As a freelance PHP developer when asked to develop bespoke PHP / MySQL applications I tend to use the PHP MVC framework Codeigniter unless the client asks me to adopt a different coding method.  The MVC (Model View Controller) technique is a great way of separating the different functional aspects of web application code and Codeigniter is an enthusiastically supported framework that utilises this kind of code structure.  Since I started developing using MVC I have always found it much quicker and more straight forward to go back and update code that I wrote a while ago.

Bespoke application development needs to be approached in a professional and structured manner to make sure that the client ends up being provided with what they were expecting.  So I follow a specification process to make sure that I get it right.  This involves: -

• Application specification consultation sessions – This is where I conducting meetings with the client’s subject matter experts to establish the requirements of the application
• Specification document production – I write the requirements up into an application specification document
• Specification review – This can be an iterative stage in the process where the client and I review the specification and make changes
• Sign off – Finally the client signs off the specification which becomes an agreed terms of reference and requirements from which the application can be developed

A good example of a Codeigniter application I developed using this technique is the online conveyancing quotation application I wrote.