Successful Management of Web Projects: "Great Sites, On Time and On Budget!"

Course Description

This course teaches essential principles for delivering effective Web and new media projects on time and on budget! Learn a proven system for planning and managing Web sites, including immediately applicable information that will make you think, then do. David Berman’s process addresses project management issues specific to the Web, resulting in quality control, quality assurance, and timely delivery for Web and new media projects. You will become more valuable to your organization by equipping yourself with a step-by-step process which will reduce risk and stress, anticipate hurdles, and increase your chances of making your Web project a success by building quality in at every step.

“Lots of energy. Fun. The topics were totally related to doing better with all my projects!”

– Evelyn Budd, Budd Graphics

The Problem

More often than not, Web projects fall short of expectations by launching late, over budget, or not delivering expected business results. This is rarely due to a lack of programming innovation: most often it is due to a lack of effective project management tailored specifically for Web sites.

When the Web was young and the NASDAQ was booming, it was easy to manage a Web site poorly and still impress the world. Now, with high expectations, tighter budgets, and Web projects having gone from experimental to mission critical, you cannot afford to be late, to be over budget, or to miss your only opportunity to get it right the first time.

And yet so many Web projects still fail to deliver the way they could. Sometimes there is a lack of responsible project management, however more often project management principles from non-Web projects are applied with good intentions … and disappointing results: unnecessary stress and an unacceptable waste of time and money.

“Hearing him speak was inspirational, energizing and seriously cathartic. (I am) excited about the next project now!”

-Cam MacQuarrie
Calgary AB

What Makes This Course Unique

Our course leader, David Berman, is an internationally known speaker, has owned and operated several successful firms, and is considered an expert in Web and print design.

This course steps past the glamorous part of the Web, and cuts to the solutions: sharing proven techniques and simple methods to seize control, anticipate pitfalls, and build quality in at every step. The approach you will learn includes tools and techniques that you can start using right away, stated in simple language that the entire team can understand and implement.

What You Will Learn

You will learn a simple yet thorough process to plan, coordinate, design and produce effective Web sites, on time and on budget. Specifically you will learn:

• How to identify and describe tasks and processes
• The ten ingredients that make up a successful Web strategy
• What order to do things in
• How to get from strategy to deliverables that fulfill that strategy
• How to collect and organize content thoroughly
• How to classify and quantify the limitations you must work within
• How to build clear, timely approvals into an audit trail
• How to avoid common hurdles before you reach them
• How to build and work with your team
• How to build in quality at every step
• When and how often to test
• How to manage client expectations, while assuring quality for them along the way
• How to maintain quality, even if you hand off the site

“Wonderful! Lots of practical info & good strategic foundation.”

-Seminar Attendee
Calgary AB

Benefits to You

• Project managers: increase your value and reduce your stress level by seizing your opportunity to have the largest influence of anyone on the success of the project.
• Business managers: increase the likelihood that your Web projects will fulfill clear, valuable business objectives, without financial surprises.
• Web development and design team members: get your ideas and innovations implemented by working within the framework of the business goals of the project rather than struggling against them.

Benefits to Your Organization

• Lower development and maintenance costs
• Gain an improved, reusable development process
• Gain effective business tools, available more quickly and with less pain
• Enjoy a stronger team, with higher morale, eager and rested for the next project
• Acquire nimbler, more sustainable, and lower risk business models and processes

“High energy, good balence between theory & examples,
good healthy pace.”

-Seminar Attendee
Ottawa, ON

Course Goals

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Implement a structured process for Web projects
• Participate effectively in strategy meetings
• Create your own discovery checklist
• Recognize an excellent content outline, and request content in a well-organized manner
• Oversee an effective navigation plan
• Better estimate Web-specific tasks
• Better manage design and programming team members
• Manage programming quality control and quality assurance
• Manage changes effectively
• Continuously improve your process

“Structured, fluent.”

-Daniel Lanteigne
Ottawa, ON

CONTENT

Understand Web Project Management Principles

• Why we need a process
• What makes managing Web projects different
• Our paradigm: an overview

Start With The End In Mind: Strategy

• Paddling in the same direction: the value of shared strategic information
• Finding time for strategy
• The information everyone on the team needs to succeed
• Establishing measurable goals

Don’t Leave Home Without It: Technical Discovery

• Why the rest of the process depends upon these details
• Quality begins by knowing what quality will look like
• Specific inventory issues and why each is important

The Message Is The Medium: Content Organization And Planning

• The content outline
• The importance of writing for the Web
  : from Alt tags to Meta tags
• Working in more than one language
• Supplying pictures, graphics and other content in the format you need

Where Do We Go From Here?: Information Architecture

• The value of an approved navigation plan, information design plan or wireframes
• A navigation plan is not a design
• Identifying page types
• Identifying what is internal and what is external
• Identifying advanced functionality
• Identifying phases

Reality Check: Estimating

• Confirming the workload: confirming the budget
• Scheduling and loading: calendar time vs. human time
• Planning for other expenses
• “If you think focus testing is expensive..”: planning for testing
• Planning for the unplanned

Graphic Design

• Overall concept, look and feel: it doesn’t just have to make sense, it has to look like it makes sense
• Working with graphic designers who understand the Web
• Incorporating corporate identity guidelines
• Testing the design internally and externally

Quality Control And Quality Assurance In Programming and Maintenance

• Templates and other pages
• Specific quality control checks
• Quality assurance proof slips
• Managing multiple languages
• Controlling advanced programming
• Maintaining quality control and quality assurance while maintaining the site
• Proofreading and testing bilingual sites
• Evaluation

Who Should Attend

This course is targeted to all project managers, Webmasters, production coordinators, programming leaders, strategists, controllers, business managers, account representatives involved in developing Web or other new media projects.

• People who manage Web sites
• People who plan Web sites
• People who coordinate people who build Web sites
• People who design Web sites
• People who manage the finances of organizations that build Web sites
• People who represent clients who hire others to develop Web sites

What You Get

When David Berman Communications hosts this course*, each participant receives:

• a complimentary, comprehensive manual (also available separately for $89 with optional 1-on-1 distance coaching)
• complimentary meals, snacks and beverages throughout
• a thirty-minute personal coaching tele-session within a month of the course
• the option to attend this course again in the future, as a refresher at no additional cost
• a money-back guarantee: if, after coaching and refresher, you don’t think you’ve got your money’s worth, we’ll refund your entire registration fee

(*If you are attending one of our courses hosted by another organization, confirm with them which of these items apply.)

About the Expert Speaker

David Berman is the principal of David Berman Communications in Ottawa. He has over 20 years of experience in graphic design and strategic communications. He brings both graphic design and information technology expertise to his Web work. He has been involved in the project management of numerous Web projects, including strategy or design for second generation sites for Health Canada, the National Research Council, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Industry Canada, Statistics Canada and Treasury Board, as well as various other government, private sector and non-profit organizations.

David is an internationally-celebrated speaker, having taken engagements in over 10 countries. In recent years David has also recommitted his career toward sharing his knowledge and unique talent as a manager and designer through professional development courses for creative organizations. He trained at University of Waterloo in computer science and Carleton University in psychology and typography. He has worked extensively in the adaptation of printed materials for electronic distribution, including Web design and plain writing and design. He is also the architect of project management software applications.

David is a National Professional Member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) and the Global Speakers Federation (GSF). David is currently the Ethics Chair of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, and was named a Fellow (the highest professional honour for graphic designers in Canada) in 1999. David has been featured in the Financial Post, Marketing, and Applied Arts magazines.

Prerequisites: All you need is some basic experience on the World Wide Web. Some understanding of general project management principles will help you more fully benefit from the course.

Language: English (French available upon request)

Duration: 2-day in-depth course or 1-day overview

Take This Course On-Site: This course is also available customized and on-site for your organization. Please contact us for details.

If you would like to be notified via e-mail of when new instances of this course are scheduled, subscribe to our Events E-Newsletter.

REVIEWS

Society of Graphic Designers of Canada Vancouver Island Chapter Bulletin (PDF, 50K)

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Reviewed December 27, 2011