Rising sophistication means that the complexity of design and the amount of programming required by web projects, and the skills required to execute the design and programming, have risen together. Likewise, the investment needed for web projects has risen by orders of magnitude. This combination raises the risk of failure, as well as with the cost of failure.

The websites of 20 years ago involved coding some HTML in a few text files, adding in some links, and calling it complete. Today, even the most basic websites involve a CMS platform, a database, serious graphic design, and HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code. The more sophisticated projects involve tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of lines of code, dynamic AJAX calls, multiple API interactions, and more. It is no longer a kid’s game.

Here at Backtobasics, we have executed projects that cost over 5 Million Baht to complete. These projects can take anywhere from 6 to 18 months to complete, involve multiple programmers and designers, require interacting with third party providers, and be deployed on multiple, redundant servers.

You do not want to get 6 months into your project, and spend over 1 Million Baht, only to discover that the platform that was chosen for your project cannot scale to the number of visitors you require to be profitable. Or worse, discover that the design of your database cannot accommodate the functionality that you require.

Starting your project over is expensive in terms of money wasted, but more importantly time lost!

When companies make major investments in new factories or new products, they will engage professionals to review the legal and financial aspects of their project.  They engage focus groups to understand their market and ensure they are creating a viable product. No company wants their factory to become an environmental disaster, their product to be the target of a recall, or their marketing investment to be a waste of time and money. Large web projects are no different.

Sophisticated projects should always be backed by sophisticated analysis and review.

Professional systems analysis requires someone with the background and experience to understand every element of your project. Someone who understands the amount of effort required, the level of sophistication needed, and where the risks lie. Someone possessing years of experience, both programming as well as managing, large development projects. Someone who can deliver at every level.

More importantly, you need someone who has no vested interest in the decisions that are being made, other than enabling you to make the best decisions possible. Someone who is not trying to sell you their latest API, or their services, or their technology. Someone who’s sole purpose is to inform, educate, and advise you on the best possible path to ensure your project is a success.

Tim Endres, the owner of Backtobasics, has worked for General Motors, Apple Computer, the University of Michigan, Wall Street trading firms, and has run his own small businesses. He has built everything from device drivers for operating systems to sophisticated website platforms to real-time trading systems that deploy over $50 Million of trading tickets every day. Over 3 decades of programming, systems engineering, and management experience adds up to a perspective that is difficult to find anywhere, but especially in Thailand.

So, when you are considering a large project, and investing your hard-earned capital to create your dream project, you should seriously consider the importance of having a consultation to provide you with the confidence that those early, key decisions are made with the best and most comprehensive information possible.

Wether you need an in-depth systems analysis, or a review of your project design, or a simple consultation regarding your idea and how best to begin, you will discover that Backtobasics can deliver valuable information at an affordable price. This is an investment that will pay dividends throughout your entire project development effort, and long after delivery.