|  What
Team Are You On?
By Jim Calhoun Summary Most Web professionals—even without thinking about it—work with a lot of different people to get sites up and keep them running. Think about it: Personal Web sites are about the only time Web designers fly solo. Every other kind of site incorporates input from a cadre of individuals: technical people, graphics specialists, copywriters, internal and external "clients," and quality assurance testers. These
people comprise your Extended Web Team. The bigger your Extended Team, the more likely you'll suffer from production bottlenecks, headaches, and finger pointing. Alas, all is not lost. Where to start? You can alleviate most bottlenecks and headaches simply by doing a little homework. The first step is to discover the size and shape of your Extended Web Team. Start by following all of those pointing fingers. Before you know it, you'll be swept deep
into your organization—wondering how you ever got anything published on-line in the first place. Once you know the size and shape of the beast, you can begin to tame it. First things first:
embrace your extended web team Mapping out your team isn't as easy as it sounds. Most Web
production environments have grown up quickly from grassroots efforts. People haven't had a chance to think about their processes, formally define their teams, or take a creative inventory. In short, most Web professionals don't think in terms of an Extended Web Team. They think the people in the production center constitute the Web Team. In reality, the Web team is just the beginning. Once you start thinking beyond the Web Team—about what happens
upstream—you'll see places where small improvements can mean big time savings in production work. You might streamline an approval process or see if there's a new product that will make it easier for people on the Extended Web Team to contribute more directly to the development and maintenance of the site. If you're really good at sizing up your team, you can automate nearly all site maintenance and content posting. This alleviates day-to-day distractions from routine
requests, and frees the core Web Team to work on more strategic initiatives. Taking creative inventory Think about the process your Extended Team currently uses. A basic Web development process turns ideas into "content"—documents, spreadsheets, diagrams, notes,
scribbles—and content into Web sites. Find out where ideas come from. The trick is to visualize dependencies. These are the waterfall relationships between team members, where something needs to leave person A's hands before person B can start working on it. These are called "cascading dependencies." It's here where you'll uncover most production problems and inefficiencies. To find cascading dependencies, start with you. You rely on
the timing and coordination of others to meet your deadlines and ensure a top-quality site. Who do those people rely on? And from there? Map out the chain of influence that leads to your site. Use Visio, PowerPoint, or another charting tool to help you (a napkin or whiteboard will do fine). Once you think you're done, map dependencies of everyone else on your chart once again. For example, you might be waiting on the graphic designer to
deliver a new GIF before you can update the site. But that GIF contains some copy that is supposed to come from the marketing department. The graphic designer is pushing the marketing department to deliver the copy so he/she can update the site--yet the marketing department is waiting for the ad agency to incorporate its feedback into the new tagline. Traditional thinking says the Web team in this scenario is two: the Web professional/HTML person/Webmaster plus
the graphic designer. But Extended Team thinking shows that the team is much bigger. The Extended Team includes: - The WebmasterWaits for the pieces of the puzzle to come from multiple sources for assembly.
- The DesignerWorks with marketing to implement work based on their ideas.
- The Marketing DepartmentWorks with Agency on ideas, communicates to graphics and production people.
- The AgencyWorks with Marketing to develop ideas
The team doubled from two to four. In reality, it's probably even larger. The agency could include an account manager, a copywriter, and a creative person. The graphic designer may need to coordinate the efforts of multiple people in the marketing department. That's an Extended Team of seven or eight people. And you thought the graphic designer was just a whiny slacker. Turning the extended team
into action Even this simple example illustrates how contingencies can lead to production bottlenecks. How do you get these team members, who aren't aware they're a team, to work in unison? But we'll give you a hint. In a word: process. Without the proper processes in place, the Extended Team can wreak havoc as your site grows. But with a little planning, you can
create an Extended Team that coordinates its efforts and charges forward, humming smoothly like a well-oiled machine. A few tips: - Create clear roles and responsibilities.
Make sure everyone knows what their job is and what you expect from them. If people do a good job, reward them. If they don't, make sure they know you know they're falling down, and make sure others make it clear to them how they're causing trouble all through
the process. Be nice, of course, but be firm.- Set clear deadlines.
Everyone must know when everything must be done. If you can, set the deadline ahead of when it must actually be done.- Have regular meetings--but not too many meetings.
One a week, or once every other week is usually sufficient. Leave time to everyone to report on their status and cover problems. Give everyone a chance to offer suggestions for improvement.-
Let people figure out their own solutions whenever possible.
If people are free to do things their own way, they're more likely to get them done and done right. If you hover or micro manage, you'll drive them nuts and won't really improve anything. If they have problems, make sure they know you can help, but try to leave them alone to do their own jobs.- Make sure the team knows its a team.
If people know they are interdependent, then they'll make that
clear to each other, so you won't have to.
About the Author Jim Calhoun is one of the founders of populardemand.com based in San Francisco. Apparently, his image cannot be captured on film. You can reach him by sending e-mail. Illustration: Info Fast´s Technology from www.artville.com
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