Previously, online services were built and developed mainly as large-scale projects. Between projects, the service received only minor development or was completely neglected, left to its own devices until it was time to revamp the entire service once more. 

Today, the construction and development of online services often aim to pursue a model of continuous development. Despite this goal, many online service overhauls are still extensive projects aimed at completely renovating the service from start to finish. Building an online service as a single project can entail significant challenges.

1. Budget exhausted before service completion

When the development of an online service is seen as one large project, it often happens that the budget is nearly exhausted before the service's launch. A large project occupies resources and personnel for a long time and requires significant resources. But what happens if, after the service's launch, it turns out that incorrect choices and solutions were made during the project? 

2. Details lost in the big picture

When an entire online service is changed at once, changes in the site's performance are usually seen. But what causes the changes? When all changes are made at once, it is impossible to know which changes benefited the business. Some changes made may even have negative impacts, but they get lost under the overall benefit achieved. 

3. Online service is outdated by the time it launches

The world is changing at an accelerating pace. In the worst-case scenario, by the time the online service is finally completed, the choices made, for example, in terms of technology or business, are already outdated. Thus, the online service is already old upon completion. 

How does continuous development tackle the problems?

Continuous development can be summarised in a simple formula:

With continuous development, the effects of changes are visible significantly faster than in a large project. By dealing with the whole in smaller pieces, it is possible to test and confirm the impact of changes. 

This way, it becomes apparent which changes genuinely bring benefits to the business - and on the other hand, it is seen if any change indeed has negative effects. Adjustments can be made swiftly if necessary. By working in smaller parts, the efficacy of changes can be tested, and focus can be placed on the right things. 

Continuous change requires the ability to react agilely

The pace of change in the world, business, and the web is constantly increasing.  To succeed, the ability to react and act agilely is needed. In continuous development, it is important to select the development areas that are most beneficial to the business at that specific moment. When this is achieved, the results speak for themselves. 

In practice, continuous development can function, for instance, in such a way that in a shared weekly meeting on Monday, the tasks completed in the previous week are reviewed, and three tasks are chosen for the working list of the upcoming week—these can be, for example, A, B, and C. In the following Monday's weekly meeting, it might be noted that tasks A and C were completed, but B requires further information. The main goal for the week ahead is to acquire the necessary additional information to complete B. Furthermore, the next most important development areas X and Y are selected from the backlog for the week's working list. 

Tasks ending up in the backlog could relate to entirely new functionalities or improvements to existing implementations based on testing and analysis results.

If the online service has become severely outdated or a platform change is ahead, it may be necessary to build larger wholes at once. Even then, it can be approached by releasing the lightest version possible quickly, following the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) approach. In this way, the first version of the online service is produced as efficiently and straightforwardly as possible, and its development continues immediately after launch.

Thus, the model of continuous development can be adopted even in a larger project, and the new site can be advanced piece by piece after its release, adhering to the principles of continuous development: plan – implement – review – act.