Determining user requirements early in the website development process means that later problems can be reduced or completely avoided. Establishing specified user requirements can in fact lay the foundation for website developers in determining the functionality, interoperability, and responsiveness to be required from the user of a particular website. In the case of not defining user requirements for a website, the possibility of major problems arising later in the process can be directed as resulting from unrealistic expectations. Managing user requirements by placing focus on identifying, gathering, communicating, and documenting essential information is a specialised area in the creation of websites.

The purpose of defining user requirements can be told as being to prepare for writing an accurate and complete statement of work to be applied in the creation of a website. As a result of an in-depth understanding of user requirements from the beginning, website developers can achieve higher client satisfaction and turn around times.

Identifying User Requirements

Behind any rational web effort should be a formal structure and methodology known as a project plan. Identifying user requirements forms a major part of this essential planning which needs to reflect the objectives, including price, performance, and reliability, of the final website. A requirement is as such an objective which has to be met, no questions asked. The identification of user requirements can be implemented as a tool to determine and evaluate the quality of a website and whether initial goals and strategies have been met. Identifying user requirements supports the establishment of reliable strategies such as:

• the clarification of any possible ambiguity
• the careful definition of the project scope
• not allowing for developers to merely assume what it is that the end-user wants or needs
• benefits such as savings can be enjoyed by clients
• costs for development can be approximated
• competition is identified and improvement on their capabilities can be subsequently offered

User requirements most typically described the relative needs, tasks, and goals of the user of an individual website. There is therefore a need to define, document, and describe the requirements of the end-user of this website. It should also be taken into consideration that needs and requirements change over time and a website must be initially designed to accommodate these changes through updates and further additions. Problems may occur in the case of a website not being able to keep up with developments occurring in the website industry.

Problems from not gathering User Requirements

By not gathering and identifying user requirements early in the development process of a website, a number of problems are likely to occur. This is because the website developer and respective client do not possess a knowledge about what their targeted customer is looking for and what their needs are. The biggest problems which occur as resulting in a failed website can most understandably be identified as being:

• Misunderstanding the requirements of a targeted user can often result in an over-allocation of resources, overdue deliverables or additional costs.
• Having an incomplete scope of user requirements for a website means incomplete information for the proper development of a website.
• Not establishing user requirements at the start of a website project can later result in new requirements to be added during the development process which are as such unstable.
• Functionality and objectives may become ambiguous in the addition of later requirements.
• Conflicting goals may occur when no defined standard is set in place.
• Features which have no use to the user of the website and are thus regarded as "nice-to-haves" could be consequently included.

Intoweb Can Help

The benefits achieved from gathering and implementing user requirements are numerous and Intoweb therefore makes a point of utilising these for the sake of our clients and their overall company success. These benefits resulting from identifying user requirements include:

• Websites can be planned and estimated properly with a decrease in the chance of time and cost overruns.
• Through this, Intoweb is given the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge about a specific website project which can only be successful after gathering competent and applicable user requirements.
• This allows for problems to be observed on paper, serving as a blueprint for clients and website developers to jointly come up with adequate solutions to solve these issues before they even take shape.
• Serving as a prototype, Intoweb can visualize the working website project to its clients, and can here through deal with misconceptions or disagreements as the website slowly starts to take form. This is a fast and inexpensive way to conceptualize a working model based on initial user requirements established early in the process.
• Progress is therefore aided with identified problems being quickly resolved after sorting through choices available as possible solutions.
• Intoweb can work directly with clients in order to translate user requirements identified into specification for their website projects.
• Conflicting views of the goals of a website project can be resolved quickly based on a reflection on user requirements which need to be satisfied even though they might not be part of the initial strategies.
• User interaction is defined which enables impressive results to be achieved later in the website project.
• Schedules in cost and delivery can be established.

For more information concerning the outstanding web development services which Intoweb can offer to your company for success over the Internet and greater visibility amongst targeted consumers Contact Us