Traditional processes suggest that software should be managed as if ideas and innovations were being purchased off the shelf. Unfortunately the customer often pays for the time spent in the planning and conceptualizing stages that actually insures the road map to completion is as unyielding as the requirements permit them to be.
The problem here is that too much planning often incurs more requirements and more time identifying what those requirements are without any guaranteed forecast of what has to occur and without isolating any unforeseeable obstacles to get there. Nevertheless, with every failed project and every new project thereafter comes a brand new promise with a brand new process. While focusing on the internal antidote, an objective look on what has worked for all other players in the market is hardly ever considered. We are always positive that this time will be different while the new process is quickly prepackaged and delivered as their very own. Unfortunately, these solutions often introduce more problems later that corner the agency into straying from their own requirements because the process requires that projects are trapped within a time box that was negotiated before development ever began.
The truth is that strict requirements and rigid phases upfront can the actually stifle growth because it's often hard to know what requirements should be until we are engaged through a series of prototypes and spike solutions supporting our ideas. It is so easy to forget the nature of our industry when we are constantly trying to charter the events that are beyond the horizon. Yet these events are often no more predictable than people are. Why do we try so hard to limit our imagination? Instead we should let our imaginations be our compass and control our reactions to the events so that we may help guide our project to a greater experience. Seeing models of our ideas work before our eyes can stimulate growth and unveil new potential, but not if our projects are not permitted to grow in process.
Unyielding to the environment can often introduce more problems when the team is cornered into straying from best practices because the process requires that projects are trapped within a time box that was negotiated before obstacles were ever even identified along with any new ideas. In the end a working product is delivered as per the requirements document. But when the time comes to add features and modifications, the engine under the hood is finally revealed. And unfortunately it is all too common that changes can often require a complete overhaul because the underlying mechanics were not handled under the premise of forward compatibility but in a blitz attempt to pacify a time critical situation that had nothing to do with the client's initial problem.
The reality is that the most valuable solutions can be maintained and progressively nurtured for many years to come. A website is really a service for the customer (involving many releases over time) that needs to have the flexibility to grow, far into the future and far beyond the initial launch.