5. • A small change is always a big project
Definition
6. • A small change is always a big project
• Consistently frustrating
Definition
7. • A small change is always a big project
• Consistently frustrating
• Cheaper to rebuild from scratch than to fully fix
Definition
8. • A small change is always a big project
• Consistently frustrating
• Cheaper to rebuild from scratch than to fully fix
• Does not have the benefits of a Drupal site
Definition
9. • A small change is always a big project
• Consistently frustrating
• Cheaper to rebuild from scratch than to fully fix
• Does not have the benefits of a Drupal site
• No future
Definition
12. • Immaturity of field
• Lack of experts
honeycut07 via flickr
Prevalence
13. • Immaturity of field
• Lack of experts
• Difficulty is under-appreciated
honeycut07 via flickr
Prevalence
14. • Immaturity of field
• Lack of experts
• Difficulty is under-appreciated
• Hard to assess credentials
honeycut07 via flickr
Prevalence
15. • Immaturity of field
• Lack of experts
• Difficulty is under-appreciated
• Hard to assess credentials
• Drupal makes it easy
honeycut07 via flickr
Prevalence
16. • Immaturity of field
• Lack of experts
• Difficulty is under-appreciated
• Hard to assess credentials
• Drupal makes it easy
• to totally mess up your site
honeycut07 via flickr
Prevalence
17. • Immaturity of field
• Lack of experts
• Difficulty is under-appreciated
• Hard to assess credentials
• Drupal makes it easy
• to totally mess up your site
• in so many different ways honeycut07 via flickr
Prevalence
20. • Quality is
• Meeting standards throughout the process
Pathology
21. • Quality is
• Meeting standards throughout the process
• A holistic approach
Pathology
22. • Quality is
• Meeting standards throughout the process
• A holistic approach
• Quality is not
Pathology
23. • Quality is
• Meeting standards throughout the process
• A holistic approach
• Quality is not
• A single line item or a single project phase
Pathology
24. • Quality is
• Meeting standards throughout the process
• A holistic approach
• Quality is not
• A single line item or a single project phase
• Something to outsource or have interns deal
with
Pathology
25. • Quality is
• Meeting standards throughout the process
• A holistic approach
• Quality is not
• A single line item or a single project phase
• Something to outsource or have interns deal
with
• An time or budget to skip if running short
on
optional feature
Pathology
26. • Quality is
• Meeting standards throughout the process
• A holistic approach
• Quality is not
• A single line item or a single project phase
• Something to outsource or have interns deal
with
• An time or budget to skip if running short
on
optional feature
• A natural result of a fixed-price/fixed-scope
contract
Pathology
49. • Too-many syndromes:
• Just-another-module syndrome
• Over-templation
• Content-typitis
• Role-mania
• Block-a-modium
• Lack of semantic sense
wiccked via flickr
Indicators
50. • Too-many syndromes:
• Just-another-module syndrome
• Over-templation
• Content-typitis
• Role-mania
• Block-a-modium
• Lack of semantic sense
• PHP format (red flag of core)
wiccked via flickr
Indicators
51. • Too-many syndromes:
• Just-another-module syndrome
• Over-templation
• Content-typitis
• Role-mania
• Block-a-modium
• Lack of semantic sense
• PHP format (red flag of core)
• Going around the chain of
command
wiccked via flickr
Indicators
52. • Too-many syndromes:
• Just-another-module syndrome
• Over-templation
• Content-typitis
• Role-mania
• Block-a-modium
• Lack of semantic sense
• PHP format (red flag of core)
• Going around the chain of
command
• Drupal violations:
wiccked via flickr
Indicators
53. • Too-many syndromes:
• Just-another-module syndrome
• Over-templation
• Content-typitis
• Role-mania
• Block-a-modium
• Lack of semantic sense
• PHP format (red flag of core)
• Going around the chain of
command
• Drupal violations:
• breaking configurations
wiccked via flickr
Indicators
54. • Too-many syndromes:
• Just-another-module syndrome
• Over-templation
• Content-typitis
• Role-mania
• Block-a-modium
• Lack of semantic sense
• PHP format (red flag of core)
• Going around the chain of
command
• Drupal violations:
• breaking configurations
• hacked files wiccked via flickr
Indicators
55. • Too-many syndromes:
• Just-another-module syndrome
• Over-templation
• Content-typitis
• Role-mania
• Block-a-modium
• Lack of semantic sense
• PHP format (red flag of core)
• Going around the chain of
command
• Drupal violations:
• breaking configurations
• hacked files
• Missing Drupal security
wiccked via flickr
conventions
Indicators
63. • Site audit
• Emergency fixes plus
mini-evaluation
Carl Black via flickr
Diagnosis
64. • Site audit
• Emergency fixes plus
mini-evaluation
• Hacked! module
Carl Black via flickr
Diagnosis
65. • Site audit
• Emergency fixes plus
mini-evaluation
• Hacked! module
• > 100 modules test
Carl Black via flickr
Diagnosis
66. • Site audit
• Emergency fixes plus
mini-evaluation
• Hacked! module
• > 100 modules test
• Ask for an honest opinion
Carl Black via flickr
Diagnosis
69. • Frustrations are deemed ‘normal’
• Software is vilified
alui0000 via flickr
Misdiagnosis
70. • Frustrations are deemed ‘normal’
• Software is vilified
• Sites are treated as disposable
alui0000 via flickr
Misdiagnosis
71. • Frustrations are deemed ‘normal’
• Software is vilified
• Sites are treated as disposable
• Experience of the alternative sheds light on the
problem
alui0000 via flickr
Misdiagnosis
77. • Subcontracting
• Use internal staff with little Drupal
background
Martin LaBar via flickr
Early Stages
78. • Subcontracting
• Use internal staff with little Drupal
background
• Too many cooks, too little chefs
Martin LaBar via flickr
Early Stages
79. • Subcontracting
• Use internal staff with little Drupal
background
• Too many cooks, too little chefs
• Underpaying
Martin LaBar via flickr
Early Stages
80. • Subcontracting
• Use internal staff with little Drupal
background
• Too many cooks, too little chefs
• Underpaying
• Not taking expert advice
Martin LaBar via flickr
Early Stages
82. • Hiring / Contracting
Chiot’s Run via flickr
Prevention
83. • Hiring / Contracting
• Quality Assurance
Chiot’s Run via flickr
Prevention
84. • Hiring / Contracting
• Quality Assurance
• Continuous pest control
Chiot’s Run via flickr
Prevention
85. • Hiring / Contracting
• Quality Assurance
• Continuous pest control
• Peer review
Chiot’s Run via flickr
Prevention
86. • Hiring / Contracting
• Quality Assurance
• Continuous pest control
• Peer review
• Processes for ticketing, development,
VCS etc
Chiot’s Run via flickr
Prevention
87. • Hiring / Contracting
• Quality Assurance
• Continuous pest control
• Peer review
• Processes for ticketing, development,
VCS etc
• Advocate for a future-ready site
Chiot’s Run via flickr
Prevention
90. • A rebuild can cost less than a complete fix
Manuel Barroso Parejo via flickr
Terminal Cases
91. • A rebuild can cost less than a complete fix
• A rebuild can cost more then the original build
Manuel Barroso Parejo via flickr
Terminal Cases
92. • A rebuild can cost less than a complete fix
• A rebuild can cost more then the original build
• Most bad
after
organizations opt to throw good money
Manuel Barroso Parejo via flickr
Terminal Cases
93. • A rebuild can cost less than a complete fix
• A rebuild can cost more then the original build
• Most bad
after
organizations opt to throw good money
• Often the website is not the only lemon in an
organization
Manuel Barroso Parejo via flickr
Terminal Cases
96. • Site audit followed by cleanup
• ‘The Works’ - version upgrade with structural
overhaul
Treatment
97. • Site audit followed by cleanup
• ‘The Works’ - version upgrade with structural
overhaul
• Content type simplification
Treatment
98. • Site audit followed by cleanup
• ‘The Works’ - version upgrade with structural
overhaul
• Content type simplification
• PHP format extraction
Treatment
99. • Site audit followed by cleanup
• ‘The Works’ - version upgrade with structural
overhaul
• Content type simplification
• PHP format extraction
• Template extermination
Treatment
100. • Site audit followed by cleanup
• ‘The Works’ - version upgrade with structural
overhaul
• Content type simplification
• PHP format extraction
• Template extermination
• Database decrudifying
Treatment
101. • Site audit followed by cleanup
• ‘The Works’ - version upgrade with structural
overhaul
• Content type simplification
• PHP format extraction
• Template extermination
• Database decrudifying
• Delete, delete, delete
Treatment
103. • You are not alone
onkel_wart via flickr
Support
104. • You are not alone
• Seek advice from experts and community
onkel_wart via flickr
Support
105. • You are not alone
• Seek advice from experts and community
• Simplify
onkel_wart via flickr
Support
Editor's Notes
Good afternoon. Welcome to LEMON- Drupal diseases and cures. \n
My name is Jody Hamilton. Making lemonade since drupal 4.7\n\nZivtech Lead Developer, business owner, engineer, teacher, manager, quality freak\n\n
What is a Drupal lemon?\nA site that makes experienced drupal developers laugh and cry at the same time. Measure in WTFs per minute.\n\n
What is a Drupal lemon?\nA site that makes experienced drupal developers laugh and cry at the same time. Measure in WTFs per minute.\n\n
What is a Drupal lemon?\nA site that makes experienced drupal developers laugh and cry at the same time. Measure in WTFs per minute.\n\n
What is a Drupal lemon?\nA site that makes experienced drupal developers laugh and cry at the same time. Measure in WTFs per minute.\n\n
What is a Drupal lemon?\nA site that makes experienced drupal developers laugh and cry at the same time. Measure in WTFs per minute.\n\n
What is a Drupal lemon?\nA site that makes experienced drupal developers laugh and cry at the same time. Measure in WTFs per minute.\n\n
How many lemons are there?\nWhy are there so many?\nThe rise of the ‘site rescue’ job\nThis is bad for Drupal’s reputation\n\n - Lack of experts\n - new field\n - learning curve\n - Difficulty of field is underappreciated (ie you wouldn’t treat something ‘difficult’ like surgery the same way) The easiness of using drupal or basic site building also stands in confusing contrast to the difficulty of custom application development in drupal or excellent and advanced site building.\n - Rush jobs\n - Cheap jobs\n- Hard to assess Credentials\n - lack of certification\n - too complex for decision makers\n - Drupal has a completely transparent and inscrutable system for measuring dev quality\n- Drupal makes it easy to mess up (by being complex and flexible). With great power comes great need for training. Beware those who ‘know just enough to be dangerous’\n
How many lemons are there?\nWhy are there so many?\nThe rise of the ‘site rescue’ job\nThis is bad for Drupal’s reputation\n\n - Lack of experts\n - new field\n - learning curve\n - Difficulty of field is underappreciated (ie you wouldn’t treat something ‘difficult’ like surgery the same way) The easiness of using drupal or basic site building also stands in confusing contrast to the difficulty of custom application development in drupal or excellent and advanced site building.\n - Rush jobs\n - Cheap jobs\n- Hard to assess Credentials\n - lack of certification\n - too complex for decision makers\n - Drupal has a completely transparent and inscrutable system for measuring dev quality\n- Drupal makes it easy to mess up (by being complex and flexible). With great power comes great need for training. Beware those who ‘know just enough to be dangerous’\n
How many lemons are there?\nWhy are there so many?\nThe rise of the ‘site rescue’ job\nThis is bad for Drupal’s reputation\n\n - Lack of experts\n - new field\n - learning curve\n - Difficulty of field is underappreciated (ie you wouldn’t treat something ‘difficult’ like surgery the same way) The easiness of using drupal or basic site building also stands in confusing contrast to the difficulty of custom application development in drupal or excellent and advanced site building.\n - Rush jobs\n - Cheap jobs\n- Hard to assess Credentials\n - lack of certification\n - too complex for decision makers\n - Drupal has a completely transparent and inscrutable system for measuring dev quality\n- Drupal makes it easy to mess up (by being complex and flexible). With great power comes great need for training. Beware those who ‘know just enough to be dangerous’\n
How many lemons are there?\nWhy are there so many?\nThe rise of the ‘site rescue’ job\nThis is bad for Drupal’s reputation\n\n - Lack of experts\n - new field\n - learning curve\n - Difficulty of field is underappreciated (ie you wouldn’t treat something ‘difficult’ like surgery the same way) The easiness of using drupal or basic site building also stands in confusing contrast to the difficulty of custom application development in drupal or excellent and advanced site building.\n - Rush jobs\n - Cheap jobs\n- Hard to assess Credentials\n - lack of certification\n - too complex for decision makers\n - Drupal has a completely transparent and inscrutable system for measuring dev quality\n- Drupal makes it easy to mess up (by being complex and flexible). With great power comes great need for training. Beware those who ‘know just enough to be dangerous’\n
How many lemons are there?\nWhy are there so many?\nThe rise of the ‘site rescue’ job\nThis is bad for Drupal’s reputation\n\n - Lack of experts\n - new field\n - learning curve\n - Difficulty of field is underappreciated (ie you wouldn’t treat something ‘difficult’ like surgery the same way) The easiness of using drupal or basic site building also stands in confusing contrast to the difficulty of custom application development in drupal or excellent and advanced site building.\n - Rush jobs\n - Cheap jobs\n- Hard to assess Credentials\n - lack of certification\n - too complex for decision makers\n - Drupal has a completely transparent and inscrutable system for measuring dev quality\n- Drupal makes it easy to mess up (by being complex and flexible). With great power comes great need for training. Beware those who ‘know just enough to be dangerous’\n
How many lemons are there?\nWhy are there so many?\nThe rise of the ‘site rescue’ job\nThis is bad for Drupal’s reputation\n\n - Lack of experts\n - new field\n - learning curve\n - Difficulty of field is underappreciated (ie you wouldn’t treat something ‘difficult’ like surgery the same way) The easiness of using drupal or basic site building also stands in confusing contrast to the difficulty of custom application development in drupal or excellent and advanced site building.\n - Rush jobs\n - Cheap jobs\n- Hard to assess Credentials\n - lack of certification\n - too complex for decision makers\n - Drupal has a completely transparent and inscrutable system for measuring dev quality\n- Drupal makes it easy to mess up (by being complex and flexible). With great power comes great need for training. Beware those who ‘know just enough to be dangerous’\n
How many lemons are there?\nWhy are there so many?\nThe rise of the ‘site rescue’ job\nThis is bad for Drupal’s reputation\n\n - Lack of experts\n - new field\n - learning curve\n - Difficulty of field is underappreciated (ie you wouldn’t treat something ‘difficult’ like surgery the same way) The easiness of using drupal or basic site building also stands in confusing contrast to the difficulty of custom application development in drupal or excellent and advanced site building.\n - Rush jobs\n - Cheap jobs\n- Hard to assess Credentials\n - lack of certification\n - too complex for decision makers\n - Drupal has a completely transparent and inscrutable system for measuring dev quality\n- Drupal makes it easy to mess up (by being complex and flexible). With great power comes great need for training. Beware those who ‘know just enough to be dangerous’\n
How many lemons are there?\nWhy are there so many?\nThe rise of the ‘site rescue’ job\nThis is bad for Drupal’s reputation\n\n - Lack of experts\n - new field\n - learning curve\n - Difficulty of field is underappreciated (ie you wouldn’t treat something ‘difficult’ like surgery the same way) The easiness of using drupal or basic site building also stands in confusing contrast to the difficulty of custom application development in drupal or excellent and advanced site building.\n - Rush jobs\n - Cheap jobs\n- Hard to assess Credentials\n - lack of certification\n - too complex for decision makers\n - Drupal has a completely transparent and inscrutable system for measuring dev quality\n- Drupal makes it easy to mess up (by being complex and flexible). With great power comes great need for training. Beware those who ‘know just enough to be dangerous’\n
Let’s study this up close.\nWhat can we learn from Drupal lemons?\nI’ve been blessed with great opportunities throughout my life to learn from the worst\nPerhaps life has given me lemons\nBy studying worst practices we can desire and form best practices\nA lemon is always rushed and/or foolishly designed. On the cellular level it is starved for quality. The deeper you look the more you see problems.\nQuality means meeting professional standards throughout the process, not meeting specs by the end. Quality is holistic, is a mindset.\nBefore coming to the web I worked mainly in quality control, as a chemist. In pharmaceutical development quality control is taken extremely seriously, obviously its regulated by the FDA. They work to standards of quality at every stage in the process and the QC people are highly trained scientists. In software development quality control is often just testing the end result, sometimes outsourced. If time or budget gets short it can get skipped entirely. \n
Let’s study this up close.\nWhat can we learn from Drupal lemons?\nI’ve been blessed with great opportunities throughout my life to learn from the worst\nPerhaps life has given me lemons\nBy studying worst practices we can desire and form best practices\nA lemon is always rushed and/or foolishly designed. On the cellular level it is starved for quality. The deeper you look the more you see problems.\nQuality means meeting professional standards throughout the process, not meeting specs by the end. Quality is holistic, is a mindset.\nBefore coming to the web I worked mainly in quality control, as a chemist. In pharmaceutical development quality control is taken extremely seriously, obviously its regulated by the FDA. They work to standards of quality at every stage in the process and the QC people are highly trained scientists. In software development quality control is often just testing the end result, sometimes outsourced. If time or budget gets short it can get skipped entirely. \n
Let’s study this up close.\nWhat can we learn from Drupal lemons?\nI’ve been blessed with great opportunities throughout my life to learn from the worst\nPerhaps life has given me lemons\nBy studying worst practices we can desire and form best practices\nA lemon is always rushed and/or foolishly designed. On the cellular level it is starved for quality. The deeper you look the more you see problems.\nQuality means meeting professional standards throughout the process, not meeting specs by the end. Quality is holistic, is a mindset.\nBefore coming to the web I worked mainly in quality control, as a chemist. In pharmaceutical development quality control is taken extremely seriously, obviously its regulated by the FDA. They work to standards of quality at every stage in the process and the QC people are highly trained scientists. In software development quality control is often just testing the end result, sometimes outsourced. If time or budget gets short it can get skipped entirely. \n
Let’s study this up close.\nWhat can we learn from Drupal lemons?\nI’ve been blessed with great opportunities throughout my life to learn from the worst\nPerhaps life has given me lemons\nBy studying worst practices we can desire and form best practices\nA lemon is always rushed and/or foolishly designed. On the cellular level it is starved for quality. The deeper you look the more you see problems.\nQuality means meeting professional standards throughout the process, not meeting specs by the end. Quality is holistic, is a mindset.\nBefore coming to the web I worked mainly in quality control, as a chemist. In pharmaceutical development quality control is taken extremely seriously, obviously its regulated by the FDA. They work to standards of quality at every stage in the process and the QC people are highly trained scientists. In software development quality control is often just testing the end result, sometimes outsourced. If time or budget gets short it can get skipped entirely. \n
Let’s study this up close.\nWhat can we learn from Drupal lemons?\nI’ve been blessed with great opportunities throughout my life to learn from the worst\nPerhaps life has given me lemons\nBy studying worst practices we can desire and form best practices\nA lemon is always rushed and/or foolishly designed. On the cellular level it is starved for quality. The deeper you look the more you see problems.\nQuality means meeting professional standards throughout the process, not meeting specs by the end. Quality is holistic, is a mindset.\nBefore coming to the web I worked mainly in quality control, as a chemist. In pharmaceutical development quality control is taken extremely seriously, obviously its regulated by the FDA. They work to standards of quality at every stage in the process and the QC people are highly trained scientists. In software development quality control is often just testing the end result, sometimes outsourced. If time or budget gets short it can get skipped entirely. \n
Let’s study this up close.\nWhat can we learn from Drupal lemons?\nI’ve been blessed with great opportunities throughout my life to learn from the worst\nPerhaps life has given me lemons\nBy studying worst practices we can desire and form best practices\nA lemon is always rushed and/or foolishly designed. On the cellular level it is starved for quality. The deeper you look the more you see problems.\nQuality means meeting professional standards throughout the process, not meeting specs by the end. Quality is holistic, is a mindset.\nBefore coming to the web I worked mainly in quality control, as a chemist. In pharmaceutical development quality control is taken extremely seriously, obviously its regulated by the FDA. They work to standards of quality at every stage in the process and the QC people are highly trained scientists. In software development quality control is often just testing the end result, sometimes outsourced. If time or budget gets short it can get skipped entirely. \n
Let’s study this up close.\nWhat can we learn from Drupal lemons?\nI’ve been blessed with great opportunities throughout my life to learn from the worst\nPerhaps life has given me lemons\nBy studying worst practices we can desire and form best practices\nA lemon is always rushed and/or foolishly designed. On the cellular level it is starved for quality. The deeper you look the more you see problems.\nQuality means meeting professional standards throughout the process, not meeting specs by the end. Quality is holistic, is a mindset.\nBefore coming to the web I worked mainly in quality control, as a chemist. In pharmaceutical development quality control is taken extremely seriously, obviously its regulated by the FDA. They work to standards of quality at every stage in the process and the QC people are highly trained scientists. In software development quality control is often just testing the end result, sometimes outsourced. If time or budget gets short it can get skipped entirely. \n
Let’s study this up close.\nWhat can we learn from Drupal lemons?\nI’ve been blessed with great opportunities throughout my life to learn from the worst\nPerhaps life has given me lemons\nBy studying worst practices we can desire and form best practices\nA lemon is always rushed and/or foolishly designed. On the cellular level it is starved for quality. The deeper you look the more you see problems.\nQuality means meeting professional standards throughout the process, not meeting specs by the end. Quality is holistic, is a mindset.\nBefore coming to the web I worked mainly in quality control, as a chemist. In pharmaceutical development quality control is taken extremely seriously, obviously its regulated by the FDA. They work to standards of quality at every stage in the process and the QC people are highly trained scientists. In software development quality control is often just testing the end result, sometimes outsourced. If time or budget gets short it can get skipped entirely. \n
Let’s study this up close.\nWhat can we learn from Drupal lemons?\nI’ve been blessed with great opportunities throughout my life to learn from the worst\nPerhaps life has given me lemons\nBy studying worst practices we can desire and form best practices\nA lemon is always rushed and/or foolishly designed. On the cellular level it is starved for quality. The deeper you look the more you see problems.\nQuality means meeting professional standards throughout the process, not meeting specs by the end. Quality is holistic, is a mindset.\nBefore coming to the web I worked mainly in quality control, as a chemist. In pharmaceutical development quality control is taken extremely seriously, obviously its regulated by the FDA. They work to standards of quality at every stage in the process and the QC people are highly trained scientists. In software development quality control is often just testing the end result, sometimes outsourced. If time or budget gets short it can get skipped entirely. \n
the ''slingshotter,'' the ''adventurer,'' the ''marshmallow,'' the ''nomad'' and the ''weaver''\nUsability Lemon (developers who do not develop for usability are not web developers, much as designers who do not work in HTML/CSS are not web designers)\nInfested Lemon (bug-laden)\nFanboy Lemon (lots of junky contrib modules)\nDesperado Lemon (PHP dev wrote lots of custom code instead of using key modules)\n\n
the ''slingshotter,'' the ''adventurer,'' the ''marshmallow,'' the ''nomad'' and the ''weaver''\nUsability Lemon (developers who do not develop for usability are not web developers, much as designers who do not work in HTML/CSS are not web designers)\nInfested Lemon (bug-laden)\nFanboy Lemon (lots of junky contrib modules)\nDesperado Lemon (PHP dev wrote lots of custom code instead of using key modules)\n\n
the ''slingshotter,'' the ''adventurer,'' the ''marshmallow,'' the ''nomad'' and the ''weaver''\nUsability Lemon (developers who do not develop for usability are not web developers, much as designers who do not work in HTML/CSS are not web designers)\nInfested Lemon (bug-laden)\nFanboy Lemon (lots of junky contrib modules)\nDesperado Lemon (PHP dev wrote lots of custom code instead of using key modules)\n\n
the ''slingshotter,'' the ''adventurer,'' the ''marshmallow,'' the ''nomad'' and the ''weaver''\nUsability Lemon (developers who do not develop for usability are not web developers, much as designers who do not work in HTML/CSS are not web designers)\nInfested Lemon (bug-laden)\nFanboy Lemon (lots of junky contrib modules)\nDesperado Lemon (PHP dev wrote lots of custom code instead of using key modules)\n\n
the ''slingshotter,'' the ''adventurer,'' the ''marshmallow,'' the ''nomad'' and the ''weaver''\nUsability Lemon (developers who do not develop for usability are not web developers, much as designers who do not work in HTML/CSS are not web designers)\nInfested Lemon (bug-laden)\nFanboy Lemon (lots of junky contrib modules)\nDesperado Lemon (PHP dev wrote lots of custom code instead of using key modules)\n\n
Symptoms can be misleading. They could come from any or multiple layers of the stack\n \n
Symptoms can be misleading. They could come from any or multiple layers of the stack\n \n
Symptoms can be misleading. They could come from any or multiple layers of the stack\n \n
Symptoms can be misleading. They could come from any or multiple layers of the stack\n \n
Symptoms can be misleading. They could come from any or multiple layers of the stack\n \n
Symptoms can be misleading. They could come from any or multiple layers of the stack\n \n
Symptoms can be misleading. They could come from any or multiple layers of the stack\n \n
Symptoms can be misleading. They could come from any or multiple layers of the stack\n \n
Symptoms can be misleading. They could come from any or multiple layers of the stack\n \n
Warning signs...\n\nIgnoring the chain of command:\n inappropriate use of JS or CSS to deal with markup or logic-level problems (this indicates short-sighted or critically under-experienced web developers)\n the last two indicate developers who either don’t know Drupal well or don’t respect the integrity of the CMS or do not care about the future of the site (fixed budget/fixed specs much?)\n \n\n
Warning signs...\n\nIgnoring the chain of command:\n inappropriate use of JS or CSS to deal with markup or logic-level problems (this indicates short-sighted or critically under-experienced web developers)\n the last two indicate developers who either don’t know Drupal well or don’t respect the integrity of the CMS or do not care about the future of the site (fixed budget/fixed specs much?)\n \n\n
Warning signs...\n\nIgnoring the chain of command:\n inappropriate use of JS or CSS to deal with markup or logic-level problems (this indicates short-sighted or critically under-experienced web developers)\n the last two indicate developers who either don’t know Drupal well or don’t respect the integrity of the CMS or do not care about the future of the site (fixed budget/fixed specs much?)\n \n\n
Warning signs...\n\nIgnoring the chain of command:\n inappropriate use of JS or CSS to deal with markup or logic-level problems (this indicates short-sighted or critically under-experienced web developers)\n the last two indicate developers who either don’t know Drupal well or don’t respect the integrity of the CMS or do not care about the future of the site (fixed budget/fixed specs much?)\n \n\n
Warning signs...\n\nIgnoring the chain of command:\n inappropriate use of JS or CSS to deal with markup or logic-level problems (this indicates short-sighted or critically under-experienced web developers)\n the last two indicate developers who either don’t know Drupal well or don’t respect the integrity of the CMS or do not care about the future of the site (fixed budget/fixed specs much?)\n \n\n
Warning signs...\n\nIgnoring the chain of command:\n inappropriate use of JS or CSS to deal with markup or logic-level problems (this indicates short-sighted or critically under-experienced web developers)\n the last two indicate developers who either don’t know Drupal well or don’t respect the integrity of the CMS or do not care about the future of the site (fixed budget/fixed specs much?)\n \n\n
Warning signs...\n\nIgnoring the chain of command:\n inappropriate use of JS or CSS to deal with markup or logic-level problems (this indicates short-sighted or critically under-experienced web developers)\n the last two indicate developers who either don’t know Drupal well or don’t respect the integrity of the CMS or do not care about the future of the site (fixed budget/fixed specs much?)\n \n\n
Warning signs...\n\nIgnoring the chain of command:\n inappropriate use of JS or CSS to deal with markup or logic-level problems (this indicates short-sighted or critically under-experienced web developers)\n the last two indicate developers who either don’t know Drupal well or don’t respect the integrity of the CMS or do not care about the future of the site (fixed budget/fixed specs much?)\n \n\n
Warning signs...\n\nIgnoring the chain of command:\n inappropriate use of JS or CSS to deal with markup or logic-level problems (this indicates short-sighted or critically under-experienced web developers)\n the last two indicate developers who either don’t know Drupal well or don’t respect the integrity of the CMS or do not care about the future of the site (fixed budget/fixed specs much?)\n \n\n
Warning signs...\n\nIgnoring the chain of command:\n inappropriate use of JS or CSS to deal with markup or logic-level problems (this indicates short-sighted or critically under-experienced web developers)\n the last two indicate developers who either don’t know Drupal well or don’t respect the integrity of the CMS or do not care about the future of the site (fixed budget/fixed specs much?)\n \n\n
Warning signs...\n\nIgnoring the chain of command:\n inappropriate use of JS or CSS to deal with markup or logic-level problems (this indicates short-sighted or critically under-experienced web developers)\n the last two indicate developers who either don’t know Drupal well or don’t respect the integrity of the CMS or do not care about the future of the site (fixed budget/fixed specs much?)\n \n\n
Warning signs...\n\nIgnoring the chain of command:\n inappropriate use of JS or CSS to deal with markup or logic-level problems (this indicates short-sighted or critically under-experienced web developers)\n the last two indicate developers who either don’t know Drupal well or don’t respect the integrity of the CMS or do not care about the future of the site (fixed budget/fixed specs much?)\n \n\n
Warning signs...\n\nIgnoring the chain of command:\n inappropriate use of JS or CSS to deal with markup or logic-level problems (this indicates short-sighted or critically under-experienced web developers)\n the last two indicate developers who either don’t know Drupal well or don’t respect the integrity of the CMS or do not care about the future of the site (fixed budget/fixed specs much?)\n \n\n
Warning signs...\n\nIgnoring the chain of command:\n inappropriate use of JS or CSS to deal with markup or logic-level problems (this indicates short-sighted or critically under-experienced web developers)\n the last two indicate developers who either don’t know Drupal well or don’t respect the integrity of the CMS or do not care about the future of the site (fixed budget/fixed specs much?)\n \n\n
Not every problem site is a lemon\n\nStaff usability (need a manual?!) problems are a bigger indication than public usability (closer to the structural)\n\nProblems that are mainly coming from CSS, JS, or server-side can cause bad symptoms but are easier to isolate and fix\n\nProblems may be coming from mostly just one place: a bad module for example\n\nA true lemon will have deep structural problems that have infected the code, configuration and content\n
Not every problem site is a lemon\n\nStaff usability (need a manual?!) problems are a bigger indication than public usability (closer to the structural)\n\nProblems that are mainly coming from CSS, JS, or server-side can cause bad symptoms but are easier to isolate and fix\n\nProblems may be coming from mostly just one place: a bad module for example\n\nA true lemon will have deep structural problems that have infected the code, configuration and content\n
Not every problem site is a lemon\n\nStaff usability (need a manual?!) problems are a bigger indication than public usability (closer to the structural)\n\nProblems that are mainly coming from CSS, JS, or server-side can cause bad symptoms but are easier to isolate and fix\n\nProblems may be coming from mostly just one place: a bad module for example\n\nA true lemon will have deep structural problems that have infected the code, configuration and content\n
Not every problem site is a lemon\n\nStaff usability (need a manual?!) problems are a bigger indication than public usability (closer to the structural)\n\nProblems that are mainly coming from CSS, JS, or server-side can cause bad symptoms but are easier to isolate and fix\n\nProblems may be coming from mostly just one place: a bad module for example\n\nA true lemon will have deep structural problems that have infected the code, configuration and content\n
Not every problem site is a lemon\n\nStaff usability (need a manual?!) problems are a bigger indication than public usability (closer to the structural)\n\nProblems that are mainly coming from CSS, JS, or server-side can cause bad symptoms but are easier to isolate and fix\n\nProblems may be coming from mostly just one place: a bad module for example\n\nA true lemon will have deep structural problems that have infected the code, configuration and content\n
Indicators and contraindicators are easy, but coming to a conclusion can be more difficult.\nDiagnosis is not easy and cannot usually be done ‘at a glance’ (or without a contract) except in the most extreme cases\n\nLack of adherence to semantic sense\nAsk for an honest opinion about your site and the level of your devs, ie in person (i’ve often had potentially useful observations that i would not feel comfortable sharing via email, conference call, or in situations that could politically threaten my status as a consultant)\n
Indicators and contraindicators are easy, but coming to a conclusion can be more difficult.\nDiagnosis is not easy and cannot usually be done ‘at a glance’ (or without a contract) except in the most extreme cases\n\nLack of adherence to semantic sense\nAsk for an honest opinion about your site and the level of your devs, ie in person (i’ve often had potentially useful observations that i would not feel comfortable sharing via email, conference call, or in situations that could politically threaten my status as a consultant)\n
Indicators and contraindicators are easy, but coming to a conclusion can be more difficult.\nDiagnosis is not easy and cannot usually be done ‘at a glance’ (or without a contract) except in the most extreme cases\n\nLack of adherence to semantic sense\nAsk for an honest opinion about your site and the level of your devs, ie in person (i’ve often had potentially useful observations that i would not feel comfortable sharing via email, conference call, or in situations that could politically threaten my status as a consultant)\n
Indicators and contraindicators are easy, but coming to a conclusion can be more difficult.\nDiagnosis is not easy and cannot usually be done ‘at a glance’ (or without a contract) except in the most extreme cases\n\nLack of adherence to semantic sense\nAsk for an honest opinion about your site and the level of your devs, ie in person (i’ve often had potentially useful observations that i would not feel comfortable sharing via email, conference call, or in situations that could politically threaten my status as a consultant)\n
Indicators and contraindicators are easy, but coming to a conclusion can be more difficult.\nDiagnosis is not easy and cannot usually be done ‘at a glance’ (or without a contract) except in the most extreme cases\n\nLack of adherence to semantic sense\nAsk for an honest opinion about your site and the level of your devs, ie in person (i’ve often had potentially useful observations that i would not feel comfortable sharing via email, conference call, or in situations that could politically threaten my status as a consultant)\n
Indicators and contraindicators are easy, but coming to a conclusion can be more difficult.\nDiagnosis is not easy and cannot usually be done ‘at a glance’ (or without a contract) except in the most extreme cases\n\nLack of adherence to semantic sense\nAsk for an honest opinion about your site and the level of your devs, ie in person (i’ve often had potentially useful observations that i would not feel comfortable sharing via email, conference call, or in situations that could politically threaten my status as a consultant)\n
A site can meet spec and have no serious bugs and still be a lemon.\nStaff may feel that all sites or all drupal sites have the kinds of frustrations they have, and devs may persist that feeling of ‘normal’ problems and even villify the software.\nThe lack of ability to easily expand and change the site, enormous difficulty upgrading the site, bug regressions, the need for a staff handbook, the need for excessive end-user help text, and site slowness are warning signs of a lemon in disguise.\nOften the seriousness of the problem is never known or is not acknowledged as true if diagnosed. These organizations may take it as a matter of course that you throw out crappy sites after a few years and then build a new crappy site and not see this as a problem. Experiencing the alternative will shed light on the problem.\n
A site can meet spec and have no serious bugs and still be a lemon.\nStaff may feel that all sites or all drupal sites have the kinds of frustrations they have, and devs may persist that feeling of ‘normal’ problems and even villify the software.\nThe lack of ability to easily expand and change the site, enormous difficulty upgrading the site, bug regressions, the need for a staff handbook, the need for excessive end-user help text, and site slowness are warning signs of a lemon in disguise.\nOften the seriousness of the problem is never known or is not acknowledged as true if diagnosed. These organizations may take it as a matter of course that you throw out crappy sites after a few years and then build a new crappy site and not see this as a problem. Experiencing the alternative will shed light on the problem.\n
A site can meet spec and have no serious bugs and still be a lemon.\nStaff may feel that all sites or all drupal sites have the kinds of frustrations they have, and devs may persist that feeling of ‘normal’ problems and even villify the software.\nThe lack of ability to easily expand and change the site, enormous difficulty upgrading the site, bug regressions, the need for a staff handbook, the need for excessive end-user help text, and site slowness are warning signs of a lemon in disguise.\nOften the seriousness of the problem is never known or is not acknowledged as true if diagnosed. These organizations may take it as a matter of course that you throw out crappy sites after a few years and then build a new crappy site and not see this as a problem. Experiencing the alternative will shed light on the problem.\n
A site can meet spec and have no serious bugs and still be a lemon.\nStaff may feel that all sites or all drupal sites have the kinds of frustrations they have, and devs may persist that feeling of ‘normal’ problems and even villify the software.\nThe lack of ability to easily expand and change the site, enormous difficulty upgrading the site, bug regressions, the need for a staff handbook, the need for excessive end-user help text, and site slowness are warning signs of a lemon in disguise.\nOften the seriousness of the problem is never known or is not acknowledged as true if diagnosed. These organizations may take it as a matter of course that you throw out crappy sites after a few years and then build a new crappy site and not see this as a problem. Experiencing the alternative will shed light on the problem.\n
A site can meet spec and have no serious bugs and still be a lemon.\nStaff may feel that all sites or all drupal sites have the kinds of frustrations they have, and devs may persist that feeling of ‘normal’ problems and even villify the software.\nThe lack of ability to easily expand and change the site, enormous difficulty upgrading the site, bug regressions, the need for a staff handbook, the need for excessive end-user help text, and site slowness are warning signs of a lemon in disguise.\nOften the seriousness of the problem is never known or is not acknowledged as true if diagnosed. These organizations may take it as a matter of course that you throw out crappy sites after a few years and then build a new crappy site and not see this as a problem. Experiencing the alternative will shed light on the problem.\n
some lemons are unusual. these are the grotesque distorted results of organizational politics rather than technical failures.\nintegrating with other software in strange and difficult ways based on vendor relationships without regard for technical concerns\nan unnecessary convoluted mediawiki integration to justify previous expenses\ncomplex unnecessary video conversion/hosting system\na separate cms creates the blocks?\nyou can’t do basic drupal tasks?\nit’s drupal static?!\n
some lemons are unusual. these are the grotesque distorted results of organizational politics rather than technical failures.\nintegrating with other software in strange and difficult ways based on vendor relationships without regard for technical concerns\nan unnecessary convoluted mediawiki integration to justify previous expenses\ncomplex unnecessary video conversion/hosting system\na separate cms creates the blocks?\nyou can’t do basic drupal tasks?\nit’s drupal static?!\n
some lemons are unusual. these are the grotesque distorted results of organizational politics rather than technical failures.\nintegrating with other software in strange and difficult ways based on vendor relationships without regard for technical concerns\nan unnecessary convoluted mediawiki integration to justify previous expenses\ncomplex unnecessary video conversion/hosting system\na separate cms creates the blocks?\nyou can’t do basic drupal tasks?\nit’s drupal static?!\n
AKA birth of a lemon / how to make sure you get a lemon\nRisk Factors...\nSubcontracting\n Designers as developers\nInternal staff with little Drupal background\nNot doing your homework\nOrganic site architecting\nToo many cooks, too little chefs\nUnderpaying (if you think experts are expensive, wait until you hire an amateur)\n you get what you pay for (compare to other fields, some things you don’t want to cheap out on)\nMistaking an amateur for an expert = understandable \nTreating an expert like an amateur (ie not taking good advice you paid for) = foolish\n\n
AKA birth of a lemon / how to make sure you get a lemon\nRisk Factors...\nSubcontracting\n Designers as developers\nInternal staff with little Drupal background\nNot doing your homework\nOrganic site architecting\nToo many cooks, too little chefs\nUnderpaying (if you think experts are expensive, wait until you hire an amateur)\n you get what you pay for (compare to other fields, some things you don’t want to cheap out on)\nMistaking an amateur for an expert = understandable \nTreating an expert like an amateur (ie not taking good advice you paid for) = foolish\n\n
AKA birth of a lemon / how to make sure you get a lemon\nRisk Factors...\nSubcontracting\n Designers as developers\nInternal staff with little Drupal background\nNot doing your homework\nOrganic site architecting\nToo many cooks, too little chefs\nUnderpaying (if you think experts are expensive, wait until you hire an amateur)\n you get what you pay for (compare to other fields, some things you don’t want to cheap out on)\nMistaking an amateur for an expert = understandable \nTreating an expert like an amateur (ie not taking good advice you paid for) = foolish\n\n
AKA birth of a lemon / how to make sure you get a lemon\nRisk Factors...\nSubcontracting\n Designers as developers\nInternal staff with little Drupal background\nNot doing your homework\nOrganic site architecting\nToo many cooks, too little chefs\nUnderpaying (if you think experts are expensive, wait until you hire an amateur)\n you get what you pay for (compare to other fields, some things you don’t want to cheap out on)\nMistaking an amateur for an expert = understandable \nTreating an expert like an amateur (ie not taking good advice you paid for) = foolish\n\n
AKA birth of a lemon / how to make sure you get a lemon\nRisk Factors...\nSubcontracting\n Designers as developers\nInternal staff with little Drupal background\nNot doing your homework\nOrganic site architecting\nToo many cooks, too little chefs\nUnderpaying (if you think experts are expensive, wait until you hire an amateur)\n you get what you pay for (compare to other fields, some things you don’t want to cheap out on)\nMistaking an amateur for an expert = understandable \nTreating an expert like an amateur (ie not taking good advice you paid for) = foolish\n\n
AKA birth of a lemon / how to make sure you get a lemon\nRisk Factors...\nSubcontracting\n Designers as developers\nInternal staff with little Drupal background\nNot doing your homework\nOrganic site architecting\nToo many cooks, too little chefs\nUnderpaying (if you think experts are expensive, wait until you hire an amateur)\n you get what you pay for (compare to other fields, some things you don’t want to cheap out on)\nMistaking an amateur for an expert = understandable \nTreating an expert like an amateur (ie not taking good advice you paid for) = foolish\n\n
An ounce of prevention...\n\nPrevention is the main point of this talk. I want you to understand what a lemon is, how hard it is to fix, and think about how to adjust your process and get the help you need (whether you’re a dev or a decision maker) to ensure you don’t create them. You may need training, a longer timeline, a consultant, less features, a change in philosophy, etc.\n\nGet good advice as early as possible. Before you write the RFP if possible! The later in the process the problems are dealt with the more expensive it will be. ‘You can hire me now... or you can hire me to fix it later...’\n\nA sterile growing environment (adequate time, staff, sleep, planning, thoughtfulness). Do you take time to think or are you rushed to put out fires? A series of crises does not make for good results, and is not an inevitable way we have to work.\n\nHiring\nAn expert lead gardener who is heeded\nVetting drupal developers (open source)\n\nContinual pest control (not wait for an infestation and then bomb the greenhouse)\n\nPeer review\n\nAn effective ticketing, development, version control systems and surrounding process\n\nThinking long term (a Drupal site should be always ready to adapt and grow with your organization and not treated as a one-time project that will probably be thrown out like the site it’s replacing)\n\n\n
An ounce of prevention...\n\nPrevention is the main point of this talk. I want you to understand what a lemon is, how hard it is to fix, and think about how to adjust your process and get the help you need (whether you’re a dev or a decision maker) to ensure you don’t create them. You may need training, a longer timeline, a consultant, less features, a change in philosophy, etc.\n\nGet good advice as early as possible. Before you write the RFP if possible! The later in the process the problems are dealt with the more expensive it will be. ‘You can hire me now... or you can hire me to fix it later...’\n\nA sterile growing environment (adequate time, staff, sleep, planning, thoughtfulness). Do you take time to think or are you rushed to put out fires? A series of crises does not make for good results, and is not an inevitable way we have to work.\n\nHiring\nAn expert lead gardener who is heeded\nVetting drupal developers (open source)\n\nContinual pest control (not wait for an infestation and then bomb the greenhouse)\n\nPeer review\n\nAn effective ticketing, development, version control systems and surrounding process\n\nThinking long term (a Drupal site should be always ready to adapt and grow with your organization and not treated as a one-time project that will probably be thrown out like the site it’s replacing)\n\n\n
An ounce of prevention...\n\nPrevention is the main point of this talk. I want you to understand what a lemon is, how hard it is to fix, and think about how to adjust your process and get the help you need (whether you’re a dev or a decision maker) to ensure you don’t create them. You may need training, a longer timeline, a consultant, less features, a change in philosophy, etc.\n\nGet good advice as early as possible. Before you write the RFP if possible! The later in the process the problems are dealt with the more expensive it will be. ‘You can hire me now... or you can hire me to fix it later...’\n\nA sterile growing environment (adequate time, staff, sleep, planning, thoughtfulness). Do you take time to think or are you rushed to put out fires? A series of crises does not make for good results, and is not an inevitable way we have to work.\n\nHiring\nAn expert lead gardener who is heeded\nVetting drupal developers (open source)\n\nContinual pest control (not wait for an infestation and then bomb the greenhouse)\n\nPeer review\n\nAn effective ticketing, development, version control systems and surrounding process\n\nThinking long term (a Drupal site should be always ready to adapt and grow with your organization and not treated as a one-time project that will probably be thrown out like the site it’s replacing)\n\n\n
An ounce of prevention...\n\nPrevention is the main point of this talk. I want you to understand what a lemon is, how hard it is to fix, and think about how to adjust your process and get the help you need (whether you’re a dev or a decision maker) to ensure you don’t create them. You may need training, a longer timeline, a consultant, less features, a change in philosophy, etc.\n\nGet good advice as early as possible. Before you write the RFP if possible! The later in the process the problems are dealt with the more expensive it will be. ‘You can hire me now... or you can hire me to fix it later...’\n\nA sterile growing environment (adequate time, staff, sleep, planning, thoughtfulness). Do you take time to think or are you rushed to put out fires? A series of crises does not make for good results, and is not an inevitable way we have to work.\n\nHiring\nAn expert lead gardener who is heeded\nVetting drupal developers (open source)\n\nContinual pest control (not wait for an infestation and then bomb the greenhouse)\n\nPeer review\n\nAn effective ticketing, development, version control systems and surrounding process\n\nThinking long term (a Drupal site should be always ready to adapt and grow with your organization and not treated as a one-time project that will probably be thrown out like the site it’s replacing)\n\n\n
An ounce of prevention...\n\nPrevention is the main point of this talk. I want you to understand what a lemon is, how hard it is to fix, and think about how to adjust your process and get the help you need (whether you’re a dev or a decision maker) to ensure you don’t create them. You may need training, a longer timeline, a consultant, less features, a change in philosophy, etc.\n\nGet good advice as early as possible. Before you write the RFP if possible! The later in the process the problems are dealt with the more expensive it will be. ‘You can hire me now... or you can hire me to fix it later...’\n\nA sterile growing environment (adequate time, staff, sleep, planning, thoughtfulness). Do you take time to think or are you rushed to put out fires? A series of crises does not make for good results, and is not an inevitable way we have to work.\n\nHiring\nAn expert lead gardener who is heeded\nVetting drupal developers (open source)\n\nContinual pest control (not wait for an infestation and then bomb the greenhouse)\n\nPeer review\n\nAn effective ticketing, development, version control systems and surrounding process\n\nThinking long term (a Drupal site should be always ready to adapt and grow with your organization and not treated as a one-time project that will probably be thrown out like the site it’s replacing)\n\n\n
An ounce of prevention...\n\nPrevention is the main point of this talk. I want you to understand what a lemon is, how hard it is to fix, and think about how to adjust your process and get the help you need (whether you’re a dev or a decision maker) to ensure you don’t create them. You may need training, a longer timeline, a consultant, less features, a change in philosophy, etc.\n\nGet good advice as early as possible. Before you write the RFP if possible! The later in the process the problems are dealt with the more expensive it will be. ‘You can hire me now... or you can hire me to fix it later...’\n\nA sterile growing environment (adequate time, staff, sleep, planning, thoughtfulness). Do you take time to think or are you rushed to put out fires? A series of crises does not make for good results, and is not an inevitable way we have to work.\n\nHiring\nAn expert lead gardener who is heeded\nVetting drupal developers (open source)\n\nContinual pest control (not wait for an infestation and then bomb the greenhouse)\n\nPeer review\n\nAn effective ticketing, development, version control systems and surrounding process\n\nThinking long term (a Drupal site should be always ready to adapt and grow with your organization and not treated as a one-time project that will probably be thrown out like the site it’s replacing)\n\n\n
An ounce of prevention...\n\nPrevention is the main point of this talk. I want you to understand what a lemon is, how hard it is to fix, and think about how to adjust your process and get the help you need (whether you’re a dev or a decision maker) to ensure you don’t create them. You may need training, a longer timeline, a consultant, less features, a change in philosophy, etc.\n\nGet good advice as early as possible. Before you write the RFP if possible! The later in the process the problems are dealt with the more expensive it will be. ‘You can hire me now... or you can hire me to fix it later...’\n\nA sterile growing environment (adequate time, staff, sleep, planning, thoughtfulness). Do you take time to think or are you rushed to put out fires? A series of crises does not make for good results, and is not an inevitable way we have to work.\n\nHiring\nAn expert lead gardener who is heeded\nVetting drupal developers (open source)\n\nContinual pest control (not wait for an infestation and then bomb the greenhouse)\n\nPeer review\n\nAn effective ticketing, development, version control systems and surrounding process\n\nThinking long term (a Drupal site should be always ready to adapt and grow with your organization and not treated as a one-time project that will probably be thrown out like the site it’s replacing)\n\n\n
Incurable / Systemic\nThe definition of a lemon (car) is that you need a replacement not another trip to the mechanic.\nWith a website you often need to at the minimum salvage parts (content, users, design), which means that you may be in a position in which the replacement may be harder (more expensive) than having done it right originally.\n\nMany lemon owners opt to throw good money after bad, perhaps to save face or for political reasons\nThe bigger lemon (is your boss the lemon??): http://www.flickr.com/photos/lodigs/89161130/\nSometimes the organizations that have the lemon sites are lemons themselves - the website project may not be the only thing that was mismanaged. Working with these clients you may find that the problem is not technical, and that any project will be doomed. This takes the fun out of the lemonade challenge (when hiring for a site rescue you’ll want to convince a potential vendor that the organization has learned from the past mistake - many good devs will avoid these projects) We have seen this kind of lemon eventually made moot when either higher ups scrap the entire project, or the organization is sold or goes under.\nThe worst offending sites rarely are granted proper treatment. Most sites that ask for a site audit are actually in pretty good shape. We’ve been brought in for training staff to use their lemon when a good site would require minimal training. Because most lemons are never cured, the most important takeaway is prevention.\n
Incurable / Systemic\nThe definition of a lemon (car) is that you need a replacement not another trip to the mechanic.\nWith a website you often need to at the minimum salvage parts (content, users, design), which means that you may be in a position in which the replacement may be harder (more expensive) than having done it right originally.\n\nMany lemon owners opt to throw good money after bad, perhaps to save face or for political reasons\nThe bigger lemon (is your boss the lemon??): http://www.flickr.com/photos/lodigs/89161130/\nSometimes the organizations that have the lemon sites are lemons themselves - the website project may not be the only thing that was mismanaged. Working with these clients you may find that the problem is not technical, and that any project will be doomed. This takes the fun out of the lemonade challenge (when hiring for a site rescue you’ll want to convince a potential vendor that the organization has learned from the past mistake - many good devs will avoid these projects) We have seen this kind of lemon eventually made moot when either higher ups scrap the entire project, or the organization is sold or goes under.\nThe worst offending sites rarely are granted proper treatment. Most sites that ask for a site audit are actually in pretty good shape. We’ve been brought in for training staff to use their lemon when a good site would require minimal training. Because most lemons are never cured, the most important takeaway is prevention.\n
Incurable / Systemic\nThe definition of a lemon (car) is that you need a replacement not another trip to the mechanic.\nWith a website you often need to at the minimum salvage parts (content, users, design), which means that you may be in a position in which the replacement may be harder (more expensive) than having done it right originally.\n\nMany lemon owners opt to throw good money after bad, perhaps to save face or for political reasons\nThe bigger lemon (is your boss the lemon??): http://www.flickr.com/photos/lodigs/89161130/\nSometimes the organizations that have the lemon sites are lemons themselves - the website project may not be the only thing that was mismanaged. Working with these clients you may find that the problem is not technical, and that any project will be doomed. This takes the fun out of the lemonade challenge (when hiring for a site rescue you’ll want to convince a potential vendor that the organization has learned from the past mistake - many good devs will avoid these projects) We have seen this kind of lemon eventually made moot when either higher ups scrap the entire project, or the organization is sold or goes under.\nThe worst offending sites rarely are granted proper treatment. Most sites that ask for a site audit are actually in pretty good shape. We’ve been brought in for training staff to use their lemon when a good site would require minimal training. Because most lemons are never cured, the most important takeaway is prevention.\n
Incurable / Systemic\nThe definition of a lemon (car) is that you need a replacement not another trip to the mechanic.\nWith a website you often need to at the minimum salvage parts (content, users, design), which means that you may be in a position in which the replacement may be harder (more expensive) than having done it right originally.\n\nMany lemon owners opt to throw good money after bad, perhaps to save face or for political reasons\nThe bigger lemon (is your boss the lemon??): http://www.flickr.com/photos/lodigs/89161130/\nSometimes the organizations that have the lemon sites are lemons themselves - the website project may not be the only thing that was mismanaged. Working with these clients you may find that the problem is not technical, and that any project will be doomed. This takes the fun out of the lemonade challenge (when hiring for a site rescue you’ll want to convince a potential vendor that the organization has learned from the past mistake - many good devs will avoid these projects) We have seen this kind of lemon eventually made moot when either higher ups scrap the entire project, or the organization is sold or goes under.\nThe worst offending sites rarely are granted proper treatment. Most sites that ask for a site audit are actually in pretty good shape. We’ve been brought in for training staff to use their lemon when a good site would require minimal training. Because most lemons are never cured, the most important takeaway is prevention.\n
Incurable / Systemic\nThe definition of a lemon (car) is that you need a replacement not another trip to the mechanic.\nWith a website you often need to at the minimum salvage parts (content, users, design), which means that you may be in a position in which the replacement may be harder (more expensive) than having done it right originally.\n\nMany lemon owners opt to throw good money after bad, perhaps to save face or for political reasons\nThe bigger lemon (is your boss the lemon??): http://www.flickr.com/photos/lodigs/89161130/\nSometimes the organizations that have the lemon sites are lemons themselves - the website project may not be the only thing that was mismanaged. Working with these clients you may find that the problem is not technical, and that any project will be doomed. This takes the fun out of the lemonade challenge (when hiring for a site rescue you’ll want to convince a potential vendor that the organization has learned from the past mistake - many good devs will avoid these projects) We have seen this kind of lemon eventually made moot when either higher ups scrap the entire project, or the organization is sold or goes under.\nThe worst offending sites rarely are granted proper treatment. Most sites that ask for a site audit are actually in pretty good shape. We’ve been brought in for training staff to use their lemon when a good site would require minimal training. Because most lemons are never cured, the most important takeaway is prevention.\n
Incurable / Systemic\nThe definition of a lemon (car) is that you need a replacement not another trip to the mechanic.\nWith a website you often need to at the minimum salvage parts (content, users, design), which means that you may be in a position in which the replacement may be harder (more expensive) than having done it right originally.\n\nMany lemon owners opt to throw good money after bad, perhaps to save face or for political reasons\nThe bigger lemon (is your boss the lemon??): http://www.flickr.com/photos/lodigs/89161130/\nSometimes the organizations that have the lemon sites are lemons themselves - the website project may not be the only thing that was mismanaged. Working with these clients you may find that the problem is not technical, and that any project will be doomed. This takes the fun out of the lemonade challenge (when hiring for a site rescue you’ll want to convince a potential vendor that the organization has learned from the past mistake - many good devs will avoid these projects) We have seen this kind of lemon eventually made moot when either higher ups scrap the entire project, or the organization is sold or goes under.\nThe worst offending sites rarely are granted proper treatment. Most sites that ask for a site audit are actually in pretty good shape. We’ve been brought in for training staff to use their lemon when a good site would require minimal training. Because most lemons are never cured, the most important takeaway is prevention.\n
The ‘Works’ = version upgrade plus structural overhaul, possibly including redesign or design cleanup. If this does not include a redesign or new features, it requires minimal management, client attention, or paperwork (minimizing these things will lower cost and this project can be done by folks who do not thrive on conference calls and email chains. This person needs to concentrate). It may require a hero. It is unglamorous work that will likely be underappreciated.\nSome common techniques:\nContent type simplification\nPHP format extraction\nTemplate extermination\nDatabase decrudifying\nThe cure is to delete mercilessly on all levels, not to add another layer of bandages\nThe need to save content, users, and to minimize or avoid any downtime makes the treatment difficult\n
The ‘Works’ = version upgrade plus structural overhaul, possibly including redesign or design cleanup. If this does not include a redesign or new features, it requires minimal management, client attention, or paperwork (minimizing these things will lower cost and this project can be done by folks who do not thrive on conference calls and email chains. This person needs to concentrate). It may require a hero. It is unglamorous work that will likely be underappreciated.\nSome common techniques:\nContent type simplification\nPHP format extraction\nTemplate extermination\nDatabase decrudifying\nThe cure is to delete mercilessly on all levels, not to add another layer of bandages\nThe need to save content, users, and to minimize or avoid any downtime makes the treatment difficult\n
The ‘Works’ = version upgrade plus structural overhaul, possibly including redesign or design cleanup. If this does not include a redesign or new features, it requires minimal management, client attention, or paperwork (minimizing these things will lower cost and this project can be done by folks who do not thrive on conference calls and email chains. This person needs to concentrate). It may require a hero. It is unglamorous work that will likely be underappreciated.\nSome common techniques:\nContent type simplification\nPHP format extraction\nTemplate extermination\nDatabase decrudifying\nThe cure is to delete mercilessly on all levels, not to add another layer of bandages\nThe need to save content, users, and to minimize or avoid any downtime makes the treatment difficult\n
The ‘Works’ = version upgrade plus structural overhaul, possibly including redesign or design cleanup. If this does not include a redesign or new features, it requires minimal management, client attention, or paperwork (minimizing these things will lower cost and this project can be done by folks who do not thrive on conference calls and email chains. This person needs to concentrate). It may require a hero. It is unglamorous work that will likely be underappreciated.\nSome common techniques:\nContent type simplification\nPHP format extraction\nTemplate extermination\nDatabase decrudifying\nThe cure is to delete mercilessly on all levels, not to add another layer of bandages\nThe need to save content, users, and to minimize or avoid any downtime makes the treatment difficult\n
The ‘Works’ = version upgrade plus structural overhaul, possibly including redesign or design cleanup. If this does not include a redesign or new features, it requires minimal management, client attention, or paperwork (minimizing these things will lower cost and this project can be done by folks who do not thrive on conference calls and email chains. This person needs to concentrate). It may require a hero. It is unglamorous work that will likely be underappreciated.\nSome common techniques:\nContent type simplification\nPHP format extraction\nTemplate extermination\nDatabase decrudifying\nThe cure is to delete mercilessly on all levels, not to add another layer of bandages\nThe need to save content, users, and to minimize or avoid any downtime makes the treatment difficult\n
The ‘Works’ = version upgrade plus structural overhaul, possibly including redesign or design cleanup. If this does not include a redesign or new features, it requires minimal management, client attention, or paperwork (minimizing these things will lower cost and this project can be done by folks who do not thrive on conference calls and email chains. This person needs to concentrate). It may require a hero. It is unglamorous work that will likely be underappreciated.\nSome common techniques:\nContent type simplification\nPHP format extraction\nTemplate extermination\nDatabase decrudifying\nThe cure is to delete mercilessly on all levels, not to add another layer of bandages\nThe need to save content, users, and to minimize or avoid any downtime makes the treatment difficult\n
The ‘Works’ = version upgrade plus structural overhaul, possibly including redesign or design cleanup. If this does not include a redesign or new features, it requires minimal management, client attention, or paperwork (minimizing these things will lower cost and this project can be done by folks who do not thrive on conference calls and email chains. This person needs to concentrate). It may require a hero. It is unglamorous work that will likely be underappreciated.\nSome common techniques:\nContent type simplification\nPHP format extraction\nTemplate extermination\nDatabase decrudifying\nThe cure is to delete mercilessly on all levels, not to add another layer of bandages\nThe need to save content, users, and to minimize or avoid any downtime makes the treatment difficult\n
The ‘Works’ = version upgrade plus structural overhaul, possibly including redesign or design cleanup. If this does not include a redesign or new features, it requires minimal management, client attention, or paperwork (minimizing these things will lower cost and this project can be done by folks who do not thrive on conference calls and email chains. This person needs to concentrate). It may require a hero. It is unglamorous work that will likely be underappreciated.\nSome common techniques:\nContent type simplification\nPHP format extraction\nTemplate extermination\nDatabase decrudifying\nThe cure is to delete mercilessly on all levels, not to add another layer of bandages\nThe need to save content, users, and to minimize or avoid any downtime makes the treatment difficult\n
Seeking expert advice\nWho can benefit from a site audit?\nLow budget lemons: simplify, remove features, go lean\n
Seeking expert advice\nWho can benefit from a site audit?\nLow budget lemons: simplify, remove features, go lean\n
Seeking expert advice\nWho can benefit from a site audit?\nLow budget lemons: simplify, remove features, go lean\n
Seeking expert advice\nWho can benefit from a site audit?\nLow budget lemons: simplify, remove features, go lean\n