Developing a commerce site is similar to developing an application, and a structured approach is recommended. This part of the chapter discusses a development methodology for the commerce site. An approach with the following stages is recommended here:
Scope
Prototype
Design
Implementation
Testing
Deployment[3]
The Scope stage involves the following activities:
Researching the business requirements
Projecting the infrastructure needs of the solution
Establishing the overall technical architecture of the solution
Performing an initial analysis of the security, performance, maintainability, and integration issues
Specifying a schedule for development and implementation of the solution[3]
The Prototype stage involves building a basic layout of the site so as to get a taste of what the site will look like. The prototype is essentially the foundation for the final site and can be modified according to the customer’s feedback.
The Design stage involves developing the logical design. It also involves designing the user interface and deriving the physical design.
The Implementation stage involves translating the design into the actual site. This can be in the form of changes and updates to the prototype. The key tasks are creating the user interface, developing custom components for the order processing pipelines, if needed, and implementing the database according to the design.
The site should be tested before deployment. Among other things, the site should be tested for security, user interface, performance, and ease-of-use. Furthermore, the site developed should be deployed.
[3]Ganesh, Arvind, “Enterprise Application Development and Commerce Site Server,” Copyright 2003 California Software Labs, Ltd., California Software Labs, Ltd., 6800 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 100, Pleasanton, CA 94566, 2003.