Here at SYDCON, we work with a variety of clients in varying industries. One of our niche areas is working with Design or Marketing firms. In our experience, many of these digital agencies find themselves in need of high-end developers to partner with to assist on random client projects. They don't have the demand to warrant full-time developers, or possibly the developers they staff just don't have the skills and or programming languages required for the project. So, these types of firms look to partner with a company like ours to work with on an "as needed" basis.

When these firms are looking for new partners for a project that may have just landed on their desk, or to set up partnerships for future endeavors in order to offer more services to their clients, it is only expected they want to know how we do things here at SYDCON. When we work with digital agencies we rarely do a "full circle" project. Meaning we are not brought in for planning or design process. We are brought in for the "if we dream it they can build it" phase. We are often asked what is our process, or how do we work with these types of firms. Below I outline our process.

1. Initial conversations. During these initial meetings, we will discuss the high-level objectives of the website such as Website functionality, Content Management Systems (CMS), e-commerce, blog, API's, system integration and more. At this point, we will determine all the architectural elements required and plot out the "blueprints" so to speak for all the programming and development.

2. Wireframes. The wireframes are provided by the designer. We will discuss the "look and feel" and further develop our development plans based on the areas they require us to program.

3. Design. While we are typically not involved in this phase, we may be asked to comment and provide input on design elements if something has changed from the wireframes.

4. Development - Backend. While the design and/or marketing team is working closely with the client to creating the look of the site we begin developing the "backend" of the site. We will start building out the Database and Content Management System (CMS).

5. Data Entry. When the backend development is complete the CMS will be ready for the client to begin entering data into the system.

6. Development - Frontend. When the client approves the final design, we will begin developing the front end of the website and populate the pages with the data that was entered into the backend.

7. Testing. Once development in a particular area of the website is complete we will begin testing with the client. We will take section by section and test until all areas have been thoroughly tested.

8. Launch. Once testing is complete, the client and development team agree upon a launch date but in most cases never on a Friday. Because websites are functioning entities, launching on a Friday leaves the opportunity for problems over a weekend.

So as you can see we have a multi-step process for how we work closely with other firms. Here at SYDCON, we have been playing nicely in the "sandbox" with designers and marketing firms since we opened our doors way back in 2004. We have the experience and communication skills required to work with non-developers and non-technical staff. When an agency or a firm hires us they always have direct access to our President and Project Manager, Dave who is involved in each and every project from start to finish. If your agency is looking for potential new development partners, please feel free to reach out and discuss how we can help you deliver high functioning websites and apps to your clients.