Methodology
These are some of our core principles that have evolved over 5 years of building social sites:
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1. Gather insight
Real people are at the heart of all interactions. We begin every project by interviewing clients and observing users to understand who we’re designing for. That killer piece of insight is often buried in the mundane. This is so important to us we have a dedicated team for insight. Only through meticulous research can we clearly define the problem and deliver a “wow” solution.
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2. Rapid prototyping
We constantly validate our ideas with quick and dirty prototypes. Be they pencil doodles, static sketches or clickable mockups, we believe in the power of gathering immediate feedback to inform and guide our work at every stage. -
3. Less talk, more code
We're not big fans of producing detailed functional specifications; we'd much rather spend the time developing the software and change it as user needs become apparent. That's not to say we don't write any specs but we aim to communicate our ideas without unnecessary detail. -
4. Release early and often
Communities are constantly evolving and using our software in ways we didn't anticipate. We believe it's important to match them beat for beat and evolve our software as user behaviour changes. We try to get the simplest version out there as soon as possible, then iterate over user feedback. -
5. Test obsessively
We're fanatical about testing. 95% of our code is covered by unit and functional tests. We are constantly thinking about ways to cover that remaining 5%. With such focus on automated testing, we allow ourselves to build and deploy features within aggressive timeframes.
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6. Ongoing refinement
Consistently great design is all about process. We’re passionate about finding ways to continually improve how we work and keep outpacing the best of the web. We’re in the business of never-ending tweaking and tuning.
