I like to work as a freelancer, in short or medium time projects. Normally, I help, learn, and have fun with my clients. It was through a contact to work as a freelancer in order to renew the old website that I suggest that the company where I worked at that time (Scientific ToolBox Consulting) could be envolved in this project.

That way, B.Time could have a team that can make a more robust product. So, instead of renew the website image, it was possible to build a portal where B.Time clients could access their accounting information in real time, so that there is a greater transparency of the services provided by B.Time.

The old site had a client area, but it was just a document repository. In this sense, after some meetings to define business requirements, we start to work.

I also explain that if we did a beautiful site with old contents this new site would have the problems that B.Time had detected in the old one. So, I adviced and helped to review contents. I made some workshops to define: the information arquitecture (card sorting), the funciontionalities to be included in site (dot voting), and the type of contents to be in each page.

From some mettings that I had with some B.Time clients (and with some potential clients from accounting firms) it was pointed to me that some of the facts that could make some person adopt one company instead of other were the service provided, the client portfólio, and testimonials that can be proven).

I also review the content to each page. In this fase, was ask to me, if I can make one image gallery. Although this requirement wasn’t on the initial requests, I accepted to do it. As I have some knowledge in photography I took the pictures – to the office and the team – and edited them).

Since there were two phases for the development (public and private portal), I did some wireframes to suggest a structure to the site and some design concepts. After B.Time has chosen their favorite, in ordr to cut costs we suggest that B.Time choose a wordpress theme that could be adapted for me.

After B.Time decision, we began to adapt the theme that B.Time had bought, as quickly as we can. At the same time, I made some usability tests to detect possible pain points in the navigation (as well in the form filling) but the tests didn’t detect any major problem.

At the end of this fase, we produced documentation and gave some training in order to B.Time have the authonomy to manage their site.

After the site has been lauched, we receive some comments, some very goods, some with sugestions. One of the suggestions was particulary accurate, and it make sense in the context of this portal. So we make a few ajustments.

Client Area was divided between the management of company documents and management of reports information. We didn’t have access to others accounting firms to understand how they organize their clients areas, so we had to have inputs from B.Time to gain some insights in this area.

There was some content management systems that had plugins to accounting firms, so after some evaluation we adopt Liferay, because it supports the internal management system that B.Time had, and allowed that the data form tables was displayed in a system of graphics (something that B.Time has asked as a requirement).

Client area just had one field with two options (management of company documents and management of reports information). However to facilitate the consultation of reports I created a specific webpage (html and css) in a way that all that the client needed to see apear in the screen and the client didn’t needed to navigate in the menu.

After our first sketches for displaying the information (in graphics), we detected some problems that we corrected.

My part in this phase of the project, was more in the development in html, css and with the adaptation (and creation) of some elements (user interface) from liferay.