6-D, A Process Framework for the Design Development of Web-based Systems

摘要

The 6-D framework is a process by which web-based design and development projects may be envisioned and structured, beginning with a design situation, and ending with an artifact. It was initially created as a result of a Job Task Analysis performed during 1998 in America and Europe by our team. The goal of the job task analysis was to understand exactly how web-based application design and development was being planned, what the inputs and outputs were for each phase of the process, and what the deliverables were for each phase. These meetings included representatives from academia, professional education, and practitioners. Further, it was our long-range goal to provide designers and developers a framework, or container, within which many methodologies and models could be employed. The results were carefully monitored and the result was a process framework agreed upon by all as a best-practices approach to web design and development. By the end of that analysis, we had a very clear understanding of how practitioners and academicians were thinking about and conducting the design and development of web-based applications. From this a process framework was created that included objectives, deliverables, and the roles involved for each phase. This process framework became known as 6-D, standing for the phases of web design and development. They are Discovery, Definition, Design, Development, Delivery, and (post) Delivery. This framework is not offered as a methodology, but as a process container to hold any particular methodology or set of methodologies that an organization has adopted. There are several reasons for its importance and for its existence. Chief among them is the need for rigor and a more robust underlying program of structure and discipline that informs the design and development process. As we move into the 21st century our application needs are more complex than ever. And, that complexity demands a more thorough approach to web-based application development and delivery. Complicating this issue is the shortfall of skilled practitioners in the field. Web-based systems can be seen as representing a class of complex, artificial systems and, therefore, must be seen in context of a system, or, as Benathy suggests, "a configuration of parts connected by a web of relationships." In addition almost any framework that guides the design thinking of complex applications could benefit from a more systemic approach (Christian, 99). This paper will explore how the 6-D framework can form the core of a comprehensive systemic strategy and help provide a supporting structure for more robust design and development while allowing organizations to support whatever methods and models best suit their purpose. I will discuss the frameworks' application in the educational arena and in practice with particular attention to our experience incorporating various models into the framework. Further, I will review the framework in light of other work in methods, models, theories, and systemic thinking applied to web-based information systems.