Bhupal Sapkota Computer Programmer Unraveling art, science, and commerce behind technology. Passionate about teaching web/mobile programming, writing, and growing an online business.

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Web development “real” life cycle

Few guys known as manager, designer, software engineer, tester are feeling pressure in what we call Semicolon Valley here, because few other guys known as information architecture, user interface designer, user experience designer, database designers left Nepal thinking there is no work for them here. They never bothered to try creating work here. The smart guys here are working on a product called “web application”. There is one guy known as customer, who had the awesome “web application”  idea. Let’s see how it begins and how it goes to the end. Let me tell you the story of a web application development life cycle in Nepal and few suggestions to make it more enjoyable.

diagram-innovative-idea
Source: Smashing Magazine

All these guys would introduce themselves as you keep on reading. The quotes are strongly favoring the guy in context but no one else in the story.

It’s me, the Customer, you know ?

I am full of ideas. One secret to tell you, I love spending on my ideas. Don’t get me wrong here. I know what i want, but i don’t have a money plant though – mind it.  I can feel my ideas, they so good, amazing, do you see them?  I think i can do business with this idea. I want people to see it, feel the same. I like to see how the idea will turn out when implemented.

The Customer is King. – Unknown

Right or wrong, the customer is always right.
– Marshall Field

Let’s talk. Will this work ?

If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends. – Jeff Bozos

Hello, how are you ? she *smiles* 🙂

Dear customer, welcome to our family, I am the manager here. I’ll coordinate with you all the time. Your ideas are what makes us move. Thank you so much for choosing us. Stay in touch, we love your feedbacks while we work.

If we don’t take care of our customers, someone else will. – Unknown

In house. Hello guys, we have a new project here *boom*. The idea is brilliant, you would enjoy it. Let’s have a quick discussion and figure it out how to give it “shape”.

After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say ‘I want to see the manager.’ – William S. Burroughs

Here’s this, here’s that, this is for you and she gonna work on it, okay – Cheers! (hears silence in return!)

The toughest thing about the power of trust is that it’s very difficult to build and very easy to destroy. The essence of trust building is to emphasize the similarities between you and the customer.
– Thomas J. Watson

What do you think – will this strategy work ? Can we do this by October ? Suggestions? Have you worked on this kind of project before?

The quality of our work depends on the quality of our people. – Unknown

To my customer. I may not have the answer, but I’ll find it. I may not have the time, but I’ll make it. – Unknown

Guys, let’s do it. This is going to be an awesome product.

Hire character.  Train skill.  – Peter Schutz

 

Hi, my name is designer.

 

Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends. – Walt Disney

I love colors, I love spaces, I love ‘em together. It took me thousands of hours of reading, practicing and re-doing designs to see the “shape” of the “idea”. I am not here with a crash course on how to persuade the recruiter. I can feel the idea. I can feel what customer saw in it. Practice is what made me confident on my work.

One idea can change the world. – Inception

This idea is not any less. Let me think a bit. Give me some time. I need some space, no one disturbs me until i finish it okay! ***Dido in headset ****

Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future.
– Robert L. Peters

 

Hi, developer here. What’s up yo!

I am not developer. I am not a software engineer. What the f%$^ is that? What i do is programming mod@ f$!%er.

Walking on water and developing software from a specification are easy if both are frozen – Edward V Berard

Programming is what i enjoy dude. Give me the designs.

If you want to set off and go develop some grand new thing, you don’t need millions of dollars of capitalization. You need enough pizza and Diet Coke to stick in your refrigerator, a cheap PC to work on and the dedication to go through with it. – John Carmack

Did you know everyone in the world hates PHP. They don’t know what it means to be in love.

There are only two kinds of languages: the ones people complain about and the ones nobody uses. – Bjarne Stroustrup

I am in the semicolon of the 4425th line making the “idea” functional. I don’t understand why the PM always sees my fault. F%&^ you.

Give trust, and you’ll get it double in return
– Kees Kamies

yoyo

What is going on here? I am a tester.

“You can see a lot by just looking.”  – Yogi Berra

My sister got her kids a little puppy, and they’ve been trying to train it. To live with a dog in the house, you need to teach it not to jump on people, not to poop in the house, to sit on command, and to never, ever, everchew on the iPad. Never. Good girl.

With dogs the main trick to training is that feedback has to be immediate. If you come home to discover that, hours before, the dog tipped over the garbage can in the kitchen, it’s too late for training. You can yell at her but she just won’t get what you’re going on about. Dogs are just not that smart.

For programmers, getting better at what you do requires quick feedback, positive and negative, on what you’ve just done. The faster you get the feedback, the faster you’ll learn. With long-cycle shrinkwrap software, it can take a year or more to hear feedback from customers.

That’s one of the reasons Jole would hire you.

To find out what happens when you change something, it is necessary to change it. – Unknown

You have a awesome product history. I like the way you guys work. You hired me, but i used to find more bugs when i was your customer.

You need to know about customer feedback that says things should be better. – Bill Gates

Never mind coders, i am doing my job. That huge guy, the CEO, pays me to find what you did the other way around, like he pays you to solve the problem. Don’t get me wrong – this is my job, like yours. You better fix the bug now. Before we are too late.

You said it worked.

Yes, It works on your machine! but..

Let’s fix some more. This is going to be a killer product. Awesome.

Discovering the unexpected is more important than confirming the known. – Unknown

 

Wow! not bad yet. How far have you been?

Here comes the customer. ***** trouble alert ****
”Guys here are some thoughts…”, says  the customer.

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. – Bill Gates

1. Would you ask your designer to delete that “like” button and add “+1” and “-1” button?

Remember? I am the King? I am the one spending money. Why should i care about how tough time you guys have gone through.

2. When i delete “this guy” here, why the whole page gets reloaded ?

You guys fix this asap. We are running out of time.

3. I want to add my “another idea” here at the left side, below top right banner.

Yes. It is always just one idea that can change the world.

 

Manager : Designer, Programmer, Tester

 

Guys, we got a situation here.

The best part about good “managers”, “designers”, “coders”, “testers” – is that they know this is what happens in web development real-life cycle.

They are always ready to face it.

Let’s iterate.

That would mean, go to the beginning and start again from where you programmers, designers  an testers sat with your manager at the beginning of the project. The smaller the iteration, the finer the product.

x

As a manager we know web development always ends up like this.
As a designer we know web development always ends up like this.
As a programmer we know web development always ends up like this.
As a tester we know web development always ends up like this.

If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got. – Einstein

y

You are professionals. But as a customer he/she might not know web development always ends up like this. (New customer )

Tell them the story of “web development real-life cycle” before beginning. Analyze requirements (ask customer, do research) as much as you can before beginning the project – don’t hurry in the beginning.
– Include the “customer” to this  “Manager” to “Designer” + “Programmer” + “Tester” to “Manager” cycle. Get frequent feedbacks.
– Tell the customer in bold voice or letters in the beginning that each small “idea” in the middle of the project costs you time, costs you team effort, takes the s&!t out of your team and that’s why you will need more payment so that you could buy more Sprite, Coffee and RARA backup to fix that design and code.

Go out of your office quarters, have some fresh air in Basantapur in the eve. Ask your customer to join in next Friday.

You are professionals. You are creative. You always loved your work. You respect your customers. You are clear to your customers on pricing and quality. You gave quality product – last time. The customer wants you to work on another idea.

Congratulations! You proved you are reliable.

The purpose of a business is to create a mutually beneficial relationship between itself and those that it serves. When it does that well, it will be around tomorrow to do it some more. John Woods

z = x + y

The web development real-life cycle exists. Accept it from the beginning.
Enjoy it with your customer.

Designing a product is designing a relationship.
– Steve Rogers

Thanks,
Seth’s blog, Steve Blank’s Manifesto, Smashing Magazine articles
Quotes from top 10 Google results on topics.
My few years of web development experience in Kathmandu Valley.

Category: technology

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Web development “real” life cycle
https://bhupalsapkota.com/cycle/

2 comments

  • After reading it i feel that every person who are involved and interested in the field of information technology ;it is better to read it and follow it . Thank you

  • Unknown says:

    Hello, I read your article and found that its very informative.Also I would like to refer to your case study for learning purposes. we need to share knowledge and links with each others.
    Professional Web Design

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