Testing the system. Once the coding is complete the system has to be thoroughly tested. Unit testing
involves the testing of the website’s modules. System testing aims to test the site as a whole and
ensure its functionality for the user. Acceptance testing is used to verify that the system meets the
business objectives, that were defined in the system analysis phase.
Implementation and maintenance. This step is very important, since websites, as any other
software, may break down. They need continuous checking, testing and repair. A perfectly designed
website, which is often unavailable due to technical reasons, is not a successful one.
This process, described by Laudon and Traver (2007, p. 193) is very abstract and does not focus on
the details of each phase. It can only be used as a general guideline, since many methodologies follow
similar steps to reach the goal of developing a successful website. A similar, though much more detailed
approach, is the one proposed by Howcroft and Carroll (2000). The authors proposed their own
methodology for website development after comparing a number of available methods, such as the “Four
Phase Model” (strategy, design, production and delivery, designed by Siegel (1997) and Ikonic’s Five Box
Development Process (a five stage process, which highly depends on thorough documentation between
each stage).
The method suggested by Howcroft and Carroll (2000) tries to combine the advantages of the
compared methodologies that are presented in the relevant literature. Their method consists of four
phases with several steps in each phase. An overview of the main points of this methodology is presented
below.
Phase One: Analysis. Deals with the development of a web strategy and an analysis of how a website
may achieve this strategy. The main objective of this phase is to reduce the risks of lack of top management
commitment and misunderstanding the system requirements. This phase consists of three steps:
i. Development of a web strategy, which means defining where the organization is now, where the
organization wishes to be and how it will get from the present state to the desired one.
ii. Defining the objectives.
iii. Objective analysis, which involves: technology analysis, information analysis, skills analysis, user
analysis, cost analysis and risk analysis.
Phase Two: Design. “The website should be designed with the knowledge that it is likely to have
sections and processes added to it during its lifetime, as requirements change and new technologies
emerge.” (Howcroft and Carroll, 2000). It consists of two steps:
i. Information and Graphics Design
ii. Testing of Design, since testing in the early stages can help prevent future errors and malfunctions of
the website, making the whole development process more efficient.
Phase Three: Generation. It consists of the four steps that lead the project from the design phase to
the actual generation of the website.
i. Resource selection
ii. Design Review
iii. Code generation and Installation
iv. Testing.
Phase Four: Implementation. This is an ongoing phase that does not stop after the development of
the website. It involves:
i. Implementation
ii. Maintenance
iii. Objectives review
This method has some key advantages. It is well structured, detailed and simple to understand. It
organizes the task of building a website into four well defined phases and provides further guidance to the
developers by breaking down each phase into steps. Not only does it allow the tasks to be organized but it
makes the tracking of the progress quite effective. On the other hand, Howcroft and Carroll(2000) provide a
useful but general framework to assist in the web development process. Their methodology should be
altered and adapted to the special requirements of this dissertation’s project ,since it is not created to be
efficient for e-Business websites. Also their methodology looks to be more appropriate and effective for
larger projects, where developers have their own distinct roles.