Teams Assigned - "to do" list

Project Manager
Gather contact information for your team. Create a Web page that will be located at your "Project Website". Name the file contact.html (view example) This needs to be complete by the time of the first client meeting.

Help the group establish a mailing list and phone network. Determine times when all (or most) members can meet with client and as a group. Contact client and set up the first meeting so you can make your first deadline.

At the meeting you will need to give the client a print out of:

  1. Team and Client Contact Information (can be a print out of the web page)
  2. Calendar of client deadlines and milestones you can use my client calendar as a starting point. Make sure to stress deadlines for 50% & 100% of content.
  3. Project Planning Worksheet (view examples below)

Client Introductory Questions
Website Planning Questionairre - TLT: PM Jeri Hastava
Estimate Request Form - Word File from Professional Business of Web Forms

Please note that one example shown above is displayed as a web page. Your documents can simply be Word documents or email message. The appearance of the information is not important, the content is what matters.

I am using examples from the Tomorrow's Leaders Today project site created by Jeri Hasatava, you will see more samples from this site as the class progresses. Please use them as models, but do not feel you must copy the design or layout.

As project manager you can either create all these items, or ask teammates to assist. You are ultimately responsible for the items listed above, however asking the content developer, programmer, and designer to provide feedback on the final content for client documents will ensure that their questions are answered.

For a complete list of all files which will help you prepare for the client meeting visit the "1st meeting forms" page.

Designer
The most challenging taks for this week is to create a designer sampler.

This is a web page which links to various design feautres you may want to offer your client. For example, link to a page with a very graphical opening screen that leads to a site with fewer graphics and more content. Contrast that with a site which has a very simple opening screen with few graphical elements. Ask the client what approach they like best.

Create links to other sites that have options for navigation, random images, slideshow, gallery, a splash page, a flash animation, second level page headers that change on each page and second level headers that remain the same. Remember, do not show the client something you cannot do. If no one on your team knows flash, do not offer it to the client.

I have created a designer sampler page you can use as a starting point for

Next find organizations which are similar to the one you are designing for and select features of the site you feel are useful or distracting. Pointing out the good and the bad can be helpful to the client.

When you meet with the client they may already be very Web savvy, or they may have their own ideas on what the design should be. Even if it seems your preparation was a waste of time, it is a good thing. If you don't use this designer sampler page on this client you will use it on another one, later in your career.

If you have any questions which you feel the client needs to answer during the initial meeting (color scheme, logo, look and feel) make sure they are included in the Project Planning Worksheet.

One final note - there may not be time for the esigner to get to the sampler or Web pages of sites which are similar to their clients. Some intial meeting move quickly while others have lots of chit chat. If you do not get to the desing area of the meeting, the designer can set up anohter meeting in a few days. Only the designer needs to attend this meeting.

Programmer
Many clients are not sure what programming they need. The say things like "make it interactive" or "allow for user feedback", but no one ever says I want Javascript and Perl Find examples on the web where a form that writes to a database, or sends an email.

You will create a programmer sampler which displays various options for the client to review. If you have other features that reqjuire porgramming that you would like to display, please add that to the sampler page .

Asking clients if they want forms is usually more effective than asking them if they want to use a PHP script. Popular features include calendars, slide shows, forms which send email, or scripts which access databases and either display the data or write to it. If the client asks for a programming function which you are not sure you can deliver, tell them you will research it and get back to them in 2 weeks. It is OK to say "we can't do that" however many students like the challenge of pushing themselves to apply their programming skills in a new area. Find out where the site will be stored and contact the system administrator for the server to make sure they support the code you intent to write.

Content Developers
Complete whatever jobs are assigned to you by the Project Manager. Brush up on your table code, server side includes, and cascading style sheets. The designer and project manager may decide to use these html tools so make sure you know them. Get to know your teammates. If during a team meeting someone uses phrases you don't understand, stop them and ask them to explain. You are not required to understand how to write a "cgi script written in Perl", however you need to know what it does and what your role is in implementing it.

If the client brings content to the meeting, take it from them. Open the files to make sure they work, then try and match up the boxes on the storyboard to the content you have been given. If you are confused, make up a list of questions, and consult with your PM about how these questions can be answered.

Entire Team
Get to know each other. Remember everyone is confused, excited, nervous and busy. It takes a while for a group to feel comfortable with each other, so give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

The more you know about your client and their needs, the easier it is to design an effective web site. This week we will concentrate on asking the right questions so that you can begin to formulate a strategy for the project.