Be Productive When a Project Stalls    

With more and more companies adopting the Darwin Information Typing Architecture, Baril discusses how to choose a compatible content management system that also supports your company's processes.

Gutowski, Amanda and Lori L. Pennington. Intercom (2008). Articles>Project Management>Planning>Collaboration

Document Planning Checklist

You need to anticipate the lifecycle of technical publications in advance so that all areas related to the final delivery are covered. These include issues such as costs, production, dissemination and archiving.

Klariti. Articles>Project Management>Planning

Everything in Moderation: Using Content Units to Manage UX

I’ve found that separating client requests into content units removes uncertainty and offers clearer direction, while helping your client recognize each individual request as a deliverable, requiring assignments and responsibilities. To do this, I follow a four-step process that helps delineate what content units each section of a Web site must cover—as opposed to content that acts as filler, or filler units.

LaFerriere, Keith. UXmatters (2008). Articles>Project Management>Planning>User Experience

Fixed Quotes and Broken Promises

How to tie down the details of a project and protect yourself from unexpected changes that can drag a 'peach project' into the 'pits of despair and financial ruin.'

Juillet, Christopher. Boston Broadside (1990). Articles>Project Management>Planning

Flowcharting Performance-Based Processes and Procedures  

This session distinguishes between analytical- and performance-based flowcharting of process and procedures. The session will present why, how, and when flowcharting is considered superior to text alone, along with defining flowcharts and symbols. The session distinguishes between processes and procedures and the various styles, formats, and trends that have developed historically primarily due to different origins, purposes, and technologies. The session also presents recommended standards for creating flowcharts, and addresses issues on tools, training, and trends.

Urgo, Raymond E. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Project Management>Planning>Workflow

Gantt to Glory: Evolving from Project Management to Successful Web Operations

Is the sheer possession of a PMP intended to be the Holy Grail of successful web projects, known to fail at a startling rate, or simply a way to divorce oneself from whatever outcome may result from the web project?

Podnar, Kristina. Content Wrangler, The (2008). Articles>Web Design>Project Management>Planning

High-Cost Usability Sometimes Makes Sense

Computing the net present value (NPV) lets you estimate the most profitable level of usability investment. For big projects, expensive usability can pay off.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2007). Articles>Usability>Project Management>Planning

How to Plan On-line and Paper Versions of a Software Manual

On projects for which you must produce both on-line and paper documentation, there are many things you should consider before you start.

Kozuma, Bruce. Boston Broadside (1991). Articles>Documentation>Project Management>Planning

Measure Twice, Cut Once

Acting without planning can be expensive, and because of the potential cost of poorly thought-out actions, we should not only plan, but plan twice.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (2000). Articles>Project Management>Planning>User Centered Design

Playing to Win: Building a Strategic Plan  

This workshop uses games to provide an overview of strategic planning. The first step in strategic planning is identifying the objectives of your project. Participants play a version of musical chairs to identify and prioritize objectives. The second step is developing a vision of meeting those objectives. Participants play a version of darts. The third step is building the plan that fulfills the vision. Participants play a board game to create the best plan with limited resources.

Merritt, Leila and Emanuel Katzin. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Management>Project Management>Planning

The Six Biggest Mistakes Project Managers Make with Documentation and How to Avoid Them

Professional business writers, such as technical authors, typically break a document down into small, discrete units of information, organised around a skeleton of topic headings. If you use this 'component' or 'modular' approach, you can plan and structure the document using the heading 'labels' that describe each section.

Pratt, Ellis. Cherryleaf (2007). Articles>Documentation>Planning>Project Management

Usability Requirements: Making User Satisfaction a Measure of Product Success  

Defining usability requirements at the beginning of the project increases the chances that the end product will meet the users' goals and create a satisfying user experience. Unfortunately, such requirements are often not considered with the same priority as functional or other technical requirements. This presentation defines usability requirements, proposes guidelines for creating measurable requirements, and elaborates the components of a well-constructed usability requirement.

Bachmann, Karen L. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Project Management>Planning>Usability

Requirements Planning: Overlooked and Undervalued

This article takes a high-level look at project requirements and the requirements cycle to help you understand the role of the business analyst in requirements planning.

Slack, S.E. IBM (2008). Articles>Project Management>Planning

You Need a Five-Year Plan for Your Website

Websites change the way an organization communicates with its staff, customers, investors and general public. A change in communication is a major shift for the organization. To effectively implement such a change will take time. You need a five-year plan for your website.

McGovern, Gerry. New Thinking (2003). Articles>Web Design>Planning>Project Management

Twenty Signs You Don’t Want that Web Design Project

Most clients are good clients, and some clients are great clients. But some jobs are just never going to work out well. Herewith, a few indicators that a project may be headed to the toilet.

Zeldman, Jeffrey. Zeldman.com (2008). Articles>Web Design>Project Management>Planning

Successful Project Management: Using Time Management Tools

In this introductory column, I’ll discuss time management and some ways in which you can use quick-reference sheets and project-management tools to help you maintain some semblance of sanity in your busy life.

LaFerriere, Keith. UXmatters (2009). Articles>Project Management>Management>Planning

Reusing the User Experience

As a rule of thumb, the earlier in the development process reuse can occur, the more efficient reuse becomes. Like software component reuse, the reuse of UX design elements can be a very efficient form of reuse—particularly because this form of reuse occurs very early in the product development cycle. The ability to reuse prior work effectively is one characteristic of a mature discipline.

Hornsby, Peter. UXmatters (2009). Articles>Project Management>User Interface>Planning

Create Effective Project Milestone Sheets

The project milestone sheet is an incredibly important document for freelancers and their clients. It defines all the most important tasks, who is assigned to them, and when they are due. In other words, it serves as the map for your entire work process.

Roque, Celine. Web Worker Daily (2009). Articles>Project Management>Planning>Methods

Lying in a Hammock, or, Having a Single Goal without a Purpose

When you live in the moment, completing the activity itself is the success. And because writing is so multifaceted in effect — the effect both on me and others — having an open purpose doesn’t limit the results. I’m not narrow-mindedly searching for a specific achievement to happen. Instead, I’m open to unconsidered possibilities, if any of those possibilities decide to unravel.

Johnson, Tom H. I'd Rather Be Writing (2009). Articles>Project Management>Planning>Writing