Roles Defined - content developers

This lesson is devoted to clarifying the role of the Content Developer. During the meeting I hope to discuss the following topics:

 

get to know your team - After you have been assigned to a team the Project Manager should send you a note welcoming you to the team. Respond quickly to their note and participate in the first team meeting either by attending face to face, using a chat room or email.

Encourage your team to discuss what elements of HTML the team is considering for the project. If your Server Side Include and Cascading Style Sheet code is a bit rusty, drag out the book and brush up on the concepts.

As the class begins you do not have a lot to do, but that changes once production begins. Even though you may not be as busy as your classmates, interact with them by asking questions, giving feedback when it is asked for and learning all you can from the others on your team.

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HELP develop a communication plan - The most common problem among teams is a lack of communication. Since some students will be participating online it is essential that everyone set aside time to check their email and respond to it. Please make sure that you clearly understand your responsibility regarding team communication and feel comfortable with it.

As the class progresses and issues arise, I always refer to the team communication plan before trying to resolve the problem.

It is also essential that you establish a friendly and open relationship with the client. They will be supplying you with content and you will be organizing it so that it can be placed in the "shell site" and eventually the "live" site.

The format for the content can be a Word file, email messages, PDFs, or other file formats. The client may want to meet with you and give you a disc, send you the content as an email or burn a CD and leave it for you to pick up. There are not any right or wrong ways to share content, there is just confusion vs clarity. Make sure you and the client are clear on how the content should come in and when it will be delivered.

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participate in the client meeting - this participation can take several forms. I prefer that you attend the client meeting in person, however if that is not possible your team may want to use a live chat web site so you can ask questions and have a running account of what is happening. If the only option is email participation, make sure someone on the team is willing to take notes and share them with the client.

Make sure you understand what information the client wants to include since you will be responsible for taking that information and putting it into the new Web pages.

Speak up if the size and scope of the project seems to be getting out of hand, sometimes clients ask for more than they can handle. You also need to help the client identify their content and work out a plan for delivering the content to you in a format you can handle.

Also determine who will be maintaining the site and if you will be required to provide training.

Relax and enjoy the experience. This is a great group of people. The clients are grateful for your help, your teammates want to like you. Everyone is nervous and a bit confused - it will wear off in about 18 weeks. :->. When you attend the meeting dress in appropriate business attire (suit and tie is not necessary but maybe one step above student grunge). If the client seems really casual you can wear whatever you want to the subsequent meetings, but it never hurts to look professional the first time.

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review the HTML certification process All Content Developers must complete the HTML Certification Exam, more information is included in the links below. Some of you may find that the first few weeks of class are slow for you. This may be a good time to get the exams out of the way so when he class gets busy later on, you have already completed the exams. If you have questions about the exams please send me a note.

HTML certification explained || Sign up for HTML Testing || Review HTML test schedule || Form you print out and take to lab

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contribute to the web proposal
Each member of the team is responsible for contributing to the Web Proposal. The CD creates the deliverables, and production standards. They also create a chart which shows the status of the content. The shell site is also created by the CD, however it may not be done by the proposal due date since the client may not have supplied all the content.

The instructor will review the shell site before the Web proposal meeting.

Here is a more in depth explanation of the Web proposal elements which you need to supply:

  • Content Status Chart
    This is done by comparing the content you have ben given to the storyboard which is developed. Ask the designer for a copy of the storyboard and then analyze the content the client has supplied. Indicate if you have all the content for each page, if you do not, list what is missing and indicate what date the content will come in.

    There are 2 deadlines which deal with content (see milestone chart). Before the PM updates me on the status of the content they will check with you. Make sure you have opened every file and read through the content before you say we are "good to go". sample content status document (Word)
  • Production Standards
    This document describe how the files will be stored and what the files will be named. Where will the web pages, PDF files, scripts, images, css and if applicable ssi files be placed?This document helps the Designer and Content Developer understand where all the files are put and what the linking code should be. The best way to represent the production standards is with a screen shot of the folders and files and a written description of the file names and storage system. See the examples below.

    Examples of Productions Standards include:
    Friends Standards || Son. County Folk Art
  • List of Deliverables
    This is a detailed list of what the client will receive, include the number of pages, the images you will provide, any scripts you create, PDF files, training, marketing, etc. Make this document very detailed to avoid confusion later.

    Although you are responsible for creating this document your teammates will contribute
    to the final product. Content Developers need to send email to their teammates asking them what they will be contributing. The designers submits a list of graphics and a description of the navigation system that will be used, the programmer submits a list of scripts and forms.
    Examples of deliverables: SRT || Son. County Folk Art || TLT || Friends House
  • The shell site
    This is a web site which has the content displayed on all the pages which will eventually make up the site, but does not look like the finished product. The pages are plain white pages, with black text, and blue links. The purpose of the shell site is for the Content Developers to become familiar with the site and for the client to get a preview of how the site will navigate and flow.

    This project begins as soon as content is provided by the client and will hopefully be done before we begin actual site production.
    Examples of a shell site
    TLT shell site || Kenwood Pillow Fights shell site

 

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meet to review template code - My preference is that the Designer and Content developer meet face to face with me for a 30 minutes in the lab. At that time the designer will give you the code for a typical page and the template explanation of how to make the other pages. I hope that all the code and images you need will be provided at this time.

During the meeting I will validate the code (HTML, CSS, 508) and look it over to see if anything seems odd. I will review the template explanation to insure that it is complete and easy to understand. Although our meeting is for 30 minutes, if you and the Designer want to remain and discuss the template, feel free.

The designer is responsible for signing up for a meeting. They need to check with you to regarding times that work.

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produce the site - Place the content from the shell site to the template so that the real Web site client pages can be created. After each page is done perform the following tasks:

  • validate for XHTML 1.0
  • validate for CSS 2
  • validate for 508 compliance
  • run a spell checker
  • click on every link and make sure it works

After each page is up and checked send the Designer a note so they can look it over to make sure it looks like they anticipated.

If you become confused during the process of making the pages please contact the designer, they are eager to hear from you. If that does not work send your instructor a note, don't suffer in silence, I am happy to help.

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test site with classmates - Each site will have 3 other groups that test the site. Your team will develop a list of testing questions and you will send out these questions to the class mailing list, gather the results, and then compile a report summarizing their feedback. If you do not have a programmer, you will also perform the hardware and software testing.

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Contribute to the final bid - Keep track of your hours so you can assist the PM in creating a bid. The WorkLog document may help with this task. Work Log (Word)

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Assist in client handoff process - You will compile the Client's Manual with the assistance of the team. Write up an explanation of how to open a typical web page, change the text, save the changes and then upload the revised file onto the Web. Once the Client Manual is done, give it to your CD who is creating the handoff CD.

example of client manual:
Tech academy || Health Care for All || BATO Client Manual || Turtle Client Manual
CCAT - they created several documents:
1. an explanatory document
2. how to use dreamweaver to change a file
3. about the graphics at the site
4. the paypal system for the site

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advise team on marketing strategies - (optional) - Advise the team on effective strategies for how the pages can rank higher with search engines. Register with search engines. Recommend that the client establish a facebook, twitter presence or if you have time, do that for them. The CD can either advise the client or their teammates on what to do to make the site more marketable, or they may do those things themselves.