I recently did a round of interviews on behalf of a client who is looking to take on signifcant web projects in 2008. It was different than the interviews we do at ArcStone - we’re large enough to have relatively fixed roles in the programming / development department (if not for the operational / sales side - but that’s another post). Our client needed someone who could not only do the web development, but also help them take their idea from 50,000 foot concept to specificaitons that non-technical staff could understand.

We posted for the job on Craigslist and Careerbuilder and narrowed it done to four candidates. The experience underscored for me how important the analytical aspect of web development is. I cut two of the interviews short with this question, “If we came to you with a high level outline for a web application, what would your next step be?”

There are a lot of correct answers - write user stories, refine the specifications with a detailed project plan, do wireframes, create work flow diagrams, etc. - but two of these “experienced” candidates totally blew the answers, hemming and hawing. Aye carumba - what are they teaching the kids these days?

When choosing a web developer, find out what their approach is when they plan a project. Make sure it will work for your organization and hold them to it - if they don’t do the planning, kill the project - you will be happier and more successful with someone else.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 at 6:49 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.