Analysis and Documentation Phase

What happens

You take stock of your business requirements, then your website requirements, and put
it all in writing.

What to aim for

Documentation that you can use for costing and planning and as a guide to the long-term
management of your site.

Key concepts

The difference between "business requirements" and "website requirements" is important. You really need to understand what you want to achieve with your business before you can decide what your website needs to do.

When you analyse your business goals carefully, you might change your mind about a website being the best, or only, way to achieve them.

The emphasis is on what you want to do rather than how. Focus on your commercial and organisational objectives rather than technology.

Ensure that you consider the needs, wants and behaviours of your target audience, the people whom you want to interact with your website.

If your website is small, you might complete this phase in an afternoon and write a single document called "Website Requirements Brief" or similar.

A large, complex website may require several months work, use a range of processes and techniques, and result in a suite of documents.

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