How are process works
Tried and Tested
We build modern and great looking websites and mobile apps that get results. Whether you’re an Entrepreneur, start-up business, Senior Tech Leader, or CEO, we have a tried and tested process that we adapt based on your needs. This makes us an extremely flexible and agile agency ready to take on projects large or small. Here’s a quick run-through of what you can expect when you choose Userfirst to build your website or mobile app.
01
Discovery & Planning
This phase is about laying a solid foundation. We kick things off with a stakeholder alignment and goal setting meeting, which helps us to find the best solution for your needs. Then we move into our in-depth research process.
Stakeholder alignment
This starts with an initial consultation call for us to understand your current and future objectives. We listen carefully to your feedback and build this into the specifications. And we actively involve you throughout the entire process to make sure you get exactly what you want.
Smart goal setting
Next, we propose and agree on a scope of work, timeline, and budget. We also identify and agree on key success measures to ensure your final product will hit your goals and ensure project success. Once we’ve got your approval, we’ll kick off our research process.
Research
We do a LOT of research. This is one of the most important parts of the project. We quickly learn about and understand your business, your customers, and their expectations and behaviors. This involves speaking to customers, observing their needs and interactions. Then, most importantly, how your website factors into all of that.
RESEARCH (A LOT) STAKEHOLDER ALIGNMENT SMART GOAL SETTING. PROJECT PLANNING
02
Crafting The Experience
Once we’ve set the goals for the project, next comes the strategy. We start by creating personas and user stories and then move into initial sketches and wireframes. These initial plans are essential to design and build breathtaking websites and applications that your customers love to use.
User stories and personas
User stories are a description of the software features written from the perspective of your end-users. We create these to help us to understand how each feature will add value to the end customer. Next, we research and determine your persona’s priorities, and define the key steps in their daily lives. This allows us to understand their thoughts and emotions, which helps us to confirm their expectations. Then we can identify opportunities that are meaningful to them.
Initial sketches & wireframes
Then we create a wireframe, which is a simple sketch outlining the general layout of the homepage. This identifies customer needs and potential pain points while testing the design early enough to optimize it later. We’ll walk you through our proposed wireframe and answer any questions you’ve got. And address any changes needed at this stage. The wireframe is completed within the first week of the project, once the scope of work has been confirmed.
PROBLEMATIZATION USER STORIES & PERSONAS INITIAL SKETCHES & WIREFRAMES
03
Design
Here’s where things start to take shape. We take all the info that was gathered from the Discovery phase, the personas, and the wireframes to create a homepage mockup for your initial review. Typically this phase takes one to three weeks but can take more depending on the project requirements.
User Interface Design
User Interface (UI) Design focuses on anticipating what users might need to do. We ensure that all elements of your website or mobile app are easy to access and understand for your customers.
Prototype
Once you’re happy with the page mockups we build out all of your remaining page templates. After this, we’ll start tracking design progress on each page and completing 2-3 collaborative revision rounds with both of our teams. This is all tracked within our project management tool. Once all design assets have been completed and approved we'll be ready to start development.
DESIGN SYSTEM USER INTERFACE DESIGN PROTOTYPE
04
Build
Let the building commence! This is where everything comes together to realize your vision. We run a number of sprints to go from proof of concept to minimum viable product to production-ready release. Throughout the process, we focus on the components with the highest value and biggest impact.
Development
Our developers take the initial mockups that were approved in the design phase and bring them to life. They will create a fully-responsive website/app, which means whatever device your web visitors are using they get the best possible view of your business or service. Everything is finely-tuned and optimized for each of your page templates. You'll be able to view a live preview link of our work and each page will be tracked, developed, reviewed, and approved.
Quality Assurance
QA is the process we use to ensure your website is delivered to a level of excellence. Our goal is to discover any errors or bugs, whilst also reviewing the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). If something’s not right, we fix it fast and move forward. We maintain a high degree of flexibility throughout the process, so if it means changing something now to get the best outcome, we’ll do it.
WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE
05
Tests & Tweaks
Our testing is bulletproof. Before moving on to production it is essential to test the final product in order to adjust and optimize it again. After testing is complete, we will make any final tweaks needed before a final sign off.
Testing
During testing, we target users to analyze their behavior, their understanding of the service, and to measure their emotions about the imagined user experience. We’ll test the website in a variety of browsers, including the most recent versions of Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. We’ll also test the responsive design on iPhone and Android devices. We’ll test the functionality of the site to ensure there are no errors or broken links and then hand it over to you for your review on our dev server.
Final Sign off
Once all the issues you find have been addressed and we’ll seek your final approval on the entire project, and then we’re ready to launch.
USER TESTING TWEAKS PROJECT VALIDATION
06
Going Live
It’s showtime! Before the grand unveiling to the public, we run one final QA round just to make sure everything is functioning. We coordinate together to schedule a launch date and time. And once we go live, things don’t stop there. Depending on your requirements, we’ll support for a period of time post-go live to make sure everything continues to work smoothly.
Coordinating with the rest of your team
Once we have the green light we'll transfer the completed website or mobile app to your account and create a back-up for you. Depending on the scope of work we'll either help with deployment and launch or we'll help you migrate the website or mobile app to another platform of your choice.
Launching the website (and celebrating)
All the hard work is done, your website is live and it’s time to celebrate. These are special moments and we cherish every project we launch for our clients so it’s only right that we find a way to celebrate with you (even if it’s over Zoom!).
Post-go live
We’ve got you covered. Even if everything goes smoothly during go-live, you still need the experts on hand for the first few days and weeks to make sure there are no major issues. We call this stabilization period ‘Post-go live’ because your new website is still its infancy and needs to be monitored constantly. Post-go live focuses on customer support, data integrity, and system stability. The length of post-go-live support varies depending on your requirements and the scope. You can sleep easy knowing that our experts at Userfirst are on standby and can get things back up and running fast if something goes wrong.
COORDINATING WITH YOUR TEAM LAUNCHING THE PRODUCT CELEBRATING
