Web and Database Development Services

The Departmental Consulting and Application Development (DCAD) Team assists MIT Departments, Labs, Centers and Programs in all aspects of their departmental website and database projects.

All initial consultations are free. Other services have an associated fee.

Email: dcad@mit.edu
Phone: 617.253.3500
Office: W92

For guidelines, best practices and resources for Web Publishing, please visit our Web Publishing Reference Pages site.

For guidelines, best practices and resources for FileMaker, please visit our FileMaker and Departmental Database Applications site.

Our Services

Project assessment including needs analysis to determine project goals and objectives.

Requirements gathering to define how users will interact with your website or database. Includes facilitating focus groups, auditing content, site mapping, wireframes, prototypes, data inventory, plus security and hosting recommendations.

Project management providing guidance and oversight for all stages of your project. Includes managing resources and scheduling.

Partner selection assistance assistance to help find the right developers and designers for your project from the DCAD team or our preferred MIT vendors list.

Coordination of MIT resources to ensure your project benefits from the resources MIT has to offer.

Technical guidance on implementing IS&T technologies such as: an events calendar, ecommerce tools, online forms, Google search, and Data Warehouse integration.

FileMaker design and development of database systems to support your office's business process or operations.

Design & code compliance reviews to ensure your project meets MIT programming, usability, and accessibility guidelines.

Graphic design solutions to extend your website's layout and theme or to create a new visual identity.

Website development using current web programming and accessibility standards.

Web application development for database-driven websites including blogs, wikis, and content management systems.

Website maintenance contracts for scheduled site updates and database upgrades.

Drupal site code reviews to ensure your site follows MIT best practices and is optimized for ongoing support. Vendors providing development services to the MIT community are encouraged to follow our standards.

WordPress site code reviews to ensure your site follows MIT best practices and is optimized for ongoing support. Vendors providing WordPress development services to the MIT community are encouraged to follow our standards.

The Project Process

Many elements are essential to a successful website or database project.

Websites need compelling content, clear information architecture, and dynamic design.
Many elements are essential to a successful database project. Databases require a well-developed data model, clean user interface, and scalable design.

We believe the most important elements are planning and analysis. To ensure success, we follow the process below for all our database projects.

Define clear project goals, objectives, and scope.

Discover project requirements by defining how users will interact with your site/system.

Partner with professional talent who match your project's needs.

Design the user experience through an iterative design exploration.

Develop your design into a into a fully functioning site/system.

Deliver a final site/system that meets all of the project's goals.