The evolution of a web project - what to remember in the ToR

    Why waste time talking about quality?


    You need to launch a web project in a short time, you choose the Bitrix platform or another framework, a contractor / integrator (or you do it by your own programmers), create a website and at hour X, visitors start using the web solution.
    Why get distracted by integration quality issues if the web project is launched and the goal seems to be achieved? The site is available for customers, the project was completed on time and budgeted, the prizes were received ... :-)
    Many simply do not think about the further development of the web project. And some categories of managers frankly pursue the goal of launching a web solution on time and they simply do not give a damn about the quality and fate of the website (the project can simply be transferred to another manager).

    Fast or right?


    Often, a web project continues to be actively developed after launch, adding new services, trying to stay “on the crest of a wave” and take into account the wishes of users.
    If the web project was implemented “too fast” or “insufficiently qualified specialists”, the following risks await you:

    Suddenly it turns out to be difficult, long and expensive to add website content

    The content of the web solution will change at different speeds.
    To change the phone in the footer it suddenly turns out to need to involve a programmer. You can use the admin panel to add news, but to add an image to the news, you again need a programmer, because image breaks layout, etc.
    It would be easier for you if the content of the web project was managed through the admin panel by employees without technical qualifications.

    Expensive to configure functionality

    Often, after launching a website, you need to tweak it a bit. For example, play the number of words in the announcement of the news, after which the ellipsis is placed. Or the number of news in the news feed on the main page. You are looking for customization, but you are told that you need to attract a programmer.
    You want to change the name of the menu item, swap them, add a description of the web page and keywords - but you were not given this opportunity and again you need to rent developer resources.

    It is dangerous and difficult to add new functionality and change existing

    When you want to add new functionality, the developers say that it is very difficult and long to do, you will have to rewrite a lot of things and then test. But it won’t work out and it will take several days to answer Users' questions about critical errors and data loss.

    It is difficult to share access to different sections of the web solution admin area

    You want the news to be added by one employee, the content of the pages by another, the prices in the catalog by a third, and only the web solution administrator can change passwords. It may turn out that you have only one level of access — all or nothing — all administrators or guests.

    It is dangerous to update the platform

    The Bitrix platform, on the basis of which the web solution is developed, is constantly evolving, new features are added. You want to use them in your web project and keep the system up to date. But it may turn out that updating the web solution platform is dangerous because due to violation of integration standards, developers have made changes to the core of the system and updating may break the website.

    The above and other risks arise from ignoring the requirements for the quality of Bitrix solutions integration . The project will be launched quickly, but its support and development may in this case turn into hell.

    How to "squeeze" the maximum benefit from Bitrix and web solution integrators?


    First of all, you need to clearly understand for yourself, as a web project manager, the platform features that are advantageous to you, provided “out of the box”, which allow you to:
    - Add / change the content of the web project without involving technical specialists
    - “Customize” the website’s functionality: edit menus, list settings, etc.
    - Constantly add new "features" to the web solution, develop the site quickly and confidently, keeping pace with competitors
    - Organize effective work of employees with the web solution, sharing their rights, setting up various business processes if necessary (including moderation etc.)
    - Quickly add to your web solution new platform features through the update system, keeping up with modern web technologies and competitors.


    Editing the page “above the site”


    Editing the properties of the page


    Editing the text “in the basement” of the site


    Editing the phone


    Managing the menu


    Managing the number of news on the page

    These useful features provided by the platform are useful for reflecting in the development task.

    Looking under the hood? Sometimes


    At this point, you know the capabilities of the platform that are important from the point of view of support and development, registered them in the statement of work, carefully check their implementation and with a high probability you will get a web solution managed by you and your employees.
    But it’s too early to calm down. Outside, everything can look beautiful and manageable, site managers and visitors are satisfied, but with an increase in load and / or data volume in a web project (increased catalog size, number of visitors, orders, etc.), the system may begin to slow down.
    There is an opinion that the web-solution performance problem can be effectively solved “head-on” - by increasing server capacities (move to a more “powerful” hosting, buy a new server, etc.). Unfortunately, this does not always work.
    It is often much easier and cheaper to reduce this risk at the stage of developing a web solution by including an item in the statement of work called “Load Testing”.
    The Bitrix platform has many useful tools for auditing performance, from checking the "power" of server hardware to analyzing the speed of project web pages under load and monitoring the quality of programmers. The topic is big and interesting, but from the point of view of effective risk management in the style of "point-and-click" simply ... conduct stress testing before putting the solution into operation.
    The easiest way is to conduct load testing using the "Settings / Performance / Performance Panel / Scalability" tool:

    To create a more realistic and complex load scenario, it is advisable to use tools such as Jmeter .
    Many practical examples of organizing and conducting stress testing of web projects can be found on our website .

    Summary


    If a web project needs to not only be “quickly launched”, but also “cheaply” maintained and efficiently developed, try to foresee in the ToR so that the built-in capabilities of the Bitrix platform (including the Hermitage technology) are used “to the maximum”: web -the solution was manageable without the involvement of technical specialists, expandable without the risk of “everything needs to be rewritten from scratch,” and the platform / core of the web project could be updated at any time to get new functionality. And so that the website does not “freeze” when the load and / or volume of data increases - provide for the load specification to be carried out in the ToR on approximate real volumes of test data.
    Sincerely,
    Alexander Serbul , Head of Integration and Implementation Quality Control

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