There is a plethera of information that you must calculate when considering building a new website with a new client. My example is a bit unique because it is intended for a non-profit organization, but it is unique in many ways. It doesn’t need to create many users, mantain and record distinct user statuses, or erase user information in the event of user profile deletion. This example only needs one administrative user, multiple components to update state to, and distinctive alerts to show. How is a developer supposed to know where to start? What is the first thing we need to consider when creating something of a smaller scale ? What kind of communication is necessary when starting a project with a client? These are important aspects to consider when creating a project with a client or with anyone you might have drawn inspiration from for a portfolio project.
What is the problem?
There will always be a problem if there is an app or website to design. An app is considered more for functionality rather than information. And contrarily, websites are more useful to be able to extract data. A great example to show the distinction between the two is the Flo App. It has both of these aspects integrated into it as an app. One part of the app is capable of calculating a woman’s menstrual cycle and the other part of the app is capable of formulating articles which explain why a woman’s mentrual cycle is the way that it is or populate different articles related to specified symptoms that the user may have shared. With both of these features, this app is able to draw in a multitude of users based on either of these problems: the need for functionailty v.s the need for information. The best outcome of this question when faced with a client should be whether it is something a developer could fix with an informational app or functional app, or maybe even both.
What kind of servers are needed?
If you are a full stack developer like me, then you are familiar with creating a backend from scratch and creating a server on your own for a singular purpose. However, if you are not familiar with this, it could get easy to fall into the subscrbibable server abyss that is available throughout the internet. Before accepting any terms and conditions, it is important to note the server capacity that is needed when considering taking on a project. A project may only need the same kind of information, repeatedly or it may need dynamic changes depending on the client’s requirements. Nowadays there are also cloud services such as AWS availabe for server functionalities that are more than adequate for certain projects, but it is crucial to understand the requirements for your project before making any kind of monetary decision.
How will this site/app be maintained?
If this is the kind of informational website that needs yearly bug maintenance and scarce checkups due to client request, then project is similar to mine. If, however, it is an app that requires routine checks and regular maintenance then you should recalculate your production route because something may have beek overlooked along the way. Ideally, projects such as these where you work side by side the client shoudn’t require regular and frequent checkups. If it does, you can bet there is quite a bit of refactoring work to be done. At this point, it would be wise to find someone of a past cohort or a previous instructor/mentor to review your code and point out different routes you could take or different ways you could make a problem work out.
As many of you know, peer reviews can be the difference between a faulty app and a shiny/ fresh app. There is hardly ever any damage done when we ask for a peer review for our code because generally, two heads always think better than one. If you ever have the chance to bring in a person from your cohort, a recent networking event, or even a past mentor in to help, take that chance. These projects are seen by recruiters, future coworkers and prospective superiors and as such, projects should show the best of our developing ability. This includes the ability to work under supervision and in a team.