Corporate Web Development: From Process Infancy to Maturity-A Case Study

Web Engineering is about the use of systematic methods to develop Web sites and applications. The choice of a suitable development model, according to practitioners and researchers, is dependent upon many variables such as characteristics of the planned site (and applications), its document orientation, content and graphic design, budget and time constraints, and the changing technology. It is also generally assumed that a development model is selected at the beginning of a project. However, most of this discussion concentrates on Web related issues. This paper reports on a case study of Web development, which started as end user computing (ad hoc) activity and then developed into a conscious effort to formulate and promote a systematic approach. The evolution from process ‘infancy’ to maturity, within an organisation, brings into sharp focus ‘non-Web’ factors that are crucial to the success of any Web project.