Further reading:

Paper prototyping

With a paper prototype, you can user test early design ideas at an extremely low cost. Doing so lets you fix usability problems before you waste money implementing something that doesn't work. (Jakob Nielsen)   >>>

Design & development

Well, we are not the only ones to develop web-based applications. Where we try to stand out is by sticking strictly to a set of guidelines which we deem fundamental:

• Extensive prototyping
  From our experience, when prototyping user interfaces, one does not obtain fully satisfactory results before the 4th or 5th prototype. It is essential that the definitive prototype be cast in stone before actual development starts. Far from being a recipe for losing time and money, it is quite the opposite.
  Prototyping need not be expensive; in most cases paper prototyping works wonders.
  What is essential here is to obtain cooperation from a small group of dedicated users at the Client.
• Quick and dirty usability testing
  Also it is essential to conduct two or three usability tests at later development stages.
  Here again, such test need not be expensive. They will typically require a couple of users at the Client, and last three to four hours. We practice the Steve Krug methodology, which is simple, efficient and cheap.
• Strict coding standards
  We write code for others according to the same standards we write it for our internal need: strict use of the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture, ample inline and manual documentation, observance of recognized standards and conventions.