QA tools freely available on the Internet," said Bray. "Most notably, the W3C's HTML and CSS validators, and since anything Web 2.0-ish is going to have syndication feeds, [an important validator is] feedvalidator.org." (Additional validators are located here .
Don't forget about the other aspects of the new interactive Web, beyond all the alphabet soup. "To me, Ajax is a relatively small part of Web 2.0. I also include social aspects and smaller, lightweight components as keys to Web 2.0.," Karrer says. "This is where businesses are going to get real advantage."
Project Management
Our final tip is to make sure to manage your project. Just as with any other programming project, go into it with a small set of requirements, and understand where you are going before any code gets written.
"Most of the problems with missed schedules and budgets can be traced back to not having a clear idea of what was supposed to be built," Olsen said. "So I'd be suspicious of someone who talks about just skipping over that part of the process and diving straight into coding."
Our team of consultants couldn't stress this enough. "You really, really, really need to have a tight, small list of requirements and obsess over not letting it grow just because Google is doing something a bit more 'cool' with Ajax," said Focazio. "'Cool' translates into 'complicated' rather quickly." Adds Matsuoka: "Complex software development is more affordable than ever, but it still requires careful management."
When looking for a Web consultant, know whom you are hiring. (See sidebar.) "Everybody with a computer, Photoshop, and an HTML tool such as Dreamweaver thinks they're a Web developer," said Adams. "Very few are actually worth the money you are paying."
A good place to start is to know how to check references for any Web consultant that you hire. Consultants are everywhere, and it pays to vet them with care. "Phone the references, meet them, and talk to them," Focazio said. "Do NOT trust e-mail-only references." Bray agrees: "References, references, references. Reputations are not always right, but they are useful input."
Added Matsuoka: "You want to develop a culture of programming internally -- hire good managers, pay them well, document, plan for transitions -- or outsource to a company that has longevity."
Finally, have a progressive deliverable schedule. "Instead of waiting to get everything delivered at the end of a project, you can get the general designs earlier in the process and get feedback early and often about how well your developer is hitting the schedule," says Olsen.
