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Web Project Management for Libraries

Web Project Management for Libraries. Making Project Management Work For You. Jason A. Clark Reference/Web Services Librarian Williams College Libraries jclark2@williams.edu Computers in Libraries Washington D.C. 18 March 2005. A little background….

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Web Project Management for Libraries

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  1. Web Project Management for Libraries Making Project Management Work For You Jason A. Clark Reference/Web Services Librarian Williams College Libraries jclark2@williams.edu Computers in Libraries Washington D.C. 18 March 2005

  2. A little background… • My background – UW Division of Information Technology, Academic Libraries • 5 person team – systems, ref, web services team members • My Workplace - Williams College A private, residential, and liberal arts college with graduate programs in the history of art and in development economics. The undergraduate enrollment is Approximately 2,000 students. Williamstown is located in the Berkshires in northwestern Massachusetts, 145 miles from Boston and 165 miles from New York City.

  3. Nature of web projects • Web project = any business service delivered via web to end user • Unique nature of web project as part application/part web document needs to be part of planning • Communication tools with global reach • Wide range of user requirements • Shorter project life cycles

  4. What does a library web project look like? It can look and feel something like this… but it doesn’t have to…

  5. Particular challenges of a library Web project • Ad-hoc committees, varying expertise • Sporadic project work • Shifting deadlines, shifting priorities • Team members and many hats • Limited funding for third-party software or contract work • Shifting information needs and user expectations

  6. Project Management: A Solution • Defining a goal – a deliverable • Identifying strengths and risks • Opening communication about the process • Establishing timelines and tracking progress

  7. Gather those requirements • Define boundary and scope of project • Agree on goals of project • Establish a realistic schedule • Identify strengths of team or look for possible expertise outside of team • Earmark strengths and weaknesses in proposed plan

  8. Divide project into manageable tasks • Assign team members to tasks that appeal to interests • Break project into tasks with dependent beginning and ending phases • Declare a critical path for the project to follow

  9. Building and Designing • Create project with idea that multiple drafts/versions may be needed • Promote a supportive development environment where team members can learn and ask for help without impacting production side of web site *a playground or web sandbox - let your colleagues learn in a live environment • Pair team members with complementary skills • Offer tutorials on essential aspects of project – writing for the web, xhtml, css, programming

  10. Document the project • I’m using the word broadly - meeting minutes, blog conversations, text documents, paper documents • A means to open communication to other library staff; create forums for discussion • Generate “buy-in” for a project • Provide a framework for assessing project status

  11. Blog it! (Documentation cont.) • Centralize team communications • Archive team communications • Use webfeeds to keep team members updated • Open your comments for other perspectives - students? • Talk online, save time wclwebteam.blogspot.com

  12. Web Project Tracker (Documentation cont.) • Records current status of library web projects • Built with open source, DIY - MySQL and PHP • Ability to assign owners to projects • Central web submission form - updates, deletes, edits and new proposals • Creates a working agenda for every meeting www.williams.edu/library/admin/projects/

  13. Giving up ownership • Recognizing the power of delegating Williams Indexes and Databases www.williams.edu/library/indexes/ Hidden benefits – Subject Guides, Trials

  14. Closing the project • Test your prototype and leave time for changes • Educate your primary users • Draft promotional communications • Draft a maintenance plan • Roll it out!

  15. Tips for Library Web Projects • Define your objectives • Open up your communications • Document for your team and others • Know your strengths and weaknesses • Build around flexible schedules (“Bend don’t break.”) • Look at how newer technologies can streamline your workflow *Think strategically about a web management structure for your library.

  16. Other Project Management Tools • ScratchPad: A Quality Management Systemfor Library Web Sites - University Libraries at Albany library.albany.edu/scratchpad • BaseCamp: Free, Web-based Project Management Tool www.basecamphq.com • Ta-Da Lists: Free, Web-based List Management Tool www.tadalist.com • Microsoft Project: Office Software for the PC www.microsoft.com/office/project • phpCollab: http://www.php-collab.org/blog/ • dotproject: http://www.dotproject.net/index.php

  17. Useful Project Management Resources • Gantthead – www.gantthead.com • Project Management Institute – www.pmi.org • Content and Workflow Management for Library Web Sites: Case Studies edited by Holly Yu • Managing Web Projects by J. Rodney Turner

  18. Questions? Jason A. Clark is currently the digital initiatives librarian at Montana State University. www.jasonclark.info Email him at jaclark@montana.edu.

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