A study of process improvement activities for web development processes within a small company

Abstract

This thesis describes activities carried out in order to improve a small company's web development process, specifically focusing on the areas of reuse and web accessibility. CACDP are the examinations board for British Sign Language and other related disciplines. Within the domain of web development they have no formal processes and no skills or knowledge with which to improve them. They wish to develop four new web based products, and to apply accessibility guidelines to both these and their existing web site. The areas of web development, process Improvement and reuse are investigated, specifically In relation to their suitability for CACDP, and an action list is drawn up of tasks that will assist them in achieving their aims. A formal process is defined and implemented in an iterative procedure, designed to gradually improve their working practices, and work towards achieving improvements in some of the Key Process Areas of the Capability Maturity Model. Reuse is targeted as a specific way to achieve efficiency within the development, and web accessibility is particularly important to CACDP as they work with many people who are affected by the lack of accessibility. The thesis describes the production of the applications using the defined process, and the problems faced during the implementation. These problems are reviewed and suggested improvements are integrated into the next implementation of the process. This project has resulted in the successful introduction of a formal process for the development of web-based applications. Reuse is now being used within the company to reduce cost and improve productivity. Accessibility standards have been implemented in all products. CACDP have benefited from increased services for their customers, increased profitability, mature development and maintenance procedures, the introduction of a reuse programme for their future development and technical learning and training for their staff.