The Ixxus development team has the technical skills to tackle all parts of the web-based technology stack, from the user-interface, to mid-tiered application servers, databases, search engine and other services.

Methodology

The development methodology chosen is based upon the appropriateness to the project and the client. This can vary from traditional 'waterfall' approaches (detailed definition phase, a build phase, test-phase, and then deliver), to more agile strategies involving frequent releases, continual integration, ongoing client involvement, iterative functional deliveries, and regular requirements reviews.

Development Quality

Some key aspects to ensuring an ongoing emphasis on quality are:Thorough, well thought-out centralised version control and release system. Allows constant availability of any build-version for testing, demos, or releases; Application of written unit-tests, for automatic execution; Comprehensive automated build, version-stamping, packaging and deployment of an application; Continual integration. A process of completely rebuilding and testing an application on a frequent basis to an environment realistic to the final production destination. This aides early defect repair and early problem detection; Peer reviews. All code is reviewed by other technical team members, to help spot logic errors, re-factor code, advise on quality, and foster a sense of joint-project ownership; Performance testing. Locate bottle-necks and other areas that can affect the desired level of responsiveness.

User Interface Technologies

A well designed user-interface is crucial to an effective product, so Ixxus development teams ensure the following standards are applied to all user-interactive applications:

Accessibility.

A thorough analysis of delivered web-pages to ensure that the largest audience possible is able to participate.

Usability.

Ensuring the interactive-design is easy and appropriate to use to achieve the tasks required by the user. Adherence to W3C standards (e.g. valid (X)HTML), to aid accessibility, maintenance and performance. Separation of the style (look and feel in the form of CSS) from the structured content (the semantic use of XHTML), and from the behaviour (through unobtrusive use of JavaScript). Graceful degradation allows pages to function for less-equipped browsers. Careful use of Ajax in the application. Ajax allows dynamic partial page updates and asynchronous communication with a server. Can improve the usability experience and (in some cases) performance, but only if correct design-patterns are applied.

Testing Strategy

A Test Driven Development approach is inherently incorporated into the Ixxus Scrum process during sprint iterations.

A test engineer specifies acceptance criteria for the features in the sprint backlog where upon a developer will then write a failing automated test case that defines the desired improvement or new function, then produces code to pass that test and finally re-factors the new code to acceptable standards.

The use of a project source control system along with a continuous integration environment will provide an ongoing mechanism for automated testing of new functionality and ensure that existing functionality is not broken through a series of regression tests.

During the integration and test cycles there is an adoption of performance, load testing tools and user interface test tools like Selenium that ensure that functionality is tested to an acceptable level of concurrency across an agreed range of client browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome etc.) and/or hand held devices (iPhone, Android etc.).

Ixxus works with one or more client users (which may include the Product Owner) during the User Acceptance Testing phase to ensure that the deliverable fulfils expectations. There is an opportunity to identify issues or improvements during each sprint’s review meeting.

Documentation

Ixxus produces release documentation for all deliverables given to the client. This includes:

• Release documentation: release information, bug fixes, included functionality etc.
• Installation & Configuration documentation: documentation to allow a client to support Alfresco within their environment
• Wire-frame documentation: where applicable user interface wire-frame and documentation