Written by Pete New
Embarking on the journey of building your first product or website can be an exciting but daunting task. Collaborating with a digital agency can greatly enhance your chances of success. This guide covers what you can expect from the process and how you can get the most from an agency partnership.
At Lunar we’re incredibly lucky to get to work with a wide array of different clients - from highly experienced digital teams that have delivered numerous digital projects to first-time startup founders that have never worked with a digital agency before, or in some cases ever worked on a technology project full stop. If you fall into the latter category then this guide is for you!
Embarking on the journey of building your first product or website can be an exciting but daunting task. Collaborating with a digital agency can greatly enhance your chances of success. To ensure a smooth and fruitful partnership, it's essential to understand what to expect when working with an agency. In this article, we'll walk you through the typical process, the benefits of agile development, the concept of project completion, what to expect during final testing, and the significance of ongoing support.
When working with a digital agency, you'll go through several distinct project phases. At Lunar, we work through the following project process:
The initial phase that we call ‘Define’ is a period of discovery, where the agency will aim to establish a detailed understanding of your project requirements. Through thorough research and client consultations, they’ll gather insights that lay the foundation for a project plan, timeline, technical specification and a refined cost estimate.
Once this discovery phase is complete, you’ll move into the design phase. Here, the agency will craft wireframes, visual mock-ups, and user experience prototypes to bring your vision to life. Collaboration and feedback from both parties are crucial during this phase to ensure the design aligns with your brand identity and user expectations. During this phase the project plan, tech spec and time/cost estimates will all be tweaked to reflect any changes in scope and design details that have come out of this process.
Next comes development, where the development team brings the designs to life. Many agencies will work within an agile development framework - ours, for example, incorporates aspects of Kanban and Scrum (more on this later) and works to build key functionality by working in iterative development sprints. This approach aims to constantly deliver the most value against remaining budget and involves the client in the development process and important decision making throughout. Features are prioritised and delivered before moving on to work on the next most important feature.
Both during, and after, development numerous rounds of testing take place. The agency carries out comprehensive testing to ensure the product or website performs optimally across different devices, browsers, and scenarios. Feedback is also requested from the client and is highly valuable during this phase to refine the final product.
Finally, the project enters the launch phase, where the agency assists with deploying the product or website to a live environment. This involves final optimisations, migration, and going live. However, it's essential to remember that even after launch, ongoing maintenance and support are necessary for long-term success.
Many digital agencies employ agile development frameworks and practices, such as Scrum and Kanban. Agile methodologies focus on collaboration, flexibility, and iterative development. This means that rather than delivering the entire project in one go, the work is divided into smaller, more manageable tasks known as sprints - often working towards an MVP (minimum viable product) before extending the product in further phases of development.
Working with an agency that embraces agile development offers several benefits. Regular communication and feedback cycles enable you to see progress and make adjustments throughout the process. It also allows for quicker responses to changing requirements and helps mitigate risks by identifying and resolving issues early on - keeping projects on track in terms of timelines and budgets.
Defining when a project is finished can be subjective. While the launch phase marks a significant milestone, it's crucial to understand that digital products and websites are ever-evolving entities. Client satisfaction should drive the definition of completion, but it's common for projects to continue evolving post-launch.
A digital agency should provide you with a clear scope of work and a set of deliverables. However, it's important to establish open communication channels and a plan for ongoing development, maintenance and updates. Regularly reassessing your goals and adapting to market changes will help ensure your product remains relevant and successful.
Building a complex digital product, or website, involves countless lines of code and intricate interactions. As such, bugs and issues are an inherent part of the development process. It's important to approach client testing with a mindset that embraces these challenges and acknowledges that it is a collaborative effort.
During the testing phase, both the client and the agency should work together to identify and address any bugs or usability concerns. Clear communication and timely feedback are crucial for resolving issues efficiently. Remember, the purpose of testing is to refine and improve the final product, and the agency's expertise will be invaluable. It’s likely that the content population process will also uncover some bugs that may not have been found whilst using dummy content during the development process. There will be bugs!
Working with an experienced digital agency to build your website or product should fast track the process and get you to market more quickly. A good working relationship with an agency you can trust is crucial - look for an agency that has long standing client relationships and open communication.
Need an agency partner to help you deliver your first product or website? Get in touch via our contact page here to find out how we can help.
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