The Making of a Rockin' Web Team
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This document summarizes a presentation about building an effective web team. It discusses common challenges web teams face like lack of attention and maintaining websites. It also provides strategies for web teams, including having a holistic strategy, creating roles for web operations, execution, and measurement, establishing key performance indicators, communicating in business terms, seeking outside perspectives, limiting distributed content creation, and involving others in governance. The presentation advocates keeping web teams lean, strategic, and open to new ideas to avoid commoditization.
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The Making of a Rockin' Web Team
- 1. The Making of a Rockin’ Web Team dotCMS Boot Camp 15 April 2010
- 2. For your consideration… The #1 reason web initiatives fail to meet their goals is… Lack of consistent, adequate attention
- 3. Mt. Implementation D’oh! Plan Implement Maintain
- 4. Mt. Implementation Ahh! Plan Implement Growth
- 5. This Presentation is about… Organizational dynamics and not about technology Commercial, EDU, non-profit and (maybe) government Web Teams The Core Web Team – those who spend more than 50% of their time on web initiatives
- 6. Your Presenters Lia Sacco – Director of Sales & Marketing, dotCMS Bill Beardslee – Strategy and Development, dotCMS
- 7. First, some facts Online Survey 28 respondents Directional, and supports other information we have seen (you?) Helps frame today’s discussion Discussions ADP LogMeIn University of Akron
- 11. Time Allocation
- 12. Web Team Titles
- 13. Where does Web Team reside?
- 14. Who forms Web Strategy?
- 15. Size of Core Web Team
- 16. Size of Non Core Team
- 18. Brand Control Brand Control + Influence
- 19. Web Team is still in “responsibility transition”
- 20. Forrester = IT holds responsibility
- 21. Front End is where the action is
- 23. Web Team Scope: Employment Services (31,000 employees) Core Web Team (3) Director of Internet Marketing Webmaster Web Analyst All content comes from Business Units
- 24. Background Peer to peer file sharing, data backup $80m/yr Web Strategy = Sell product online to new customers
- 25. Web Team Scope: Company Wide; primarily Product-driven (350 employees) Core Web Team (10) Creative Team Interactive marketers, web writers 3rd Party Branding Agency Development Team on as needed basis
- 26. Web Team Undergraduate and Graduate programs Single Campus Web Strategy = Serve Students, Drive Admissions
- 27. Web Team Scope: University Wide (30,000 students, 5,000 empl., 15 colleges) Core Web Team (5) Director, Web Services Graphic Designer (Velocity templates) Web Designer (catch all) 2 Developers (php, Java) Content coordinated with Marketing, Communications and Depts.
- 28. And now for The Top 9…
- 29. #1 Show that you have a holistic strategy Web Strategy = technology, content plan, budget, processes…all facilitated by the right people Content-puter-uppers
- 30. #2 Create a construct for your Web Team W-OPS Web Operations Ensures that the tactics of Web site development align with overall organizational mission. WEM Web Execution Management Day to day execution by the Web Team; the Web Team carries out plans developed by Web Ops. WPM Web Performance Measurement Web analytics that are connected to business goals
- 31. #3 Establish KPIs and Live By Them Cost/Applicant Call Center Burden 9% 18% 14% Pre-Natal Class Leads
- 32. #4 Sell, Sell, Sell! Residual Benefit - Performance
- 33. #5 Speak the Language of the Business Do people outside the Core Web Team know how or why LDAP is applied? No. They just want assurances that the proprietary information is secure.
- 34. #6 “There are more smart people outside my four walls that within” – Don’t know who Hire an external trouble maker Assign someone the job of Web Team Innovation (5%) Take Field Trips
- 35. #7 Say No to Content Rabbits The benefits of Distributed Content are as elusive as…
- 36. #7 Say No to Content Rabbits Content Rabbits require constant training…
- 37. #7 Say No to Content Rabbits Content Rabbits clog support…
- 39. Give them explicit purpose
- 40. Commit to listening and acting on their advice
- 42. Wrap Up Keep it at a Strategic Level Commoditization = Death
- 43. Wrap Up Watch Your Language It’s not a Project, it is part of your business Growth, not Maintenance
- 44. Wrap Up Keep it Lean No Content (or Dev) Bunnies
- 45. Wrap Up Stay open to New Ideas What’s wrong with a Creative Group?
- 46. Thank You! lia@dotcms.com +1-786-594-5276 bill@dotcms.com +1-786-594-5288
Editor's Notes
- What does “consistent, adequate attention” mean? Many initiatives fail due to lack of capable leadership, processes and the right people. The reason a web initiative fails is rarely due to the application server or the lack of workflow – although those can certainly contribute.
- This is what usually happens. An organization gets very excited about a new site. Everyone rushes to evaluate a slew of CMSs, vast armies are recruited to knock out code, write copy, integrate and build applications. The sites go live and they all go away because the mountain has been built. The fervor dies down. And our mental state returns to Maintenance mode. What should happen is the opposite – everything should build up to the point of launch, and the organizational adrenaline should maintain itself at a high level.
- This is more indicative of what should happen. Instead of positioning the 3rd phase a maintenance, it should be positioned as “Growth”. Present the entire “plan” – all three phases – at the same time. This will help position the web initiative as a long term part of the business and not a project (which has a finite start and end, implying that post launch very little is needed to sustain the web).
- In looking at specific organizations, Core Web Teams generally account for 2% of the total headcount – and this varies wildly depending upon your business and the commitment of your management team.
- Create a small number of metrics that are indicators of how you are focusing on the business issues. Use your creativity in how you serve these up to the org
- Don’t be bashful about broadcasting the achievements of your web initiative. If you use the right information, it validatesthat you are connected to the business; justifies your budget. When folks in your group realize their output is being published throughout the company (example: someone who is responsible for lead gen), don’t be surprised if their performance spikes. Everyone performs better when they know they are being watched.
- We know the difference between and application server and a web server – but most outside the Web Team don’tScrub the word “CMS” from your vocabulary – most beyond the Web Team think in terms of “the site(s)”Connotes but a narrow view of the value to the orgSites and the underlying technology need to be thought of as having an infinite life. Treat as a Department, integral to the business. And that affects how an org budgets.
- Use agencies, freelancers, consultantsField Trip – take your team to another site where a company is doing cool stuff. Tell them what you are doing, have them do the same. You will be amazed at what you learn. De-brief when you get home; implications, actions – track how your site or team management has improved due to the field tripMake it someone’s job (5%) to bring innovation to the way the web team operates – processes, staffing. Have them attend webinars, travel to conferences
- “Distributed” Content Contribution is a MythLike Rabbits, peripheral Content Contributors breed quicklyThey require constant trainingThey clog up Support (Prado rule)Complex content reuse can be tough to grasp – if content is to be used on 8 different pages, they need to check to see if copy is valid in all 8 contexts. This may mean you need someone carrying the “content strategist” role, at least a portion of their responsibility
- Too narrow – you are responsible for Web Execution. How the org gets the job done. Online Team may be more appropriate Could be SaaS, heavy reliance on the 3rd party.Online Team? Web Presence Group?