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Project Management

8 April 05

Project management has been something that has been near and dear to my heart over the last year as I have assumed the webmaster position at Hiram College. While I have had experience in project management on a few occasions in my other positions, and plenty of experience in my engineering classes at The Ohio State University, I've never been able to practice project management as much as I have been in the past year. I'd like to share my thoughts on how I manage a new website project.

9 key steps

While certainly there are projects that require special attention, I think that most website projects are encompassed in 9 key steps. They are:

1. Define your goals for the site
2. Identify any ideas the group may have that will satisfy those goals
3. Narrow down ideas to a feasible (or in-scope) list for launch
4. Transform those ideas into a site organization
5. Assign sections of the site to individuals to gather the content
6. Create a design based on the content needs
7. Integrate design and content into CMS
8. Test the site with a small sampling whenever possible
9. Launch the website

There's quite a bit to talk about here, so I'll split this article in half. Let's start with step 1:

Step 1: Define your goals for the site

Seems simple doesn't it? For some people, it certainly is, but you'll be surprised how many people can't answer this question right away. Some people think that putting up a website is just the right or cool thing to do. Some people will start spitting out ideas and designs for the site. Don't worry, just reign them in slowly. Listen to an idea they have, and then pose a question back to them. For example, if someone says they want to see a section on the site about the company's history, then ask them what they hope to achieve by having that information available to them.

In the end, you should have at least a couple of goals for the site. If you end up with goals like this:

1. Large, detailed photos should be placed on every page for greater user interest
2. Part of every page should have the ability for a user to change their font size to larger than the default
3. Incorporate colors of the company logo into the site design

then you'll want to step back and make sure that you have your reasons for them. In this case, the fake company above should probably have 1 or 2 goals, including:

1. Let the customer see for themselves the quality of work we can and have achieved
2. Appeal to both old and new customers
3. Establish an identity that is recognizable and can be easily recalled when someone thinks about design firms

Do you see the difference? Don't let the goals dictate design and content details. Your goals should be broad but will benefit your organization in measurable and sometimes non-measurable ways. Keep these goals in mind at all times, because they may need to be added to, changed, removed, or current methods of achieving those goals may need to be re-evaluated. It also provides documentation for why the site was originally created in that way.

Step 2: Identify any ideas the group may have that will satisfy those goals

This one is pretty much a no-brainer. I don't put any restrictions on this - let the creativity flow from everyone. You can decide later on what is in-scope and out-of-scope and what you're able to accomplish. Write down as many as you can.

Step 3: Narrow down ideas to a feasible (or in-scope) list for launch

Typically this is pretty easy to do. You, as the project leader and most likely the technical guru for the project, will probably know what's technically possible or impossible by the launch deadline. Also, make sure you don't run into scope creep. If you're putting together a website for a company that does design work and you get an idea to create a brand new system for potential clients to contact you electronically and query those requests for trends, that's probably outside of the scope of your website project.

You may find, however, that this request system is needed before the website can become useful. If that's the case, you can pass off responsibility to another team, or take on the project as the first phase and move to the website in the second phase.

Step 4: Transform those ideas into a site organization

I originally thought this was going to be the hardest part of the project, but it turns out that it really isn't that bad, and gets better with experience. Once you've come up with all those ideas in Step 3, briefly list them out and start finding out similarities. You may or may not find that they group together nicely with the goals you originally created for yourself.

Of course, a wonderful resource for creating excellent labels and organization for your site is in the O'Reilly-published Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. I have summarized much of what they have put together in a small packet that I store electronically for people to read. When in doubt, look at other sites that are in the same market, but don't be afraid to be a little original when you see a lack of originality everywhere else.

Step 5: Assign sections of the site to individuals to gather the content

Probably the easiest thing for you to initially do, but one of the hardest parts of the project. I usually assign sections by expertise in the area (or let the team assign it to themselves), but that might not always be possible. In my experience, some people have a hard time owning up to doing the actual work themselves, but I can't say that it happens for everyone. Look to those that really shine and ask them to help others. Make them role models for the others and praise them highly for their efforts.

For those that you are having a tough time getting a team member to stay on task, try talking to them one-on-one and finding out what their situation is, what their concerns are, and where their priorities are at. The conversation should never be demeaning. Rather, let them know you understand that you're willing to help them succeed at their task where appropriate. Remind them of the goals they had created for the site and how the rough road now will lead to a smoother, wider road later on.

Look out for the second half

I'll finish up the remaining steps and also take a look at one particular project management tool that seems to be very helpful in following through on these steps.