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Web Engineering:
A Methodology for
Developing Scalable,
Maintainable Web
Applications

but others have failed or face the potential
for major failures. A recent survey on Webbased application development by the
Cutter Consortium highlighted the problems
plaguing large Web-based projects [4]:
n Delivered systems didn’t meet
business needs 84% of the time.
n Delivered systems didn’thave the
required functionality 53% of the
time.
n Schedule delays plagued the
projects 79% of the time.
n Projects exceeded the budget 63% of
the time.

The primary causes of Web system failures
are a flawed design and development
Although the development of Web applications may seem easy, it is often
process and poor management of their
more complex and challenging than many of usthink. In many ways, it is
development [6]. The way we address
also different and more complex than traditional software development [6]. these concerns is critical to realizing the
Two key attributes distinguish Web-based systems development from tradi- Web’s full potential.
tional software development: rapid growth of the requirements of WebThe emerging Web engineering discipline
based systemsand the continual change
deals with the process of developing Webof their information content. Web-based
based systems and applications. The
systems need to be designed and built for
essence of Web engineering is to successscalability and maintainability; these
fully manage the diversity and complexity
features can’t be added later. Success in
of Web application development and hencebuilding, implementing, and maintaining a
avoid potential failures, which can have
Web-based system largely depends on how
serious implications. It is a proactive
well we address these issues.
approach to building Web applications. For
In addition, a Web-based system must meet a brief introduction to Web engineering and
the needs of its many different stakeholders a review of progress in thisfield, see [6, 7, 9,
11, 13].
— the diverse range of the system’s users,
persons who maintain the system, the orgaBased on our experience in building Webnization that needs the system, and also
based systems and on our research, we
those who fund the system development.
present a methodology for successful and
These needs add to the complexity of Websustainable development of Web applicabasedsystem design and development.
tions. We believe the Web development
Furthermore, development of Web-based
methodology and the guidelines we offer
systems calls for people with knowledge
can help Web developers and project
and expertise in many different areas.
managers avoid many of the problems
currently hampering Web-based system
Many organizations and developers
development.
havesuccessfully developed large, highperformance Web sites and applications,

by Athula Ginige and San Murugesan

Vol. 14, No. 7

July 2001

24

EVOLUTIONARY WEB APPLICATION
DEVELOPMENT
Web applications are evolutionary. For many
Web applications, it’s not possible to specify
fully what they should or will contain at the
start of their development, because their
structure andfunctionality will evolve over
time. Hence, Web-based system development isn’t a one-time event, as currently
perceived and practiced by many Web
developers; it is, instead, an iterative
process with a long lifecycle.
As we now place greater emphasis on the
performance, correctness, and availability of
Web-based systems, the development
process assumes greater significance. A
sound process is aprerequisite for success,
especially when a distributed team of
people with different types and levels of
skills and expertise work together to
develop large Web applications.
Web development, therefore, should be
considered as a process consisting of many
phases, steps, and activities. The Web development process breaks the Web development efforts into manageable chunks and
offers...