Look at it Another Way

Seeing the same thing from different perspectives is much praised but little practiced. We don’t often realize what we can gain by seeing another scene in the picture.

Young, Indi. List Apart, A (2008). Articles>Project Management>Collaboration>Information Design

The Business Analyst in Model-Driven Architecture

From a software development viewpoint, model-driven architecture (MDA) encourages efficient use of system models. It also encourages reusing best practices as families of systems are produced. One of the main aims of MDA is to separate design from architecture, which places the business analyst in a unique and potentially powerful position within the organization. Learn how you as a business analyst can take an active role in this type of architecture.

Slack, S.E. IBM (2008). Articles>Information Design>Programming>Project Management

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

When Good Projects Go Bad    

Learn how to recognize and address problems in a project before it is too late.

Natchez, Meryl. Intercom (2008). Articles>Management>Project Management

If You Want Something Done, Ask a Busy Person    

Effective use of personal time management skills and techniques can ensure a successful balance between work and personal life. This article suggests ways of analysing how time is spent, and offers advice on making plans for the future in a business and personal environment.

Byrne, Una. Business Information Review (2008). Articles>Project Management>Workflow

The Myth of Multitasking

Today, our collective will to pay attention seems fairly weak. We require advice books to teach us how to avoid distraction. In the not-too-distant future we may even employ new devices to help us overcome the unintended attention deficits created by today’s gadgets.

Rosen, Christine. New Atlantis, The (2008). Articles>Project Management>Professionalism

Technical Communication Outsourcing: The Twelve Driver Framework Tutorial    

Almost all IT, engineering research, financial analysis, and manufacturing industries are confronted with a question: to outsource or not? The outsourcing and offshoring trend is inspired by success stories of huge cost savings, decreased time-to-market, and better quality. Simultaneously, outsourcing-gone-bad stories highlight how hidden costs exceed benefits, cross-cultural problems impact quality, and intellectual property risks shadow project lifecycles. Managers in companies are presented with a confusing picture for which there are no easy answers. Companies, vendors, and policymakers need a framework to understand the outsourcing phenomenon and plan implementation strategies for outsourced projects. At present, many companies go with the gut based on the experience of others and media reports. But very rarely are two technical documentation tasks alike and never are the concerns of two technical communication tasks the same. This tutorial presents the twelve driver framework and the driver-model percentage matrix to assess the benefits and risks of outsourcing a technical communication task. In the end, qualitative decision-making will determine an organization's decision about outsourcing, but the use of such a framework and related metrics will greatly enhance the quality of the final choice.

Padmanabhan, Poornima. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (2007). Journals>Project Management>Assessment>India

Why Do Web Startups Die? Lack of Alphalpha

Internet startups are generally as successful as a nerd in a singles bar. Ventures that get off the ground rarely get knee-high. Why? You don’t need a deckful of scatter charts to do this, but you do need the willingness to make some difficult decisions now—and stick to them later.The biggest problem I’ve seen isn’t lack of talent, enthusiasm or even funding. It lies in skipping a critical early stage of development I call the “alpha-alpha” stage, or “alphalpha” for short.

Goldenberg, Dave. Digital Web Magazine (2008). Careers>Management>Project Management>Technology

Ten Ways to Save Money When Publishing a Manual

Several hints on how to produce professional documentation less expensively.

Rosenberg, Nad. TechWRITE (2005). Articles>Documentation>Financial>Project Management

Where Design Really Fits

As a designer, do you know where your work really fits in the process of design? If Web design is your business, then you must make certain you are in the right mindset and you use the right process when it comes to your work. You don't want your designs to fail, but, unfortunately, there is a strong chance that they will do exactly that. Lets take a step back for a minute and define what a failing design is, and why it fails.

Rodriguez, David. Web Page Design for Designers (2008). Design>Web Design>Project Management>Workflow

Feature Presentation

A spiral of complexity, often called “feature creep,” costs consumers time, but it also costs businesses money. Product returns in the U.S. cost a hundred billion dollars a year, and a recent study by Elke den Ouden, of Philips Electronics, found that at least half of returned products have nothing wrong with them. Consumers just couldn’t figure out how to use them. Companies now know a great deal about problems of usability and consumer behavior, so why is it that feature creep proves unstoppable?

Surowiecki, James. New Yorker, The (2007). Articles>Project Management>Technology>Collaboration

An Eight-Step Implementation Model

The inaccessibility of web content can have a significant impact on the lives of individuals with disabilities. Many people without disabilities are ignorant of the importance of the issue to those who are directly affected. They are also often ignorant of the tremendous benefit that accessible web content can be. Accessible web sites offer independence to individuals with disabilities that would otherwise not have it.

WebAIM (2006). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Project Management

The KJ-Technique: A Group Process for Establishing Priorities

In design, our resources are limited. Priorities become a necessity. We need to ensure we are working on the most important parts of the problem. How do we assess what is most important?

Spool, Jared M. User Interface Engineering (2004). Articles>Information Design>Project Management>Charts and Graphs

Adopting User-Centered Design Within An Agile Process: A Conversation  

eXtreme Programming and other agile processes provide a middle ground between chaos and over-elaborate processes sometimes referred to as 'death by documentation'. A particular attrtactive aspect of the agile approach for many teams is its willingness to accomodate change no matter how advanced development might be. However, this very flexibility can cause user interface design issues and ensuing usability problems. Adopting a user-centered approach to user interface design can address these issues, as the following simulated conversation between a user-centered design consultant and an XP team leader will explain.

Hudson, William. UIaccess (2002). Articles>User Centered Design>Agile>Project Management

How to Scope an Intranet Release

When developing intranet releases, intranet teams often find themselves very constrained by both time and resources. The challenge then becomes delivering sufficient content and capabilities to meet business and user expectations, within the project constraints. This briefing introduces a simple approach to scoping a release that takes all of these factors into account.

Robertson, James. Step Two (2004). Articles>Web Design>Intranets>Project Management

Your Website is for Your Most Important Customers

Well-managed websites tend to be those that are narrow in their focus. They do a few things really well rather than attempt to do lots and lots of things.

McGovern, Gerry. New Thinking (2006). Articles>Web Design>Project Management>E Commerce

Deconstructing the Design Process

The way to overcome the pressure of a new design is by breaking the process into smaller parts, and defining a step by step strategy that allows you to address each issue of the design separately rather than as a daunting whole. Instead of one monolithic problem, you have lots of small, more manageable problems. Breaking each problem out will also help you arrive at better design results as you will have given close consideration to all aspects of the problem.

Walter, Aarron. AarronWalter.com (2007). Design>Project Management>Advice

Electronic Document and Records Management System Implementation Toolkit

he objective of this toolkit is to provide institutional Records Managers and other information professionals with a 'one-stop shop' for impartial, detailed and practical advice of use during all the stages of a proposed or actual EDRM system implementation that is free from vendor bias and specific to the needs of the FE/HE sector. This toolkit represents an attempt to synthesise some twenty years of experience of assisting public sector organisations to define their requirements for Electronic Document and Records Management solutions plus all the data gathered from some four months of fact finding in the further and higher education sector.

JISC infoNet (2008). Resources>Content Management>Project Management>Education

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

Web Content Management a Process, Not a Project

When something is new, we need to approach it in an exploratory manner. We need to experiment and try things out. And so it has been with the Web. That period is now over. We need to move from seeing our websites as a series of projects, to managing them as a well-planned process.

McGovern, Gerry. New Thinking (2004). Articles>Content Management>Project Management

My Tip for Productivity: Tear Up the To-Do List

We all lead extremely busy lives. We have goals, commitments, and an almost endless amount of tasks to complete. Are there any productivity tips that work for you?

Johnson, Tom H. I'd Rather Be Writing (2008). Articles>Project Management>Workflow

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

Ten Rules for Project Managers

In his Weblog, operations management consultant Hal Macomber derides those x-numbered lists of qualities that consultants turn into overpuffed business books. He does, however, have a more-than-usually useful list of his own: 10 Rules for Project Managers.

Macomber, Hal. Shorewalker (2004). Articles>Project Management

Early and Often: How to Avoid the Design Revision Death Spiral

A critical component to the success of an interaction design project is close collaboration with clients or stakeholders. Without careful planning and structure this type of collaboration can turn into a significant barrier to project success. Dave Cronin's article, originally presented at the DUX 2005 design conference, discusses the strategies and methods Cooper has adopted to get maximum benefit as a consultancy from clients' feedback and expertise while maintaining creative momentum and achieving deadlines.

Cronin, Dave. Cooper Journal (2005). Articles>Project Management>Design

God and the Technical Writer

A short play featuring the God of Software (played by the Product Manager) and the Technical Writer (played by a technical writer).

Elephant (2007). Humor>Writing>Technical Writing>Project Management