Before embarking upon a large web site project, whether creating a new site or just redesigning one, it is generally accepted practice not to begin work until all the problem specifications are ironed out. Some of the information that is usually required is the audience of the site, the intended purpose of the site, and the scope of the content provided in the site. The technical specifications of the site, such as accessibility, usability, file format, layout, and style, are then usually derived from this information. This is textbook web project management methodology. At the University at Buffalo, we found ourselves in a real-world, less-than-ideal situation with our IT web site redesign. Without possessing all the preliminary information, we had no choice but to begin writing content and designing our site. This was with the full knowledge that several of the project specifications would change, or not be known to us until we were well into building the site. Interesting questions...
David Thomas Dudek, Heidi A. Wieczorek