Random project management techniques / tips / tools

Managing change requests
From time to time clients will change their mind i.e. every project you ever do – clients change their minds. I believe it’s important to be flexible to accommodate change; within reason. It is the within reason part which needs considering. You should make it clear that a project has a change request process. A few tweaks here and there can normally be absorbed without major impact to budget. But what if they change their whole strategy at the eleventh hour? You need to have set expectations that if they do this there is a cost attached. If templates are built already and they change the whole structure you should always go back to earlier phases, you’ll need to re-do the UX, re-do design – otherwise the changes they’ve asked for may be introduced without forward-thinking and you could end up delivering something that doesn’t work. Not to mention contractors build to an agreed scope; if the client changes their mind and you ask the developer to rebuild something from scratch they are within their rights to charge you for the same work. You can either absorb this from your profit or pass the cost onto the client.

File structure
Using the same file structure anyone can pick up your project easily. My preferred structure is below:

 

Versioning
As a rule I always version sequentially, not by date – simply because windows/mac will sort the files so that the latest version appears last (it is easy to pick the wrong file when sorted by date).
Versioning can be quite rigid: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_versioning
But generally I simply go

• Version 0_1 – first draft
• Version 0_2 – second – and so on
• Version 1_0 – first release to client

A minor update goes up by .1, a moderate update by .5, and a large update by a whole 1.0, e.g. if a document is rewritten from 4.0 then the next will be 5.0. If I change a bit 4.5, and if all I do is change a few typos 4.1. Simples.

Launching a site
I would always say it is never  a good idea to launch a site on a Friday or after 15:00 any day. If you put something live you want to have time to respond to any bugs that may have been missed or rise from the upload process. Particularly on Fridays where a bug could remain over the whole weekend.
Always make sure you give the site a final test when it is launched. 

Ensure you haven’t missed anything basic and yet easily forgotten, have you set up a favicon, analytics, etc, have you checked accessibility – e.g. all alt-tags set up on images, metadata, etc?

Testing a site
The site should pass a minimum testing standard of YUI A-Grade browser support -

Sometimes it makes sense to write a test plan depending on the scale of the project. If you've an efficient mind just using common sense on smaller projects can work too.

Many issues that might come up in testing can be avoided with at the requirements gathering stage e.g. don’t propose using Flash if you want it to work on a mobile, build the site accessibly and it will work across most browsers. 

To keep abreast of the latest trends (e.g. should I test in IE6, what screen resolution should I use, etc) take a look at: http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/

Fonts
Want to use a corporate font that isn’t web-safe? You can using image replacement techniques such as Cufon or Sifr. You don’t need to know much about this, just that it’s doable. This means a font, such as the National Trust font, can be used and generated on the fly on a website for titles and headers – e.g. the menu. Don’t use it for body font, sorry – it has to be websafe fonts in this instance – Cufon is great used sparingly but if you use it to replace body-copy it will make huge server demands.

What not to use
Flash – is never suitable for a menu system. It doesn’t work on mobiles. Some users don’t even have Flash. It’s suitable for games and banner adverts – and in the case of the latter ALWAYS have a non-flash alternative. Instead of Flash look for alternatives e.g. explore using JavaScript, CSS3 and HTML5. 

Bespoke video players – You can charge the client money to build a video player (which is costly to get it working properly) and then an ongoing hosting fee as streaming video puts demand on the server and bandwidth. Alternatively, spend the money elsewhere and host it with embedded Vimeo or YouTube.

Bug Tracking

Bug tracking software, when properly embraced, is one of the most useful tools you’ll use on a project.

It allows you to:

• Create a ticket and assign it to a developer.
• Prioritise the order – showstoppers to nice to haves.
• The developer can do the work and assign back to you with a notification.
• Statuses help you track what needs to be done, e.g. “New bug, needs testing, closed, reopened, with client for review”
• Will keep a single audit trail of the lifecycle of a bug – this helps you keep everything ordered so that bug, the one the client spotted, the one that is really frustrating them, never gets lost in your inbox.

Risk Management
When you start a project, and on an ongoing basis, it is worth identifying risks. You can’t predict them all but risk management is an essential part of project management. If you think about risks at the start you can help prevent or plan for them. Here are some commong ones:

• Going over budget - which is why we plan our projects and agree a scope up front.
• Choice of technology – are you using or trying something never tried before. If so your time estimates may be massively out – plan contingency.
• Too many stakeholders – If you have too many stakeholders internally or externally you can end up in the situation of too many chefs spoiling the brew. Identify who really needs to be involved and make sure only they are involved in sign off.
• Holidays – clients, contractors, yourself – again project planning.
• Forgetting the basics – build a checklist, have I set up hosting, analytics, thought about accessibility, etc – even better build the checklist into your project plan.
• Bugs and amends – always plan for things to go wrong, plan for at least one iteration of every deliverable, use bug tracking, prioritise the work to avoid going out of budget. Also, clear briefs mean more will be right first time. 

 

Do these approaches work for websites only?
No – they will work for all digital projects, everything from a basic HTML email or mobile app to an extensive piece of software development.

Leading the gay in social networking

When I was a young teen I was social networking before anyone had heard the words "MySpace" leave alone "Facebook". I was using chatrooms and messaging services at a time when most people my age were still using Encarta to do their homework. Of course back then "Social networking" was called online dating and to my friends it was the domain of geeks and dodgy types. And in all fairness, quite often it was.


The reason I was happy to embrace this new technology was because I had figured out at an early age that I'm gay. At the time I thought I was the only gay in the suburbs. These niche sites helped me to talk to people with similar interests... you know, bums, willies and Steps. With retrospect I could have done without Steps. The important thing for me it was a way to make friends like me, not just finding dates.

When sites like MySpace, Bebo and Facebook came along we slowly saw a shift in people's attitudes to who goes online. It was no longer for nerds and people who like wearing long trench coats, now you could connect with your mates and share your movie and music interests... and eventually you could poke them, tell them you've brushed your teeth, that you've just checked into the gym, that you're outside their window wearing nightvision goggles and touching yourself (whoops, back to the trench coats again!)

The idea of online dating, in the straight market, is becoming less weird. I know a fair few older couples that have gotten together via Friends Reunited and I know a few people who have started using sites like PlentyOfFish to meet and greet online. They are starting to realise that there is nothing dodgy about doing this, or there is but it's probably better than getting trashed in your local and waking up with a whale who's name you never bothered to learn.

But my point is I believe the gays led the way with social networking. Simply because we had to. It was that or cottaging (never done it, never will!) If you're a straight teen you can meet girls up the park, or in your local getting served underaged.

And once again the gays have been leading the way for awhile with social networking/online dating/finding a shag (what ever you decide to use it for) in the mobile market. The most prominent app is Grindr (cleverly promoted by Stephen Fry). A gay networking mobile appthat lets you meet other guys in the area (by geolocation) and start a conversation with them via instant messaging. Originally only available on the iPhone it has recently been released on Android (and the number of lads has doubled...) It's a simple yet clever bit of software that is massively addictive and just does exactly what you need it too. There is no web version at the moment, it's all about meeting people in the palm of your hand (giggles at the inuendo).

Now I'm getting excited by the prospect of a new project from the Grindr team who are moving into the straight market. The project is soon to be launched at SXSW. I think we're going to see the next big trend emerge from Grindr in the form of "Project Amicus" (Spanish for friend).

I don't yet know the specifics of Amicus yet but Grindr's blog says it's "the codename and website for a new location-based mobile app that lets users discover, interact, and meet with nearby people. This app is for everyone – straight, gay, and lesbian."

If it becomes as popular as Grindr, and is indeed "straight Grindr", then I fully believe this is going to be huge. It'll be interesting to see if they stick to a purely mobile based platform or are considering moving into a web-version too. I'm sure there are lots of ways they could expand their offering further, the app is great - but it could be part of a suite of web services... let's wait and see. Either way, I think this is going to be big!

Why not get onto the beta list and sign up here.

Just remember, never let your Lolcat on Grindr or Amicus:

Paying for things with your mobile phone

Paying for things with your mobile phone... What a great idea (as long as security is worked out).

Read the BBC article "Orange customers of Everything Everywhere get mobile payments".

I think security is the biggest issue, but I see no reason why you can't type a pin into your phone to authorise a transaction... it'd be as easy as unlocking your iPhone. Hoorah!

Mobileness

There's an app for that - but increasingly not just on an Apple iPhone. Nokia's Ovi store is rapidly increasing it's share of the market. And Android phones are now neck n neck in terms of Smartphone domination. That means when we say we'll do an app for a client there are at least three we should seriously be considering developing for.  When your budget is tight this is not something clients will be loving. Perhaps this multiple platform world will be short lived - there are those working towards a single framework so you can develop apps that work across all platforms. Now wouldn't that be nice!

See also: Brands that don't develop on android are missing out.

But it's not just about building cool apps. Traditional advertising is finding it's home in the world of Mobile. Apple is launching it's iAd platform which promises to "finally open up the advertising potential of mobile devices". Worth keeping an eye on this one.

Slight tangent - but there are more mobile phones than PC's - FACT. It's a great place to advertise, why? Because what do you never leave behind - your mobile phone. You might have a tablet like iPad or Galaxy, you might have an Air or similar - but the device you always have is your mobile. More and more we're moving away from the need to have a laptop/PC at least in the home. There is so much you can do now thanks to apps.
Few new features that will shake things up a bit / make mobiles more useful.
Google docs comes to iOS and Android (who needs a PC anyway?)
Mobile phones replacing your wallet? Yes - Nokia to enable contactless payment.

How to build a mobile website

I'll be reading this article on how to build a mobile website. Cursory glance says it'll be useful.

I was recently asked to quote for building one - my first question was "why".

Surely a website that is built properly (i.e. to accessible web standards) should work / degrade gracefully and work on a mobile phone.

If you build a website which, for example, uses Flash for it's whole navigation then yes - it won't work on a iPhone - then again if you don't have Flash or are using a screenreader it won't work either.

 

PS: Don't build an iPhone app because you can - know your user; do they need an iPhone app... and why not build for Android, Blackberry, Symbian, Windows, etc while you're at it?

Mobile stats

I've just found this little gem of a website for mobile stats. I will be sure to use this later!

Nokia N97

We were talking recently about convergent technologies - one of the things we were debating were would users want to have both laptop and mobile or would they merge into one device.

The latest offering from Nokia which seems to be getting an effective internet buzz is the N97.



It's the phone they are saying will be able to compete with the iPhone and it really does seem like a handheld laptop to me:

"Details are in, Nokia has a new flagship phone. The N97 packs a 3.5-inch, 640 x 360 pixel (that's a 16:9 aspect ratio) resistive touchscreen display with tactile feedback and QWERTY keyboard into this sliding communicator with an "always open" window to favorite internet or social networking sites. Nokia calls it the "world's most advanced mobile computer." To back up the claim they've dropped in HSDPA, WiFi, and Bluetooth radios, A-GPS, a 3.5-mm headjack, 32GB of onboard memory with microSD expansion (for up to 48GB total capacity), and a battery capable of up to 1.5 days of continuous audio playback or 4.5-hours video. 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss glass and "DVD quality" video capture at 30fps, too" source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/02/nokia-unveils-flagship-n97-phone/

It seems very likely that phones like this, the iPhone, the SE-X1, etc are really going to change how we in Western society are accessing the web (with LEDC's already accessing the web primarily via mobile).