Redesign: The New 4 Letter Word
Posted by mbsnapp on November 25, 2007
synoppsys: An “iteration” may be a more appropriate description of web site projects than a “redesign.”
Like any bad habit, removing a word from one’s vocabulary is challenging, especially a word that has been so close to one’s heart. For the past year, I have probably repeated this sentence 1,000 times: “this web site needs a redesign.” Our project queue is full of web site “redesigns.” When I started to hear customers use the word in our conversations, I became concerned. This word promises much more than we can deliver.
Think a moment about what “redesign” implies. Let’s be the customer for a second. Is this what they are hearing? “Our web team is going to redesign your web site, because it really sucks. We can’t salvage anything. So by the end of the quarter, your current ugly site will be totally trashed and replaced with a site that is a hundred times better, with lots of flashy widgets, content you’ll never have to maintain, and millions of visitors.”
Now let’s try out the word “iteration.”
“Our web team thinks that your web site is pretty good, but there are a few things that we think can be improved in a short amount of time. Let’s pick the top couple of items that will benefit the most members of your audience, and then we’ll revisit your site in the future.”
Doesn’t an iteration sound a lot more manageable and realistic than a redesign?
I’ve been reading a lot about Agile Software Development recently. At its core is the concept of repeatedly slicing projects (sashimi) into “increments of functionality” (see Schwaber and Beedle’s Agile Software Development with Scrum (2002)).
I’ll write more about Agile in future posts but for now, I’m busy. Our project queue is full of web site iterations.
Kevin S. said
Please don’t mix these two concepts… as a person whose been working in and learning agile for 3 years now (scrum, xp, and crystal), I can’t agree.
An iteration is a project management term for a length of time devoid of its focus or intent. A redesign is an honest view of the current state of the site from a usability and freshness standpoint. One is business, the other is time. Combining the two in front of the customer will not help them understand what you mean by either.
If you had explained more, I could see where your train of thought would have made sense, but for a person “reading” about agile or any new folks learning about agile, don’t make these mean the same thing.
mbsnapp said
Thank you for this clarification! I understand exactly what you are saying. Maybe we should say: “we are going to update your web site”.