Web design as a team effort

1
Web design as a team effort

• Web design and development is typically a team
  effort
• Common subdivisions include technical, content
  creation and graphical design aspects
• In large teams, a variety of people will
  typically be assigned to each of these
  subdivisions
• Its useful to know the roles that might need to
  be filled
• In small teams, a single individual may be
  responsible for each
• Most large teams also have a project manager, an
  information architect, and a quality assurance
  engineer

2
Common roles

• Stakeholder/Client/Customer
• Generally, Web projects need to serve a purpose
  or fulfill an idea
• The stakeholder provides the motivation for the
  project
• They get the project started and pay the bills
• Project manager
• Becomes essential, as teams grow larger, to
  coordinate efforts and keep the project on track
• Main role is to act as liaison between the
  stakeholder and the rest of the team
• Information architect
• If the team and budget are large enough, an
  information architect (IA) can contribute greatly
  to the projects success
• Typically responsible for the underlying
  structure of the sites content and the overall
  usability of the site
• Quality assurance engineer
• Responsible for testing the results of the teams
  efforts to ensure they function as intended
• Most commercial projects dont get released until
  the QA engineers sign off on them

3
Technical roles

• Technical lead
• For large teams, a technical lead may be
  necessary to manage the efforts of the technical
  staff
• Also acts as liaison between the technical staff
  and the project manager
• Developer
• Technical guru for most teams
• Writes programs and scripts to support the team
  and helps resolve technical issues as they arise
• Tools likely include Java, JavaScript, Perl, PHP
  and similar technologies
• Production coder
• Implement the teams design
• Tools include HTML (or XHTML) and CSS
• May also make use of other technologies (such as
  XML) or software tools (like Dreamweaver)
• Database administrator
• For most dynamic sites, the DBA is responsible
  for the backend database that makes the sites
  functionality possible
• Primary tools will be some sort of database
  engine (such as Oracle or mysql) and a language
  such as SQL

4
Content creation roles

• Producer
• Sets the overall creative direction of the site
  and manages the content creation process
• Also acts as liaison between the content creation
  staff and the project manager
• Editor
• Oversees the accuracy and coherence of the
  generated content
• May be several sources generating content
• Editors job is to weave it all together into a
  cohesive whole
• Copywriter
• Generates the textual content for the project

5
Graphical design roles

• Creative director
• Provides creative vision for the project
• Also manages graphical design staff and liaisons
  between them and the project manager
• Designer
• Fine tunes the details of the creative vision to
  generate a graphical identity for the project
• Tools include typography, color, images and other
  graphical techniques
• Production artist
• Generates or secures the images needed to
  implement the creative vision and graphic
  identity of the project
• Tools typically include graphics editors (such as
  Fireworks and Photoshop)

6
What about our teams?

• Our teams will consist of three to five members
  (four being the goal)
• Obviously, some roles will have to be discarded
  and/or multiple roles played by a single
  individual
• Ideally, youll find your stakeholder externally
• Avoid projects that require significant
  programming and/or a backend database
• This eliminates the need for a developer and DBA
• Youll have to decide whether you want to elect
  (or accept) one member acting as a project
  manager or trust to the democratic process
• Youll probably all contribute somewhat as
  production coders, copywriters and production
  artists
• However, you may find it effective to identify
  specific team members as technical lead,
  producer/editor, and creative director/designer
• Likewise, I think youll find it most effective
  to cooperatively fill the roles of IA and QA
  engineer
• Youre free to decide on an assignment of roles
  that suits your team
• However, thinking in terms of the roles that need
  to be filled helps you avoid omissions that will
  haunt you later

7
Picking a direction

• Before you can begin a Web project you have to
  know what you intend to do
• Web sites need to do something to benefit both
  their stakeholder and their users
• Youve got to know what these benefits are, since
  they form the foundation of everything else that
  follows
• If the results of a project dont serve the needs
  of the stakeholder, your cash flow and reputation
  will suffer
• Since the Web is a voluntary medium, a Web site
  that doesnt benefit its users in some way wont
  draw users
• This too, will impact your cash flow and
  reputation, though perhaps not immediately
• Its important to keep everyone stakeholder and
  users happy to achieve true success on the Web

8
Taking the Web into account

• In planning a Web project, its important to take
  the Web into account
• Successful projects will take into account what
  the Web does and doesnt do well, as well as how
  people typically use the Web
• The Web is about doing things that wouldnt
  otherwise be possible or doing things more easily
  than they would otherwise be
• Think Amazon, Epinions and eBay!
• Todays users are increasingly Web savvy and
  goal-oriented
• They are using the Web to accomplish a specific
  task, and the sites that facilitate that task are
  the ones theyll return to again and again
• Simplicity can go a long way toward accomplishing
  this, but usability goes far beyond KISS
• Simple sites are more likely to appeal to a
  majority of users, as long as they get the job
  done
• Simple sites are also easier to develop and
  therefore more likely to finish on time and on
  budget
• Find your projects focus at the outset and
  maintain that focus throughout

9
Mission statements and goals

• The best way to identify and codify your
  projects focus is by starting the process with
  the creation of a mission statement
• Mission statements clearly state the projects
  objectives in writing
• This provides a constant and standardized
  reference for all team members and the
  stakeholder
• A sites mission statement should describe the
  target audience, the sites purpose and what will
  make the site stand apart from its competition
• A mission statement leads to the establishment of
  a projects goals
• Goals allow us to define success ahead of time
• Success is simply reaching our goals
• If you get the goals down in writing at the
  offset, the whole team knows how success will be
  defined
• This in turn, will provide an infrastructure
  within which decisions can be made throughout the
  project
• The stakeholder also knows what theyre getting
• They have a chance to express concerns and
  dissatisfaction now, without waiting until the
  final stages of the project
• Get the stakeholder to sign off on the goals to
  avoid misunderstandings later
• Goals should be relevant to the stakeholders
  overall objectives, easily measured and realistic
  in light of the timeframe, budget and teams
  capabilities

10
The product plan

• The mission statement and list of goals are
  typically incorporated into a more complete
  product plan
• This plan functions as a blueprint for the
  project
• It fosters agreement and communication among team
  members
• And provides a common focus for the entire team
• It describes where the project is heading before
  the first brick is laid
• If enough time is invested in the planning
  process, it should uncover major flaws and
  potential stumbling blocks
• It establishes the definition of success
• For both the team and the stakeholder
• Get the stakeholder to sign off approval of the
  product plan before proceeding
• A good product plan is a dynamic document
• Its unrealistic to cast the details in stone so
  early in the process
• However, its important for the plan to reflect
  everyones current understanding and expectations
• Having this information put down in writing at
  the outset makes it easier to recognize changes
  as they become necessary
• Any changes made to the product plan need to be
  disseminated throughout the team and approved by
  the stakeholder

11
Writing a product plan

• Product plans are very similar to business plans
• It should accomplish many tasks
• State the projects name and domain name
• Identify who is in charge (presumably the
  stakeholder)
• Identify the team members and their roles
• Explain the projects overall purpose and
  specific objectives
• Identify and describe the target audience
• Identify known and potential competitors
• Describe the projects features and their
  functionality
• Predict traffic and income
• Predict schedule and costs
• Explain how the project will be marketed
• Explain the assumptions and internal dependencies
  within the plan

12
Identifying features

• One of the final (and arguably most difficult)
  tasks in the creation of a good product plan is
  to identify the features the project will entail
• Its essential to keep the other components of
  the product plan in particular the mission
  statement and goals in mind when making these
  decisions
• Start by establishing overall priorities for the
  project based upon the stakeholders interests
  and the goals of the target audience
• Then brainstorm to create a list of every
  conceivable feature that would contribute to
  these interests and goals
• Include literally every feature the team can
  think of, youll be sorting them out later on
  their relative merits
• From the list you generate, identify the core
  features that are absolutely essential to the
  projects very existence
• Obviously, these features will need to be
  included
• Prioritize the remaining items on the list
• For each, weigh both its value to the stakeholder
  and user and the difficulty of implementing it
• Consider using prioritization charts as described
  in the Cohen book

13
Competitive analysis

• If youre doing something worthwhile, there will
  always be competition
• Even if its simply competition for the attention
  of users
• Therefore, its important to perform an analysis
  of the known and potential competitors
• Its important to know who your competitors are
  and what theyre doing
• Through careful observation you may derive ideas,
  both about things that seem to work and things
  that dont
• Competitive analysis is often easiest to perform
  after you have identified your target audience,
  goals and features
• Put yourself in the shoes of representative
  members of the target audience
• Pretending to be a member of the target audience,
  explore ways to satisfy your goals or
  alternatives to the features you intend to offer
• Dont limit your efforts exclusively to the Web,
  since competitors that are not on the Web today
  may very well be by the time the project is
  complete
• Evaluate competitors based not only on the
  effectiveness of their site, but also on their
  financial health
• A mediocre site with a bigger war chest can often
  out-compete a much better site with fewer
  resources